Undergraduate Research Award Grant

The Undergraduate Research Award supports undergraduate students conducting research in fungal biology topics such as medical mycology and ecology. Awardees receive mentorship and must submit a biography and article about their research. Payments must be processed within five months, and all applicants are encouraged to apply for MSA membership. This opportunity fosters community engagement and encourages research dissemination among mycologists, enhancing the visibility of students' work in the field.

The Undergraduate Research Award is offered for student research covering any topic related to fungal biology (and organisms traditionally studied by mycologists) including: medical mycology, cell biology, physiology, systematics, evolution, genomics and ecology. The undergraduate student awardee will conduct independent or directed research under the guidance of a research mentor. This award is open to all undergraduate students with sophomore, junior, or senior standing.
Award Terms
All awardees must provide a short biography (100-200 words) and a picture (if possible) within two weeks of notification, using the Awardee Documentation Submission form. These will be requested at the appropriate time. Photos and biographies will be published in Inocuum. The award payment must be deposited or cashed within 5 months.Each award recipient is required to complete a W-9 form prior to receiving their award funds. Awardees will be contacted by the management company regarding this process. (This only applies if you have a U.S.3 Social Security Number.)Keep copies of your W-9 and all receipts and expenses that are part of this award. These documents are important and may be necessary for tax purposes.Each awardee will contribute a short article about their research to MSA within a year of receiving the award. The articles should be written for a general audience and may be published in Inoculum or other MSA venues (e.g. MSA website). This will be a great opportunity to promote your research to the MSA community. A request will be sent to the awardee at the appropriate here.Please acknowledge MSA in any products that result from this support (e.g., poster presentations, oral presentations, and scientific articles)
Note: We expect all award winners to make every effort to attend the MSA annual meeting and encourage all applicants to concurrently apply for an MSA Travel Award in support of that. Presence at the MSA meeting to accept the award give awardees the opportunity to meet the mycological community, and it gives MSA members an opportunity to meet the awardee

Eligibility

Award RequirementsApplicants must be an undergraduate student with sophomore, junior, or senior standing who is conducting research on a fungal biology topic.Applicants must have the support of a faculty mentor.Documents RequiredApplication FormA curriculum vitae that includes at least (maximum 3 pages):Name, contact address, email address, and phone numberEducation and professional history (including career plans and a paragraph regarding training for the proposed work)Previous awards and honorsPublications and other significant professional outputService (if available)A detailed plan of study. The text of this plan of study must be no longer than 2 pages including tables, figures, but not references. The text of this proposal should be single-spaced and printed in a regular sized font (10 cpi or 12 point) with one inch margins on all sides. Section headings and double spacing between paragraphs may be used to make your proposal easier to read. A suggested organization of the proposal is:Introduction: explains what you want to doObjectivesMethods: demonstrates that the project is feasible and describes how the study will be conductedSignificance and preliminary results, if available (be concise in your explanation)Budget and budget justification. Include a brief list of expenses or statement of how the funds will be used. ReferencesSchool transcripts showing courses taken and grades received for all institutions where they received credit toward their current degree to be conferred. A PDF of an official transcript is acceptable.A letter of recommendation from the research mentor. The reference letter should be sent directly by the individual writing the letter, not the applicant.All documents must be in English to be considered.

Ineligibility

Indirect cost is not allowed on MSA awards.Applications that include proposals exceeding the 2-page limit will not be considered.