THE DEE SAUNDERS DUNDEE MEMORIAL RESEARCH GRANT – UNDERGRADUATE SUMMER RESEARCH OPPORTUNITY


This award is named for Dolores “Dee” Saunders Dundee, a former AMS President whose research largely focused on introduced land snails. This award is intended to provide summer research opportunities to undergraduate students from groups that are subject to historical discrimination and underrepresented in the field. We especially encourage students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or other People of Color to apply for this award.

OVERVIEW

The award will support an eight-week summer stipend (i.e., $4,000), research expenses (i.e., approximately $750 for lab and/or research travel costs), and attendance at an annual AMS meeting to present their research (i.e., approximately $750). Additional funds too may be available for expenses associated with publication of results in the American Malacological Bulletin. Funds should be used within two years of the award date (i.e., summer research during year one and attendance at meeting in year two). Awardees will also be granted a two-year membership in AMS. Funds are currently available to support one award each year.

Undergraduate students who are interested in applying for this award should discuss the possibility of performing research over an eight-week period during the upcoming summer with potential mentors at their home institution or nearby institutes. Alternatively, potential mentors may recruit eligible students to develop and pursue summer research projects and apply for this award. The student and mentor will develop a plan for the research experience that will culminate in a short written summary of the research and research budget. To apply for the award, the student will submit a short cover letter and description of the planned research and the mentor will provide a letter of support (as described below).

CONDITIONS OF AWARD

  • Applicants must be enrolled at an accredited undergraduate institution in the US and not planning to graduate during the year that they apply for the award (i.e., before they complete the research)
  • Applicants must be a US citizen, permanent resident, or DACA recipient who self-identifies as a member of a group that is subject to historical discrimination and underrepresented in malacology
  • Applicants must have developed a research project and budget for the research with a potential mentor who will provide a letter of support indicating plans for mentorship and support
  • The research must focus on a topic in malacology (e.g., parasite studies should focus on the molluscan side of the interaction).
  • Awardees are expected to present the results of their research at an annual meeting of the American Malacology Society (support for participation will be included with the award)
  • Institutional overhead costs are not to be paid by the award

Recipients of awards are expected to submit the following to the AMS Student Awards and Education Committee within one year of the award date: (i) a report that describes how funds were used and (ii) a brief summary of the research and results to be published in the AMS Newsletter. Awardees may apply for additional AMS awards only after these written reports have been received.

MENTORS

Mentors should be faculty from the applicant’s home institution, but if an appropriate mentor is not available, personnel from other nearby institutes may also serve as mentors. Applicants who are not easily identifying local potential mentors are encouraged to contact the chair of the Student Awards and Education Committee, Tom Duda, or members of the AMS Council who can help in identifying mentors. Mentors are also encouraged to directly recruit eligible students who may then apply for this award.

While the mentor is expected to assist in development of the project and advise and guide the student in their research, the work itself must be an independent research project of the student. As such, the student must be the first author on any presentation(s) and/or publication(s) that result from the work. In addition, the award will be given directly to the student and not the mentor. 

 HOW TO APPLY

The complete application must be received by the AMS Student Awards and Education Committee by March 1st and include the following components [Please note that the deadline is being extended until March 31st for 2024]: 

  1.  One to two-page cover letter from the student that provides the following items:
a.  Brief description of why they are interested in performing research in malacology and what they hope to achieve through the experience
b.  Summary of their education background (e.g., declared major, list of relevant courses that are completed or in progress)  

  2.  Two-page description of the proposed research that addresses the following points: 
a.  Question(s) to be addressed
 b.  Planned methodologies
 c.  Anticipated timeline for the research
 d.  Literature cited (this section may occupy a third page if needed)
 e.  Research budget (~$750) and justification of planned expenses

3.     Letter of support from the mentor that includes the following items:
a.  Plans for mentorship and support
 b.  Confirmation that the student is enrolled at an accredited undergraduate institution and not planning to graduate during the year that they apply for the award

The cover letter and summary of the research must be submitted by the student. The letter of support must be received directly from the advisor. These materials are to be submitted via email to the chair of the Student Awards and Education Committee, Tom Duda (tfduda@umich.edu). Applicants are requested to send a single PDF file containing the first two parts of the proposal. Please title the file with the applicant’s last name underscore “Dundee_Summer” (e.g., “Jones_Dundee_Summer.pdf”). Decisions on awards will be made promptly (by mid-March).

Proposals will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

  • Novelty/importance of questions/hypotheses
  • Appropriateness and feasibility of research activities to address questions/hypotheses
  • Clarity of writing and completeness of proposal in terms of background materials/context, methods for collecting and analyzing data, and interpretation and implications of potential results
  • Proposed use of requested funds
  • Contribution to applicant's development as a malacologist
  • Plans for mentoring and support
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