Duke Lemur Center Director’s Fund
Intent of award: The DLC is committed to research! To help researchers utilize our living laboratory and thus expand the scope of our research program, we have revised our Director’s Fund award. Awards are intended to provide seed money for new protocols, although applications to fund project continuation will also be considered. The monies must be used for research conducted at the Duke Lemur Center, either with the living, fossil, or tissue-bank collections.
Allowable budget items include animal-use or other collection-related fees, supplies and equipment. Up to 10% of the award amount can be used externally for equipment, supplies, or services necessary to complete the research (e.g. DNA sequencing). These awards do not support previously incurred DLC Research Fees, tuition, travel, salary, or stipends. Any equipment purchased using this award becomes DLC property and must stay on-site upon completion of the project.
Awards of up to $10,000 are available for researchers of any level (e.g., graduate, postdoc, faculty) with the stipulation that the funds must be used within one year. Please only request the amount necessary. The DLC Director’s Fund Review Committee will award monies based upon the number and scope of selected projects.
Application deadlines: March 15 (award start date of April 1) and August 15 (award start date of September 1).
How to apply: Applications should be made directly to the DLC Director of Research, Dr. Erin Ehmke: erin.ehmke@duke.edu. Applications should consist of:
CV/resume: a maximum of one page, including current position and affiliation.
Project Proposal: Proposals should be no longer than three single spaced pages (excluding references, figures, tables, and budget). Successful proposals will include an abstract, a description of the applicant’s research and its significance to the field, proposed methods, and any preliminary data.
Anticipated Outcomes: Please provide a brief description (one to two paragraphs) of anticipated outcomes, emphasizing opportunities for extramural grant support and/or publication avenues.
Detailed Budget: budgets should cover the full project, therefore including funds already secured or still needed from elsewhere. Applicants should also estimate, and justify, a minimum amount required for a successful project if the total budget cannot be secured (because it is possible that an application will be funded partially). Applications dedicating more than 10% of the budget to external equipment will not be considered.
Please compile documents into one PDF file.
Award reporting: A final report must be submitted at the completion of the 12-month award period itemizing how the funds were used and summarizing research activity with preliminary results included. All publications that result from the supported research should acknowledge support from the Duke Lemur Center.
Final note: Apply, apply, apply! Writing proposals is good for your soul (and your career!).
Molly Glander Award
The Molly Glander Award was established to encourage and support involvement of undergraduate students in research projects at the DLC. Grants will be awarded to undergraduate students who are engaged in an approved research project at the DLC, with priority given to Duke University students. Eligible students must have an approved protocol, a submitted protocol, or must be approved to work under an approved professor’s protocol. A one- time award of $300-$500 can be used to cover DLC research fees, project supplies, and/or equipment. Please contact the DLC Director of Research (Dr. Erin Ehmke, erin.ehmke@duke.edu) for an application and more information.
Other funding opportunities
- Duke Undergraduate Research Support – URS Grants are provided to help defray research expenses of up to $400 for Duke University Trinity and Pratt students enrolled in faculty-supervised independent study courses. Please go to undergraduateresearch.duke.edu for more information.
- National Science Foundation: nsf.gov
- National Institute of Health: nih.gov
- The Leakey Foundation: leakeyfoundation.org
- The Wenner-Gren Foundation: wennergren.org
- American Association of Physical Anthropologists: physanth.org/career/funding-sources
- American Society of Primatologists: asp.org/grants
- International Primatological Society: internationalprimatologicalsociety.org/funding.cfm
