Vanderbilt Kennedy Center Travel Awards
Eligibility and Application Process
VKC Travel Awards supplement other funding sources. Applications (letter of request) will be considered for travel to present at upcoming scientific conferences or meetings (i.e., Travel Award will not be approved for a conference that has already occurred). Travel Awards are available on a first-come, first-served basis until funds set aside for this purpose are fully committed.
Eligibility
Vanderbilt undergraduates, graduate students, VU/VUMC postdoctoral fellows, and research staff members employed by a VKC Member or Investigator:
- Who are engaged in research with a VKC Investigator or Member
- Who are a VKC Affiliate, i.e., a first author on a poster presented at the most recent Science Day and who presented the poster. Only the first author is eligible for later consideration for a VKC Travel Award.
- Who will use the funds to put toward registration fees and/or travel to/from a research conference (virtual or in-person) during which the Affiliate is making a presentation
Process
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The VKC Affiliate submits a letter of request, co-signed by the VKC Investigator or Member with whom the trainee is conducting research. The letter should describe the person requesting the travel award (name, grad student or post-doc, name of Science Day presentation), how the travel award would be used (conference title, location, dates, presentation title), and how the trainee’s research interests and research training would be served.
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Letter of request should be submitted to Elizabeth Turner, VKC Associate Director of Communications, for review and decision: elizabeth.turner@vumc.org; 615-322-8238.
- NOTE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the effect it has had on research conferences, the VKC extended the window during which 2021 Virtual VKC Science Day presenters can request travel award funding, until all travel funding has been committed. Contact Elizabeth Turner for more information/
- VKC Communications will notify Affiliate of decision. If a Travel Award is made, instructions for payment will be included in award letter.