Honors College INBRE Fellowship Awards in Comparative Functional Genomics

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Honors Thesis Fellowships in Comparative Functional Genomics (INBRE/Honors)

Five thesis fellowships of $2600 are available to Honors College students who are working on their Honors thesis in biomedical research in comparative functional genomics with INBRE research scientists at the University of Maine. Fellowship recipients will also receive $1000 for materials and supplies needed to complete their research project. Fellowship applications will be judged by a committee composed of INBRE faculty.

Deadline: October 16th

Eligible applicants must:

  • be enrolled in Honors 498 and Honors 499 during the year of the fellowship,
  • have completed all prior Honors curriculum requirements by the year of the fellowship,
  • and be in good standing in the Honors College (GPA greater than or equal to 3.30).

Recipients of Fellowships are expected to:

  • Present a poster or oral presentation of their research findings at the annual Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium or other regional, national or international meeting.
  • To complete training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) within the past three years.
  • Report any presentations, abstracts, and publications that result from the fellowship research to Dr. Sally Molloy (sally.dixon@maine.edu).
  • Activate an assigned eRA Commons ID required for all students participating in INBRE-funded research.

Application components Include:

  • Cover page with the name and contact information of the student, the advisor/mentor, and a working title of the project;
  • Résumé
  • Letter of support from the advisor/mentor emailed to honors@maine.edu please have the subject heading be Student Last Name_INBRE_Recommendation
  • Description of the work to be done on the project during the year, to be written by the student after discussion and feedback from the advisor/ mentor (no more than 3 pages).
  • Budget (attached to the description of work as a fourth page)

Detailed Guidelines for the Resume:

The RESUME should succinctly (1-2 pages) summarize your education, work experience, classroom and laboratory experience, extracurricular activities, honors, publications and oral and poster presentations.

Detailed Guidelines for the Description of Work/ Budget:

  1. SPECIFIC AIMS & HYPOTHESIS. This section should address the long-term goals of the project, why your research project is important, what problem/gap in knowledge your research addresses, and what the working model is for how you think things work (hypothesis). The Specific Aims (typically 2 – 3) are the experiments you will carry out to test your hypothesis.
  2. BACKGROUND.This section should include relevant information from the literature (cited) and any preliminary data that will help the reader understand the significance and approach of your project.
  3. EXPERIMENTAL PLAN (Methods and Expected Outcomes). This section may be organized by your Specific Aims. Briefly describe the methods you will use to carry out each Specific Aim. It is suggested that applications include a discussion of the hypothesis, experiments planned, outcomes expected, and potential pitfalls and alternatives, for each objective.
  4. BUDGET and BUDGET JUSTIFICATION (not included in 3-page limit). List each supply, its price and its supplier. Supplies generally refer to laboratory supplies but could include analytical software needed specifically for the project or CPU time on a server. It does not include the purchase of computers [desktop, laptop, tablets, etc.]) An award of $1000 is provided for supplies and materials.
  5. CITATIONS (not included in 3-page limit) in format of Cell Press, Nature Press or ASM Press.

Pre-Thesis Research Fellowships in Comparative Functional Genomics (INBRE/Honors)

Three research fellowships of $1200 are available to Honors College students who are working on a research project in biomedical research in comparative functional genomics with INBRE research scientists at the University of Maine. Fellowship recipients will also receive $400 for materials and supplies needed to complete their research project. Fellowship applications will be judged by a committee composed of INBRE faculty.

Deadline for the Pre-Thesis Research Fellowship application is October 16th
Letter of Support deadline is October 16th

Applicants must:

  • have completed all prior Honors curriculum requirements by the year of the fellowship,
  • be in good standing in the Honors College (GPA greater than or equal to 3.30).

Recipients of Fellowships are expected to:

  • Present a poster or oral presentation of their research findings at the annual Maine Biological and Medical Sciences Symposium or other regional, national or international meeting.
  • To complete training in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) within the past three years.
  • report any presentations, abstracts, and publications that result from the fellowship research to Dr. Sally Molloy (sally.dixon@maine.edu).
  • Activate an assigned eRA Commons ID required for all students participating in INBRE-funded research.

Application components Include:

  • Cover page with the name and contact information of the student, the advisor/mentor, and a working title of the project;
  • Résumé
  • Letter of support from the advisor/mentor emailed to honors@maine.edu please have the subject heading be StudentLast Name_INBRE_Recommendation
  • Junior fellowship proposals should encompass an important but feasible project and should express a long-range vision that will lead to a potential thesis project (no more than 3 pages).

Detailed Guidelines for the Resume:

The RESUME should succinctly (1-2 pages) summarize your education, work experience, classroom and laboratory experience, extracurricular activities, honors, publications and oral and poster presentations.

Detailed Guidelines for the Description of Work:

  1. SPECIFIC AIMS & HYPOTHESIS. This section should address the long-term goals of the project, why your research project is important, what problem/gap in knowledge your research addresses, and what the working model is for how you think things work (hypothesis). The Specific Aims (typically 2 – 3) are the experiments you will carry out to test your hypothesis.
  2. BACKGROUND.This section should include relevant information from the literature (cited) and any preliminary data that will help the reader understand the significance and approach of your project.
  3. EXPERIMENTAL PLAN (Methods and Expected Outcomes). This section may be organized by your Specific Aims. Briefly describe the methods you will use to carry out each Specific Aim. It is suggested that applications include a discussion of the hypothesis, experiments planned, outcomes expected, and potential pitfalls and alternatives, for each objective.
  4. BUDGET and BUDGET JUSTIFICATION (not included in 3-page limit). List each supply, its price and its supplier. Supplies generally refer to laboratory supplies but could include analytical software needed specifically for the project or CPU time on a server. It does not include the purchase of computers [desktop, laptop, tablets, etc.]) An award of $400 is provided for supplies and materials.
  5. CITATIONS (not included in 3-page limit) in format of Cell Press, Nature Press or ASM Press.

INBRE/Honors College Comparative Functional Genomics Summer Research Fellowships

“The Honors College INBRE fellowships, not only granted me funding to perform my research, but they also allowed me to develop scientific communication skills. I used these skills when applying to graduate programs, and will continue to use them when I apply to pre-doctoral fellowships in graduate school.”

Alan Baez ’20H, Summer Fellow 2018, Pre-Thesis Fellowship 2018/19, Thesis Fellowship 2019/20

The INBRE Summer Research Fellowships program pairs individual students from the Honors College with a federally-funded biomedical researcher of the students’ choice for a 10-week hands-on summer research experience.  Funding is provided for lodging, food, and supplies for students and faculty participating in INBRE activities.

The Honors College will award two Summer Research Fellowships annually through 2023-24.   Applications will be due in January for the following summer and must be accompanied by two letters of recommendation from faculty members.

More information and a link to the online application can be found here!

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