This resource guide lists a selection of scholarships, grants, organizations, and other support targeted to underrepresented groups, including individuals with disabilities. Many government agencies, companies, and private funders also offer opportunities for which underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply.
UNDERGRADUATES
American Academy for the Advancement of Science's Entry Point! Program
Offers internship opportunities in government and industry for gifted undergraduate and graduate students with disabilities. Students must have a B average or above. Applications are accepted in the fall for internships the following summer.
The National Institutes of Health Undergraduate Scholarship Program for Individuals from Disadvantaged Backgrounds
Fifteen one-year scholarships of $20,000 each, awarded annually. Awardees can renew the scholarship for up to four years. Students must come from a disadvantaged background, meaning their school's financial aid office has identified them as having "exceptional financial need." They must have at least a 3.5 GPA or be...
PRE- AND POSTDOC
National Institutes of Health Fellowship Awards for Minority Students Fellowship Awards for Students with Disabilities
Email:
Predoctoral awards providing up to five years of support for research training leading to a PhD or MD-PhD. Open to highly qualified students belonging to ethnic groups underrepresented in the biological or behavioral sciences or highly qualified students with disabilities. Provides annual stipend of $20,772 plus an allowance of $2,750 each year that can be used for travel to scientific meetings, laboratory supplies, and other training expenses.
For minority awards: 301-594-3900
For students with disabilities: contact Anthony A. René at 301-594-3833
UNCF • Merck Postdoctoral Science Research Fellowships
Ten awards of up to $70,000, including a stipend of up to $55,000 and a department grant of up to $15,000, are given out each year to new or continuing postdoctoral fellows at academic or nonacademic research institutions, excluding private research labs.
American Psychological Association Minority Fellowship Program: Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Fellowship (MHSASF) Mental Health Research Fellowships(MHRF)
The MHSASF supports doctoral training in mental-health and substance abuse services and is funded by a grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The MHRF are funded through the National Institute of Mental Health and are offered in two subspecialties: HIV/AIDS and substance abuse.
Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to ethnic minority mental health, and individuals belonging to ethnic minorities themselves are especially encouraged to apply for the program. Fellowship awards vary, and may be extended for up to three years.
Applications are accepted September 1 through January 15 of the year for which support is sought. To request an application, E-mail mfp@apa. org, call 202-336-6127, or download an application
Society for Neuroscience(SFN)
Minority Neuroscience Fellowship Program
Stipends offered for up to three years of predoctoral study or two years of postdoctoral support to individuals belonging to racial or ethnic minorities who are engaged in neuroscience research.
SFN Neuroscience Scholars Program
Offers travel support to the SFN annual meeting, funds for other enrichment activities, and guidance through individual mentors.
GRADUATE STUDY
American Association of University Women Selected Professions Fellowships
Provides support to women of color pursing MD or DO degrees. Stipends range from $5,000 to $12,000. Application deadline is Jan. 10, 2006.
National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science
Offers PhD science fellowships to historically underrepresented minority groups, as well as work opportunities. Deadline for applications is early November for support the following year.
UNCF•Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowships
Twelve awards are given each year to African American men and women studying for a PhD or equivalent doctoral program in the life or physical sciences. Students must be engaged in dissertation research and expect to complete it in one to three years.
Awards include up to $30,000 as a fellowship stipend and a $10,000 department grant. Application deadline is in mid-December.
GENERAL
National Institute of General Medical Sciences' Division of Minority Opportunities in Research (MORE)
Site provides easy-to-navigate table listing all of MORE's research and research training programs, from undergraduate support to fellowships for senior faculty, including Minority Access to Research Careers awards.
NIH Initiatives for Underrepresented Minority Investigators
Programs provide support through research grants for individuals from minority groups including undergraduates to the senior-faculty level.
Biotechnology Industry Organization's Minority and Indigenous Fellows Program
Yearlong program links industry mentors with undergraduate, graduate, and postdoc students and faculty from ethnic minorities.
