Student & Postdoc

Student/Postdoctoral Travel Awards

Each year the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention awards funding to students and postdoctoral fellows to assist them with their travel expenses. Students/postdoctoral fellows whose abstracts are accepted for platform or poster presentation are for a Travel Award of $500 USD. Local students and postdoctoral fellows, those living within a 50-mile radius of the meeting location, are eligible for a Travel Award of $250 USD. Applicants should be enrolled in a program leading to a graduate degree in a field of study related to birth defects research, or should be postdoctoral fellows in such a field, and must attend the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention Annual Meeting. Students/postdoctoral fellows who apply for a Travel Award must be members of the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention at the time of the Annual Meeting. The applicants will be instructed to have their mentor submit a letter of recommendation; without which they are ineligible for a Travel Award.

Travel Award Application Information

Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention Trainee Membership

Requirements for Trainee membership consist of sponsorship by a member of the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention and verification from the applicant’s Major Professor that the applicant is a student or postdoctoral fellow in good standing and is working in the field of teratology. The Major Professor also will provide the expected date of graduation or fulfillment of fellowship. Trainee members are requested to apply for Regular or Associate membership status at the first Annual Meeting of the Society after they graduate or after fulfillment of their postdoctoral fellowship. Those trainees who choose not to apply for Regular or Associate membership status by the time of the succeeding Annual Meeting will have their membership inactivated.

Mentor Letter

A letter from your Mentor is required for all Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Travel Awards and should be sent to Society Headquarters. The letter should include the following information:

• a specific statement to confirm you are currently enrolled at the sponsoring institution or still in the formal training phase of your education
• a brief description of the curriculum of study and/or your research program
• an assessment of the qualities that would single you out for recognition by the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention
• optionally, additional introduction, methods, results, discussion, and/or two pages of illustrative materials

More Award Opportunities

Additional Student and Postdoctoral Award Opportunities

 Edward W. Carney Trainee Award supports graduate student or postdoctoral scholar travel to meetings that offer significant educational opportunities in the field of reproductive and developmental toxicology, such as the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention. Applications are due February 15. For information about eligibility and application requirements please visit the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention website. Application for the Edward W. Carney Trainee Award may be done at the same time as applying for a BDRP Travel Award.

 The Marie W. Taubeneck Award recognizes a student or young investigator for scholarship in the field and service to the Society. For information about eligibility and application requirements please visit the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention website.

 The Wilson Presentation Awards are selected for the two best presentations in the Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Platform. For more information about this award please visit the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention website.

 The James C. Bradford Memorial Award is presented by the Middle Atlantic Reproduction and Teratology Association (MARTA) to the student or postdoctoral fellow selected as best in the poster competition. For more information about this award please visit the Society for Birth Defects Research and Prevention website.

 

Award Notes

Select “platform or poster” in order to be considered for the Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Platform (from which the Wilson Presentation Award is selected) or the James C. Bradford Memorial Award (if you are selected to present a poster). There is a possibility that your abstract will be selected for a platform session other than the Graduate Student and Postdoctoral Fellow Platform, taking you out of the Bradford Award competition. In these instances, the submitting author will be contacted to verify their presentation preference.