Biochemistry Research and Opportunity Endowment

Funds distributed from this endowment (approximately $5,000 per year) shall be used to support faculty-mentored undergraduate research or experiential learning opportunities that combine the fields of Biology and Chemistry. This support is intended for students majoring or minoring in Biology and/or Chemistry, including funding for lab supplies and equipment needed for research involving these students. Faculty and students from the departments of Biology and Chemistry are encouraged to collaborate on the use of this fund.

Award: $500–$4,000, to be spent within the fiscal year of the award. Applications are typically solicited from students and their faculty mentors during the fall semester.

Proposals must address biochemistry-oriented problems or questions and should support, expand, and/or enable undergraduate research in this area. Proposals that blur traditional departmental boundaries and/or support or seed new collaborative projects between Biology and Chemistry labs are especially encouraged. Potential uses of the funding include undergraduate summer stipends and/or equipment and supplies justified in the proposal as having a direct impact on the proposed research of the student applicant(s).

To apply for this fund, faculty mentor(s) should submit the following documentation as a single PDF to the Chair of their respective department:

• A brief description of the research project, including figures, tables, and bibliography as appropriate (maximum of 2 pages total). This project description should be written by the student(s) in consultation with the faculty advisor(s) and crafted around the student’s particular research question. Applications exceeding this page limit will not be reviewed.
• An itemized budget and justification in the context of faculty-mentored undergraduate research or experiential learning opportunities (1-page limit).
• An abstract (<150 words) aimed at a general audience describing the project and how the funds will be used.
• A letter of recommendation for the student applicant(s) from the faculty member(s) serving as the student research advisor(s). A letter from collaborating faculty members may also be submitted, but no more than two one-page letters (including the student research advisor’s letter) will be accepted.
• A commitment to write a follow-up letter to donors detailing expenditures as part of an annual project report.

Proposals will be reviewed by a committee of Biology and Chemistry faculty volunteers (solicited by the respective department Chairs) who are not involved in that year’s Biochemistry endowment applications (i.e., they are not serving as student research advisors or writing letters of recommendation).