Purpose

Underrepresented Minority (URM) Student Research Grant

The Helminthological Society of Washington (HelmSoc) seeks to support the recruitment of underrepresented minorities into our society and into the field of parasitology. To this end, we are excited to announce the Helminthological Society of Washington’s Underrepresented Minority Student Research Grant (HelmSoc URM Grant) Competition for undergraduate and graduate parasitology students.  

Bernard Fried Student Research Grant

Dr. Bernard (Bernie) Fried (1933-2021) was a Professor of Biology at Lafayette College from 1963-2000, who published over 600 academic articles, mostly co-authored with undergraduate students. Dr. Fried had a passion for mentoring, and upon his passing he and his wife (Grace) made a generous donation to HelmSoc in support of student research, travel, and publishing. The Bernard Fried Student Research Grant supports both undergraduate and graduate-level parasitology research. Learn more about Dr. Bernard Fried here.  

The grants
Each grant offers a total of $5,000 in research support. For each grant, we anticipate awarding one undergraduate research award of approximately $500- $2,000, and one graduate research award of approximately $2,500-$4,000. Grants are intended to fund scientific research in eukaryotic parasitology (i.e., not just helminths), and funds may be used for purposes such as covering travel to museums to study specimens, travel to field sites, and the purchase of scientific equipment or supplies. Purchase of materials for unrelated projects, salaries, or indirect costs will not be supported. Awardees of the grants will also be awarded one HelmSoc Student Travel Grant. All awardees must present their results at our annual Spring Meeting, and the Student Travel Grant covers $100 of expenses to this meeting. Alternatively, if the student wishes to give oral presentations at both HelmSoc’s Spring Meeting and the American Society of Parasitologists’ (ASP) annual meeting, Student Travel Grant recipients will be reimbursed for the cost of registration to the ASP meeting (~$250, typically). If the student chooses to submit their results to HelmSoc’s journal (Comparative Parasitology), and their first-authored manuscript is accepted, all page charges will be waived and covered by the Student Research Grants.

Who can apply?
To apply, you must:

• For both grants, you must be an undergraduate or graduate student with an interest in parasitology research, who is currently enrolled at an educational institution.
• Should you receive either HelmSoc Student Research Grant, you and your research advisor will need to become members of the Helminthological Society of Washington. See here for information on how to become a member. 
• Our society is based in the Washington, DC area. Applications are welcome from students anywhere within the United States, although we strongly encourage applications from students based or conducting research in the mid-Atlantic region.
• For the HelmSoc URM Grant, you must also:
  Identify as a member of an underrepresented minority group, including Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, or Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander.
  While students are only eligible to receive one HelmSoc Student Research Grant, URM students may submit one application to be considered for both grant types by checking the boxes for each grant in the Cover Letter.
Please note - family members of the HelmSoc Grant Selection Committee, the HelmSoc Executive Committee, or of our major donors are not eligible to apply.

Please note - family members of the HelmSoc URM Grant selection committee, the HelmSoc Executive Committee, or of our major donors are not eligible to apply.

Instructions
To complete the application, please download and complete the 2 fields indicated below. 

File 1 Cover letter
1. A cover letter
2. Abstract – 2,500 character limit (including spaces) 

File 2 Grant Template
1. Two-page grant proposal describing the research that will be done with the grant. Include:

1. Title 

2. Introduction - A brief overview of the research topic, with reference to appropriate literature 

3. Aims - What is the hypothesis and how will you test it? 

4. Materials and Methods - How, where, and when the proposed research will be conducted 

5. Expected Results - Expected outcome for the research activities 

6. Significance of the Proposed Research - How will doing this research improve or add to the general knowledge of parasitism and parasitology? 

7. Statement on how this grant will help you complete the proposed research and how it will help advance your career. 

2. References cited (no page limit)
3. One page budget and justification
4. A Curriculum Vitae (CV), including educational information, GPA, prior presentations, and publications (No page limit). 

All submitted materials must be single spaced, Arial font, 11 point, with 1-inch margins. All documents must be collated into one PDF and sent as a single file. 

Applications must be submitted by email to Dr. Anne Vardo-Zalik by March 1, 2024. Please include “HelmSoc Student Research Grant” in the subject line of the email. Recipients of the grant will be informed by email by April 20, 2024. Finally, we require one letter of recommendation (preferably from the research advisor) to be submitted to Dr. Anne Vardo-Zalik by the application deadline. Please ask your recommendation writer to title the email: “Letter of Recommendation for HelmSoc Student Research Grant”. 

The grant applications will be judged on criteria such as completeness, relevance to the field of parasitology, originality, rigor, feasibility, justification, impact on career, and potential contribution to HelmSoc. 

What happens if you get the grant?
If you are awarded a HelmSoc Student Research Grant, you must: 

• Acknowledge either the “The Helminthological Society of Washington’s Underrepresented Minorities Research Grant” or the “Bernard Fried Student Research Grant” in presentations and publications arising from the funded work. We also request that links to published manuscripts be sent to the Society, so we may showcase your work on our website and social media pages.

• Give a 12-minute oral presentation on the results of the funded work at our annual Spring Meeting. This talk must be given within 2 years of receiving the award. The research grant will also come with a HelmSoc Student Travel Grant to help offset the cost of attendance. Also, the student will be automatically entered into the Student Presentation Award competition. Experiments do not always go according to plan. We welcome presentations of null results, and lessons learned. 

• Submission of a brief (1 page) first year report, and a final report (up to 2 pages) at the completion of the project (no later than the end of the second year). These reports should include a summary of the research undertaken, and the final report should include major findings, their interpretation, a list of presentations and publications resulting from the award, and lessons learned. The reports will also include a budget reconciliation with receipts and invoices for expended funds. 

To donate to the URM Research Grant fund, please go here To donate to the URM Research Grant fund, please go here