Student Development Research Awards (SDRA)

• Undergraduate students working in the laboratories of tenured or tenure-track faculty at Kentucky colleges and universities engaged in research potentially fundable by the National Institutes Health.

• Faculty from the University of Louisville and University of Kentucky are not eligible.

• Preference will be given to faculty without KY INBRE or NIH funding.

• While multiple students may be funded on a single award, faculty mentors may only receive one SDRA award per year.

• The faculty-investigator/mentor must identify undergraduate student(s) to serve as research associates. 

• The students must be involved in all aspects of the proposed research (experimental design, execution, analysis, dissemination of results) of the submitted proposal.

• Both faculty and students must be registered in eRA (NIH) Commons. Student eRA Commons ID MUST be submitted at the time of application. Students must complete and update their Commons Personal Profile. 

• Applications for faculty and students must include NIH Biosketches.

• Applicants planning to use human or animal subjects in their research must submit an official institutional IRB or IACUC protocol approval along with their research proposal.

• The faculty mentor/PI must provide student tracking information to the KY INBRE office for a period of five years after the project period ends.

• Students must agree to complete an annual survey in Piestar about their educational and career plans. 

• Faculty and student awardees are expected to publish the research results in a peer-reviewed PubMed journal and faculty are encouraged to submit an NIH R15 or R16 SURE-First proposal to support continuation of their research.

• All publications and presentations must acknowledge support from NIGMS grant #P20GM103436.

• Awardees must submit an annual progress report to the KY INBRE office. 

• A letter of intent to apply with the anticipated proposal title should be submitted by the annually announced due date.

• Students are expected to present their research progress at the KY INBRE Annual Research Conference. Expenses to attend this conference will be covered.

• Awards will be limited to a maximum of $10,000 in direct costs for one-year. 

• At least 70% of the award amount ($7,000) should be used for student salaries (summer and/or academic year).

• Additional allowable expenses include supplies, equipment, and use of core facilities. Travel expenses are not allowable. 

• Awards begin on May 1 and end on April 30.

• Facilities and administrative (F&A) costs are allowable in addition to direct costs.

Assemble your application in the order listed below using the NIH PHS 398 forms available here. NIH “Instructions for Grant Applications using PHS 398” should be followed unless other specific instructions are given below. Incomplete proposals will be returned without review.

Required components:

1. • Form page 1 – Face Page: signed by authorized institutional official

   • Form page 2 – Summary: relevance, project/performance sites, senior personnel, etc

   • Biographical Sketch for each candidate. The personal statement section should include a description of the candidate’s academic major/minor, GPA and credit hours to date, scientific interests, specific research objectives, and career goals. If the candidate has no previous research experience, the “Contributions to Science” section may be omitted. State if the candidate has received any current or previous grant support; if the candidate has, include the grant title or number and inclusive dates of support.

   • Biographical Sketch for each faculty investigator who will contribute to the research mentoring. The personal statement section should include a description of the investigator’s experience and track record as a mentor. If the investigator lacks experience, it may be appropriate to include an experienced co-mentor.

   • Facilities and other Resources. Identify the facilities to be used (laboratory, clinical, animal, computer, office, other). If appropriate, indicate their capacities, pertinent capabilities, relative proximity and extent of availability to the project. Describe only those resources that are directly applicable to the proposed work.

   • Form Page 4: Detailed budget and justification

   • Budget Justification

   • Specific Aims (1 page maximum)

   • Research Strategy (not to exceed 6 pages)

The research strategy should include the following 3 components:

1. • • Description of the Research to be conducted (not to exceed 3 pages). This should include rationale and hypotheses, experimental approaches, and expected/alternative outcomes of the proposed studies. Preliminary data are not required.

     • Research Training Activities for the Candidate(s) (not to exceed 2 pages). Describe how the student(s) will be involved and supervised in conducting hands-on, rigorous research, including their participation in the execution, analysis, and reporting of the research. Describe how the mentored research will enhance and foster the research capabilities of the candidate(s). The plan should take into account any barriers and impediments encountered by the trainee(s) to ensure a successful entry and progression into the biomedical workforce. Include an integrated timeline detailing the proposed research activities and anticipated outcomes/milestones.

     • Career Development Plan for the Candidate(s) (not to exceed 1 page). Describe how the mentor will assist the candidate(s) in achieving the objectives and goals described in their Biographical Sketch and facilitate transition to the next stage of their research career. Provide details of the interactions between the candidate and mentor(s), research team and professional colleagues relevant to the overall research experience. The career development plan should be structured, specific and stage-appropriate for the candidate and include parameters such as the frequency of meetings, topics to be discussed, and how progress will be monitored. The timeline should include anticipated outcomes such submission of publications and/or conference presentations.

   • References Cited

   • Support letters:

     • Letter from Departmental Chair or Dean indicating support for the project and that mentor participation is approved.

     • Human subjects (if applicable). IRB approval, human subjects protection section, Human Subjects Education Certification (CITI), and Targeted/Planned Enrollment Table.

     • Vertebrate animals (if applicable). IACUC approval

• A letter of intent to apply with the anticipated title should be sent by the annually announced due date.

• All proposal components should be saved as a single, flattened PDF and submitted via email by the posted due date.

Letters of intent and completed proposals should be sent via email to the KY INBRE Program Coordinator, Dr. Bruce Mattingly, email, and KY INBRE Project Director Dr. Whitney Rogers, email.

If any additional clarification is needed, please contact 

• • Your institutional lead faculty (if applicable)

  • the KY INBRE Program Coordinator Dr. Bruce Mattingly, email 

  • the KY INBRE Principal Investigator Dr. Martha Bickford, email

  • or Project Director Dr. Whitney Rogers, email.

KY INBRE Program staff will review requests for Student Development Research Awards to determine their overall merit. The administrative review criteria described below will be considered in the review process:

• • The qualifications of the student candidate(s) including career goals, research potential, and any relevant experience. 

  • The qualifications of the mentor including research and evidence of adequate mentoring experience and success. 

  • The plan and timeline for the proposed research and career development experiences.

  • Relevance of the research to the NIH mission.

  • Evidence that the proposed experience will expand and foster the research capabilities, knowledge, and/or skills of the candidate(s). 

  • Evidence that the activities of the candidate(s) will be an integral part of the project, including their participation in the execution, analysis, and reporting of the research.

  • Evidence that the candidate(s) will receive research career mentoring. 

  • If the mentor has received previous KY INBRE funding, evidence of research progress will be evaluated (e.g., publications, student accomplishments, or external grant proposal submissions).