Travel Awards

Since 1992 the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience has provided travel awards to help undergraduate neuroscientists present their research at the annual Society for Neuroscience meeting. The winners are enrolled at a variety of academic institutions - from small liberal arts colleges to large research intensive universities, but all display a dedication to the pursuit of high quality research in the neurosciences. An incredible 68 percent of award winners have gone on to enter PhD, MD, or MD/PhD programs.
 

2023 FUN Undergraduate Travel Awards

Click here to view this year's winners

Applications for The Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) Undergraduate Research Travel Awards to the 2023 Society for Neuroscience Meeting in Washington, DC were due on July 8, 2023, at 8 PM EDT/5 PM PDT. The award winners will be notified in the second half of August.

Information about the award: 

The awards offer up to $1000 in aid for travel and attendance expenses associated with attending the Society for Neuroscience 2023 meeting for students who are presenting posters at the main SFN (Society for Neuroscience) meeting. All student award travel award applications must have a faculty sponsor who is a dues-paying member of FUN. 

The student must be an author on the abstract and present research that results from studies conducted while an undergraduate.  It is not necessary that the student be enrolled as an undergraduate at the time of the SFN fall meeting.  Students are eligible if the work was done before their graduation the previous academic year. However, students who have previously won a FUN travel award may not reapply.

A panel of FUN members judges the award applications.  The judging criteria focus on the student’s contribution to the project, the importance and originality of the student’s contribution to the project, and the candidate’s potential in science.  Preference is given to students who are the first authors on the abstract.


How to apply:

Applications must be submitted through the FUN website (Apply Here or using the button at the top of the page) by the faculty sponsor as a single PDF document.  Please apply by uploading the following documents:

  1. The abstract submitted to the Society for Neuroscience (due to SfN by June 14, 2023).  The student must be an author on the abstract and present research results from studies conducted while an undergraduate. 
  2. A statement by the student candidate indicating the scientific importance of the project, the candidate’s contribution to the project (including an estimation of the amount of time spent on it), and the relevance of this research experience to the candidate’s career plans. (Two page maximum)
  3. The student’s CV/resume. The CV/resume should include any other research-related activities.
  4. A statement by the student’s faculty sponsor.  This statement should clearly identify the specific intellectual, technical, and time contributions the student candidate has made, especially in the case of multiple student authors, and compare the student’s exact role in the project to those of the other authors. The sponsor’s statement should briefly summarize the lab’s source(s) of funding, and whether graduate students were part of or supervised the undergraduate’s project.
  5. Indication of whether or not the student and sponsor both give permission for FUN to maintain a confidential copy of the application for FUN travel award judge training in future years and/or retrospective outcomes analysis.
            If you have any questions about the application process, please contact Connie Kang at
University of Houston-Downtown at KangY@uhd.edu.

         
         Timeline:

The deadline for consideration is June 21, 2023 at 8pm EDT/5pm PDT.

          2023 Travel Award Committee Members:

          Laura Grafe: lgrafe@brynmawr.edu Bryn Mawr College
          Elaine Reynolds: reynolde@lafayette.eduLafayette College
          Lorenz Neuwirth: neuwirthl@oldwestbury.edu SUNY Old Westbury
          Ryan Mruczek: rmruczek@holycross.edu College of the Holy Cross
          Elda Rueda: ruedae@uhd.edu University of Houston-Downtown
          Lora Becker: lb47@evansville.edu University of Evansville
          Susan Banks: sbanks@flsouthern.edu Florida Southern College
          Lauren Williamson: williamsol6@nku.edu Northern Kentucky University
          Marc Nahmani: mnahmani@uw.edu University of Washington
          Connie Kang: KangY@uhd.edu University of Houston-Downtown
 

History:
Use this link to view a list of previous travel award winners.

2023 FUN Travel Award Sponsors About the Travel Award Competition:
  • The awards are for students to help defray travel and attendance expenses associated with the Society for Neuroscience meeting.
  • To be eligible to appy, students must be accepted to present a poster at the main SFN meeting.
  • All student travel award applications must have a faculty sponsor who is a dues-paying member of FUN in good standing
  • The student applying must be an author on the abstract and present research that results from studies conducted while an undergraduate. It is not necessary that the student be enrolled as an undergraduate at the time of the SFN fall meeting.  Students are eligible if the work was done before their graduation the previous academic year. However, students who have previously won a FUN travel award may not reapply.