Overview:

In honor of a remarkable young woman whose family has been integral in research fundraising, these $7500 awards are offered each year to advance vision research in McPherson ERI member labs, to augment trainee’s professional development and to provide trainees with grant writing experience. Typically, four to five awards are given each fall. Winners can expect to receive their award in January of the following calendar year, and must use their award within 12 months of receipt. Award funds cannot be used for tuition remission or for meeting/conference attendance.

This award is only open to Trainee members whose direct principal investigator mentors are MERI members at UW (see eligibility criteria). If you are not already a trainee member, please submit a trainee membership application along with your award application.

Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible to receive a Kenzi Valentyn Vision Research Grant, you must…

• …be a graduate student, postdoctoral researcher, medical or veterinary student who has status as a McPherson ERI trainee member (if you are not already a trainee member, please submit a trainee membership application along with your award application. Further information about MERI membership is available here.)

• …be currently working in a McPherson ERI member’s lab/mentored by a McPherson ERI member at UW.

• …be seeking funding for a vision research project

• …plan to use the award within one year of the month that you received it. Carryover of an unused award is not permitted. (If for any reason a recipient is unable to use their award within the allotted time, that recipient must notify McPherson ERI administration so that the award can be extended to another qualified applicant.)

• …not have already won a Kenzi Valentyn Award while in your current training period (e.g., graduate school training, postdoctoral fellowship, etc.). However, you are allowed to re-apply for this award if you won it while in a previous training period (e.g., you won as a graduate student, but you are now a postdoc).

• …agree to present your award-supported project 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.

Submission Guidelines:

To apply for a Kenzi Valentyn Vision Research Award you will need to submit as a combined, single PDF:

1. Your CV or biosketch (two-page maximum)

2. A research proposal in language that a person outside your field could understand, including text and figures. Your research proposal must not exceed two pages [single-spaced text, Arial font no smaller than 11 point, page margins of 0.5 inches] and should include the following sections:

• Background/Rationale

• Specific Aims

• Methods

• Anticipated Results

• Significance/Innovation

• Budget Statement (see directly below)

Budget statement: In a few sentences, and included within the two-page proposal limit, represent the best use of funds—up to $7500—over a one-year award period. Use can include salary, but not tuition remission. Other possible allocations include equipment, reagents, laboratory animal costs (including RARC fees), or human subjects/Institutional Review Board fees. Travel can only be included if critical to conduct research. Do not include travel to attend meetings/conferences.

3. A list of references on a separate page following the two-page research proposal

4. Completed application and compliance forms, which will require the following:

(a) a statement by, and signature of, your McPherson ERI mentor/advisor

(c) a brief abstract of your project (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

Finally, if you are not already a McPherson ERI Trainee Member you must also submit a McPherson ERI Trainee Membership application. Please send your membership application as a separate document and do not combine it with the other required documents above.

NOTE: In your abstract and your research proposal, whenever possible use 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: KV Award Application: [your last name], [your first name]