Welcome to the first newsletter from the Sigma Xi Grants-in-Aid of Research Program. Our hope is to share information with potential applicants, mentors, grant recipients and supporters of the program. Future newsletters will include program information, application announcements, tips for preparing a successful application and spotlights on past GIAR recipients.
Emma S. Creaser
Chair, Grants-in-Aid of Research Committee
Importance of the Individual Researcher
The individual researcher is the very heart and soul of American science. It's the very means of success. The notion that big teams of researchers are the only way that modern science can be conducted, I believe, is fallacious.
Dr. Rita Colwell – Former Director of the National Science Foundation (1998-2004). Sigma Xi President (1991-1992).
Listen to Dr. Colwell and others speak on the importance of the individual researcher: Supporting Young Scientists
Application Tip: Making your case in the budget section
A little preliminary research can go a long way toward creating a successful grant application. Funding agencies typically have very specific funding restrictions and many otherwise meritorious proposals are left unfunded because the applicant's budget didn't fit within the scope of the program.
Read the fine print that describes the types of expenses funded. GIAR, for example, does not fund travel to research conferences, but still receives several grant requests each cycle for that type of expense.
Adjust your budget to request items that do fit the program's scope or consider applying to another organization.
In addition, if the granting agency has a preferred format for budget submissions, make certain to present your budget accordingly. Some organizations prefer to have a full project budget while others just want to know the expenses the applicant wishes them to fund.
Finally, when in doubt, contact the grant program coordinator. Often email is better so you can explain your situation and the coordinator has time to research the answer. In the end, you want your application to be evaluated on the merits and not dismissed on a technicality.
For more information on GIAR, visit Application Guidelines or Preparing a Successful Application.
GIAR Spotlight
My Sigma Xi Grant-in-Aid of Research allowed me to spend summer 2008 researching Plasmodium knowlesi malaria in Indonesian Borneo for a dissertation pilot project.
Over the summer, I took finger stick blood samples from residents around Gunung Palung National Park to test for infection with P. knowlesi, a potentially fatal kind of malaria previously found in Malaysian Borneo but never found before in Indonesia. This form of malaria has long been known to infect certain non-human primates, but only recently has been discovered to infect humans as well.
After establishing the prevalence of this form of malaria in the area, I intend to study the transmission cycles of the parasite between the people living at the forest's edge and the primates living in the forest. I also will study the effect of the increasing palm oil plantations at the forest's edge which may form good breeding sites for the mosquitoes primarily responsible for human infection with P. knowlesi. These studies may ultimately help identify relatively cheap, low-tech ways to reduce the prevalence of P. knowlesi in the people of the area.
– Ryan Boyko, University of California-Davis
Have a story to share? Email giar@sigmaxi.org
Supporting Grants-in-Aid of Research
Since 1922, GIAR has helped launch the careers of more than 30,000 young researchers like Ryan Boyko. Support from GIAR comes from support by Sigma Xi members, endowed funds from the National Academy of Sciences and donations to the GIAR Program.
This past year, three donors helped create named funds within the GIAR Program. A gift from Edith Niemark will help sponsor grants in the social sciences. Mimi Goldschmidt created a named fund in support of women scientists in the field of microbiology. An estate gift from Jon Gosser will be used to support research in all fields of science.
If you want to find out how you can create a special Named Fund or join the thousands of other donors who support GIAR, please visit our website at Support GIAR.
Meet the Grant Reviewers
Grants-in-Aid of Research Applications are reviewed by Sigma Xi members who are career researchers in academia, government and private labs. These researchers are matched with grant proposals by general field of expertise and typically review more than 1,000 applications twice a year.
The Society is grateful for the efforts of these volunteers who make the GIAR program possible.
If you are interested in volunteering as a grant reviewer, please email giar@sigmaxi.org