FACULTY
The Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program
Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the program is intended to increase representation in academic medicine of historically disadvantaged groups who have faced challenges based on race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status.
Up to 12 Amos Scholars are selected each year for the four-year postdoctoral research awards. Each scholar receives an annual stipend of up to $65,000, and $26,350 each year for research support. Scholars must be MDs, and are expected to spend at least 70% of their time in research activities.
For information call 301-565-4080, E-mail
ORGANIZATIONS
AAAS Minority Scientists Network
American Association of University Women
American Indian Science and Engineering Society
Association for Women in Science
Brothers Building Diversity in the Sciences
International Network of Women Engineers and Scientists
JustGarciaHill
National Association for Blacks in BIO
Contact Chad Womack, 703-599-5944, or E-mail
Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science
Exceptional Research Opportunities Program (EXROP)
For the past three summers, this Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)-sponsored program has provided research opportunities for minority and underprivileged students with top-level lab investigators across the country. Students are selected by HHMI professors and directors of HHMI-funded undergraduate programs. EXROP provides a $3,500 stipend as well as housing and transportation costs.
As many as 60 students participate each year, with projects on topics ranging from the role of DNA repair genes in immune memory to the formation of lung tumors. The students contribute to a poster session at HHMI headquarters and gain networking opportunities and career advice from HHMI scientists.
Earlier this year, the Institute launched a follow-up for EXROP participants: the Gilliam Fellowships for Advanced Study. The grants allow five outstanding former EXROP students annually to obtain PhDs in the biological sciences by providing up to five years of funding. This year's fellows were selected from the 84 EXROP students eligible to apply.
The Gilliam program also connects fellows with current EXROP participants as well as HHMI investigators. "One of the things we really try hard to do here is create networks of people. It's not just our money, it's our people," explains Peter Bruns, HHMI vice president for grants and special programs.
The Fellowships' namesake, James H. Gilliam Jr., was an HHMI trustee dedicated to promoting diversity in the science community.
Mentored Patient-Oriented Research for Underrepresented Minorities
The goal of this annual National Cancer Institute (NCI)-funded award is to give promising minority clinicians a chance to develop valuable skills in clinical cancer research within a mentored environment.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the nation's history of cancer incidence demonstrates that minority populations are and will continue to be disproportionately affected by the disease. This program, launched in 2002, seeks to encourage clinical researchers with appropriate cultural sensitivities.
During up to five consecutive 12-month appointments, the award doles out a yearly salary of up to $75,000 plus fringe benefits, up to $30,000 annually for research and travel expenses, and tuition.
The fellowship is open to US citizens with a health-profession doctoral degree, and it stipulates that awardees spend at least 75% of their time on their "proposed basic, clinical, or population science research program." Applicants must nominate at least two mentors in clinical oncology. Application deadlines are February 1, June 1, and October 1.
For more information, go to
To apply, go to
Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students
This conference, founded by the National Institutes of Health 15 years ago as the MARC/MBRS Symposium, has grown dramatically in recent years. In 2001, 700 people attended; 2,600 are expected this year.
The meeting is open to everyone but focuses on minority students. It was started, says organizer Irene V. Hulede, manager of student programs in the American Society of Microbiology's (ASM) Education Department, "to get more undergraduates to pursue an advanced degree, PhD rather than MD."
ASM won a grant to run the conference in 2001 and renamed it the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS). Over four days, students and faculty mentors participate in scientific discussions, poster sessions, and exhibits, and learn about new research, professional development, graduate programs, and research fellowships. Every year, about 1,000 abstracts are presented. Awards are given out for the best undergraduate presentations.
The National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the Division of Minority Opportunities in Research Program sponsor the meeting.
ABRCMS 2005 takes place Nov. 2-5 in Atlanta, Ga. The 2006 conference will be held Nov. 8-11 in Anaheim, Calif. Travel awards are granted on a first-come, first-served basis.
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