Overview:

These $1500 awards provide support for MERI trainees to present at and attend conferences in their field. Four awards are given annually; two each Fall, and two each Spring. The application period for the Fall awards begins in early August, with a submission deadline in the latter half of September. The application period for the Spring awards begins in late December, with a submission deadline in early February. Awards must be used for a meeting that occurs within one year of the month after the award application is due.

Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible to receive a Walsh Travel Award, you must…

• …be a McPherson ERI trainee member (if you are not already a trainee member, please submit a trainee membership application along with your travel award application. Further information about MERI membership is available here.)

• …be a graduate student or postdoctoral researcher currently working in a McPherson ERI member’s lab/mentored by a McPherson ERI member; OR, be a Trainee Member of the Institute.

• …be the primary presenter on a poster or paper being presented at the meeting to be attended

• …be presenting a poster or paper on vision-related research

• …be either (i) a graduate student who has not won this award twice, nor won the award in the last two years OR (ii) a postdoctoral researcher who has not yet won this award (postdocs may only win the award once during their postdoctoral training period)

• …have submitted your abstract to the conference/meeting by this semester’s Walsh Travel Award application deadline

• …use the award for a meeting that occurs within one year of the month after the application is due. In other words, 2023 Fall travel awards (due in September 2023) can be used for conferences/professional meetings that occur between October 2023 and October 2024, while 2024 Spring travel awards (due in February 2024) can be used for conferences/professional meetings between March 2024 and March 2025. Carryover of an unused award is not permitted. (If a recipient is unable to attend the meeting for which a Walsh Research Travel Award has been awarded, that recipient must notify McPherson ERI administration so that the award can be extended to another qualified applicant.)

• …agree to also present your work at a McPherson ERI-sponsored event (e.g., our monthly seminar series or our Fall poster session) within 1–2 years of receiving your award.

NOTE: Graduate students are eligible to receive a Walsh Travel Award twice during their years of training, with an interval of at least two academic years between awards. Postdoctoral researchers are only eligible to receive a single award.

Submission Guidelines:

To apply for a Walsh travel Award you will need to submit:

1. A McPherson ERI Trainee Membership application (if you are not already a McPherson ERI Trainee Member)
2. A completed application form, which will require the following:

(a) the signature of your McPherson ERI mentor/advisor

(b) the title of your poster/paper

(c) a presentation abstract (up to 250 words) written in LAY LANGUAGE. Please remember that Research Committee members reviewing these applications come from varied areas of expertise. Your application will be judged in large part by your lay description and its overall understandability

(d) two paragraphs (up to 500 words total for both paragraphs combined) that describe both (i) the significance of this work for vision-related research and (ii) the potential for broader impacts and interdisciplinarity of this work

NOTE: Write these two paragraphs using LAY LANGUAGE. Avoid using jargon, acronyms, and technical terms that assume common expertise. The review panel is comprised of researchers from several different scientific fields, including psychology, biology, pathology, veterinary medicine, computer science, biostatistics and medical informatics, engineering, ophthalmology and visual sciences, and many others. Referencing the research work you describe in your abstract, make it clear and understandable for readers who are not experts in your area, explaining how/why the work is important in a vision-related context. Your ability to make your work accessible and understandable by a general audience is a key factor in the judging process.

All materials should be submitted to Wren Daniel (acdaniel@wisc.edu). When submitting, format your email subject line as follows: Walsh Travel Award Application: [your last name], [your first name]