Grant Travel Awards

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The Cynthia Grant Travel Award honors the memory of Cynthia Grant, Ph.D, who taught in the biology department from 1972 until her untimely death in 1984.  An immunologist by training, Dr Grant taught a variety of lab courses and was invested in student research.  

The Cynthia Grant Travel Award provides Biology majors up to $1,000 of supplementary funding to travel to scientific conferences as part of their scientific development to encourage networking and engagement with other scientists in the field.  Priority is reserved for students who are first authors on a presentation or poster and are able to attend as much of the conference as possible and who have never attended a conference before. 

The selection committee expects all applicants to work with their research mentor to seek initial travel funding from external grants the mentor may have and from the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. (Please contact Meg Sawicki to apply for the latter before you apply for the Cynthia Grant Travel award mesawicki@davidson.edu.)

Questions about the Cynthia Grant Travel award application process are welcome until three weeks before departure for a conference.  Submit applications by email to Prof. Rachid El Bejjani raelbejjani@davidson.edu.

Deadlines for applications are November 1 and March 1, exceptions will be considered if funding remains available past the deadlines stated above.

Applications for the Cynthia Grant Travel award must include the following components:

  • Cover letter stating the title of the research, the conference details (dates, place, and name of conference), a short paragraph that outlines the main results and significance of the research, and an explanation of other funding source(s) that will be used and/or have been explored (VPAA, faculty research grants, etc.) 
  • The submitted conference abstract (up to one page) that includes all authors and describes the research methods, results, and an explanation of their significance.
  • Detailed budget for the cost of travel, lodging, meals, registration, and other conference costs.

Please note that if students cannot secure enough funds through the above sources, including the Cynthia Grant award, they may apply for additional funds to fill the gap from the