Travel Award Program

The Center for Drug Discovery (C2D) Trainee Travel Grant program provides funds to support the trainees in the center to present their research results at state and national research conferences and other scholarly meetings.

Through this program, the Center will provide up to $500 for eligible graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. The grant can be used to cover allowable travel expenses to attend a conference, including the registration fee, transportation, lodging, etc., that may be incurred for participation as a presenter.

Who is eligible?

All degree-seeking graduate students enrolled in master’s or doctoral programs at VCU and postdoctoral research fellows are eligible to apply for this opportunity. The trainee’s direct academic advisor must be a member of C2D. Trainees receiving funding from this program must be a presenter, either of a poster or give an oral presentation at the academic event they are attending. Please note that first-professional students (D.D.S., M.D. and Pharm.D.) are not eligible to apply.

What are the restrictions?

Awards are made without quotas or a required distribution among fields and departments. No trainee will be funded for more than one trip in an academic year. Priority will be given to first-time applicants. Funding is limited, so trainees applying to the program are not guaranteed with support.

When is the deadline?

The program is running on a rolling system. Students must turn in their application at least one month before their proposed travel dates. Complete applications are processed in the order in which they are received.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted to drugdiscovery@vcu.edu with all required materials as one PDF document as outlined below:

1. Application form
2. Presentation abstract (300 words or less)
3. Verification of the presentation (validity will be decided by the Center)
4. Budget
5. Letter of support from the mentor (verification of eligibility and complementary support)

If you have any questions, please contact drugdiscovery@vcu.edu.

Travel Fund Cycles

We accept applications on a rolling system until the funds run out for each budget year.

Acknowledgment Requirement

Grant recipients must acknowledge the support from C2D on their poster or their presentation slides. A copy of the presentation should be delivered to C2D upon reimbursement request.