Center for Brain and Behavior Research Student Organization

The Center for Brain and Behavior Research Student Organization (CGSO) honors and highlights two CGSO members each year with a $400 award for excellence in research, leadership, and service to CGSO and CBBRe (the Center for Brain and Behavior Research). Award submissions are reviewed based on the student’s research contributions to their field, service contributions to the CGSO and CBBRe, and overall leadership potential. Undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply. 

Application Process
Applications for the CGSO Student Honorary Awards for the 2024-2025 cycle will be accepted between May 10 to June 11, 2024. Award recipients will be notified once the review committee has made their decisions. Please submit the complete application via the application webpage.

Applications should consist of the following:

1. A research CV

2. An informal transcript (including a GPA)

3. Personal statement on how the applicant's research and leadership qualities benefit the field and align with the missions of the CBBRe and CGSO. 

4. A letter of recommendation from a faculty (link available on application page; please share this link with your faculty recommender). 

Award funds must be used for research and/or service purposes (e.g., project funding; conference attendance; books/software/materials; trainings).

The goal of the Trainee Research Grant Program is to provide CBBRe trainees with experience in writing NIH-style grants and in the review and revision process. This program also provides a mechanism for trainees to obtain funding to support their research and to collect data to support an external fellowship or grant application.

Applicant Eligibility
Graduate students (including medical students) and postdoctoral fellows are eligible to apply to the CBBRe Trainee Grant Program, but the trainee must be a member of the CBBRe.

Budget Considerations
The total budget may not exceed $5,000. The budget period may run up to 12 months from the beginning of the project, with Jan. 1 as the earliest start date. Typical project costs can be budgeted, with the exception of salary and meeting/conference/training travel. Travel directly associated with conducting the project is allowable (e.g. conducting assessment or experiments at another facility or field work).

Application Process
Proposals should be sent as one complete PDF file (with the exception of the faculty sponsor letter) to CBBRe@usd.edu. The Fall 2023 deadline has already passed. Please keep an eye out for next year's application dates. The faculty sponsor's letter should be sent directly to CBBRe by the due date.

Review results will be available by late-November.

Proposals should consist of the following (in order):

1. Cover page

2. NIH Biographical sketch for trainee, faculty sponsor and any other key collaborators (five pages maximum)

3. Budget page

4. Budget justification

5. Introduction to revisions (one page maximum) if a revised proposal

6. Research plan (six pages maximum)

7. References cited

8. Project milestones and future funding plans (one page maximum)

9. Statement of relevance (one page maximum)

10. Letter from the trainee's faculty sponsor (sent directly to CBBRe)

Biographical Sketches (five page limit each): Follow the NIH format for all biosketches.

Budget Justification (one page limit): Justify the need for each major item. Also explain what other funding is available to support this project (and if none, state so).

Introduction to revisions (one page limit): Trainees resubmitting a proposal already reviewed by this CBBRe program should include a response to the previous reviews, a list of revisions made in response to the previous reviews, and detail where in the proposal these changes can be found.

Research plan (six page limit): This section should conform to the standard NIH style, including significance, innovation and research approach sections. Research goals/hypotheses/specific aims should be clearly stated in the significance section. The research plan should be written at a general neuroscientist or behavioral science level. View NIH guidelines for grant applications (Application Guide SF424 (R&R) - Adobe Forms Version C Series). Use one-inch margins and no less than 11-point font. Please contact CBBRe if you need assistance in preparing an NIH-style grant or would like to see examples of this format.

Project milestones and future funding plans (one page limit): A timeline for completion of project milestones should be provided. Also include plans and a timeline for presentation of this work, publication of the research and any external funding applications.

Statement of relevance (one page limit): Applicants should explicitly state how the proposed research aligns with the goals of the CBBRe, and how the proposed research relates to the applicant’s career goals. This section should also be used to explain the involvement of the trainee in the CBBRe.

Letter from Faculty sponsor: The trainee's faculty sponsor should comment on the applicant's potential for a research career, the applicant's ability to conduct the proposed research, the resources available to the trainee to conduct the study, and the willingness of the sponsor to mentor the student during the course of the project and in dissemination of the results.

Review of Applications
Applications will be reviewed by a panel of neuroscientist and behavioral scientists from the different departments represented within the CBBRe. Therefore, grants should be written for a general scientific audience. Review criteria will include:

• Quality and feasibility of the research

• Research potential of the applicant

• Relevance of the project to the trainee's career goals

• Relevance of the project to the CBBRe

• Evidence of faculty involvement and mentorship

• Applicants will be notified of review outcomes by late-November 2020.

Conditions of Award

• Funds will not be released until documentation regarding IACUC or IRB approval has been provided to CBBRe, if applicable.

• Funds are to be expended during the approved budget period. A final progress report is required within 30 days of the end of the budget period.

• All resultant publications and presentations should acknowledge funding from the CBBRe.

• All successful applicants will be required to present the findings of their research project at the CBBRe annual research symposium.

• All resultant applications to external funding agencies must be routed through the University of South Dakota. This is necessary to ensure that indirect costs are directed back to the CBBRe to support the center's activities, including this pilot grant program.

Program Goal
The goal of this award is to facilitate the professional development of graduate students/research staff associated with the Center for Brain and Behavior Research by supporting their travel to professional meetings. This provides an opportunity for the recipient to present their own research, interact with peers and established scientists, and develop professional contacts to facilitate their career development.

Program Scope
The award supports graduate student/research staff expenses for traveling to and presenting their research at a professional meeting. Funds may be requested to attend either a discipline-specific meeting (e.g. the Society for Neuroscience, American Chemical Society, or American Psychological Association Annual Meetings) or a more general-themed meeting that has an identifiable neuroscience or behavior component (e.g. Society for Experimental Biology, AAAS, Materials Research Society, etc.). Applicants may apply for support for international travel, but there are insufficient funds to meet all the costs of attending an international conference. Travel restrictions are subject to changes due to Covid-19 recommendations and University Policy.

Eligibility

CBBRe
The applicant must be a graduate student in good academic standing in one of the USD graduate programs (for the student travel award) and for student and staff awards applicant must be a CBBRe member themselves or affiliated/collaborating with faculty who is a member of CBBRe. Applicants must be the primary presenting author of original research at the meeting (poster or oral presentation) and typically should have had their presentation accepted by the meeting program committee. Applications can be submitted prior to having the presentation accepted by the meeting program committee, but the final award will require confirmation that the applicant’s presentation has been accepted. Students may only be awarded two travel awards over the course of their training, and preference will be given in the review process to applicants who have not received a CBBRe travel award. Acceptance of the award requires recipients to present their work at the annual CBBRe symposium, held each fall on the USD main campus. 

Budget
Applicants should budget typical travel allowances as per the USD travel policies (see application form for more details). Applicants should include their total budget in their application, but the limit for each award will be dependent upon the current fiscal budget. Additional sources of funding, if available, should be provided on the application form.

Applicants must:

• Complete the travel award application

• Provide a copy of their CV

• Provide evidence that their presentation has been accepted by the meeting program committee 

• All documents should be sent to cbbre@usd.edu on or prior to the due date.

Apply here 

If the acceptance is pending, the applicant should still apply for the award and supply the acceptance material when it becomes available. The student's advisor or research staff supervisor should provide a letter of support, detailing how this award will enhance the applicant's research, professional development, and/or career goals and how the research is relevant to CBBRe. The letter should be sent directly to cbbre@usd.edu 

Deadlines

• Spring: March 15 (Closed)

• Fall: October 8 (Closed)