Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS FOR YEAR 2001 AWARDS

(Nomination information copied from the official FUN web page)

If you have an undergraduate who is presenting a poster at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, he or she is encouraged to apply for a Travel Award from FUN to attend the meeting. Remember, only dues paying members of FUN may sponsor nominees.  Application instructions and judging criteria are stated below.

Candidates must submit five (5) copies of the following materials by September 1, 2001:

1)  The abstract submitted to the Society for Neuroscience.

2)  A 3-page (maximum) statement by the candidate, indicating the importance of the project, the candidate's contribution to the project (including an estimation of the amount of time spent on it), and the relevance of this research experience to the candidate's career plans.

3)  A resume that includes any other research-related activities.

4)  A 3-page (maximum) letter of reference from the student's advisor, indicating the student's intellectual contribution to the project; if there is more than one coauthor on the abstract, the contribution of the others; an estimate of the time the student spent on the project; an assessment of the independence of the candidate in carrying out the project; an assessment of the candidate's ability to critically analyze scientific literature and communicate effectively (both verbally and in writing); an assessment of the candidate's future in science; and the likelihood of a refereed paper resulting from the candidate's research.

5)  A statement of sponsorship from a dues-paying member of FUN, stating simply that the member supports the nomination (members may support more than one entry, and the sponsor can be the student's advisor).

The Student Travel Award Committee will make its selection on the basis of the following criteria:

40% = The student's contribution to the project (e.g., Was the student first author? To what extent did the student contribute to the completion of the project? Was the student aware of the significance of the project? Did the student work independently?)

30% = The quality of the project (e.g., Did the project appear to address an important question? Did the methods appear appropriate? Did the project appear particularly easy or difficult to conduct?)

20% = The quality of the candidate's statement

10% = The candidate's potential in science

Each member of the Student Travel Award Committee will use the above criteria to judge the applicants.

Please send your application materials to:

Dr. Eric P. Wiertelak
Chair, FUN Student Travel Award Committee
Department of Psychology
Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55105

Any questions? email: wiertelak@macalester.edu

APPLICATION DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 1, 2001

 Each year since 1992 FUN has awarded travel grants to assist undergraduates presenting their research at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. Funds for this purpose have been provided through the generosity of corporate sponsors, as well as through contributions from the members of FUN. Please see below for information about donating to the travel award.

Past Winners:

1999 FUN Travel Award Winners

    The winners of the 1999 FUN travel awards were announced at the FUN Social in Miami.  This year, there were four travel awards given to students presenting research at the Society for Neuroscience meeting.  The award recipients are listed below:

• Angela Burkhardt (Mentor:  Dr. Larry Normansell) Muskingum College, New Concord, Ohio.  ART OF THE BRAIN.
• Elizabeth Ann Cresiski (Mentors:  Dr. D. M. Kopp & Dr. Rita Balice-Gordan)  University of Pennsylvania Medical College, Philadelphia, PA.  ATF-3 AND CREB ARE EXPRESSED IN DEVELOPING MOUSE MUSCLE FIBERS AND AT NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTIONS.
• Rachel Groth (Mentor:  Dr Lin Aanonsen) Macalester College, St Paul, MN.  CHANGES IN TRKB RECEPTOR-LIKE IMMUNOREACTIVITY AFTER CARRAGEENAN-INDUCED PERIPHERAL INFLAMMATION IN THE MOUSE.
• Adam Orr (Mentor:  Dr. William Church)  Trinity College, Hartford, CT.  DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS ON BASAL GANGLIA INDOLEAMINE AND CATECHOLAMINE NEUROCHEMISTRY PRODUCED BY PURINE ENZYME INHIBITION IN MPTP-TREATED GUINEA PIG.

1998 Winners of the Student Travel Award!

• 1st Place- $500 - Michelle Mazei, Central Michigan University. GM1 Ganglioside Reduces Quinolinic Acid-Induce Behavioral Deficits. Advisor: Gary Dunbar.

• 1st Runner-up- $350 - Jill Roche, Amherst College. The Delayed Effects of Phencyclidine (PCP) Enhance Amphetamine-Induced Behavior and Striatal C-Fos Induction. Advisor: Sarah Turgeon.

• 2nd Runner-up (tie) - $200 - Linda Schoenfeld, Ithaca College. Characterization of Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase-Activating Polypeptide (PACAP) Innervation of the Mudpuppy Cardiac Ganglion. Advisor: Jean Hardwick.

• 2nd Runner-up (tie) - $200 - Ali Khammanivong, University of St. Thomas. The Mouse Circadian System Becomes Unresponsive to Light after "Saturating" Light-Induced Phase Delays. Advisor: Dwight Nelson.

Congratulations to all of them, and kudos to all of the nominees.

The 1997 winners were

• First Place: $500.00
  Jennifer J. Quinn, Department of Psychology, University of Scranton
  Mentor/Sponsor: Dr. J. Timothy Cannon
  Contextual Freezing Disrupted by Lidocaine Microinjections in the Region of the Nucleus Raphe Magnus.
  Abstract 718.7.
• Tie for Second Place: $250.00 each
  • Deborah A. Shear, Brain Research Laboratory, Central Michigan University
    Mentor/Sponsor: Dr. Gary L. Dunbar
    Chronic Intrastriatal Administration of Quinolinic Acid Produces Cognitive Deficits in a Rodent Model of Huntington's Disease
    Abstract 740.8.

    Slow-Release of Quinolinic Acid from Polymers Implanted in the Striatum Produces Spatial Learning Deficits in Rats
    Abstract 740.9.

  • Gerald F. Reis, Department of Biology, Pomona College
    Mentor/Sponsor: Dr. Karen D. Parfitt
    Adenylate Cyclase-mediated Forms of Synaptic Potentiation in Hippocampal Area CA1 are Attenuated in Aged Fisher 344 Rats
    Abstract 263.13.

Article & Photo about 1997 Student Travel Award winners - ANDP

The 1996 winner was

Ben Deverman, University of Detroit, Mercy. Alterations in High Affinity Choline Uptake in Rat Brain Sections Due to 17 Beta Estradiol. Mentor: Dr. Mary Lou Caspers. Abstract # 148.7.

Donations

Dr. Tim Cannon
Treasurer, FUN
Department of Psychology, Alumni Memorial Hall
University of Scranton
Scranton, PA 18510-4596

FUN is a not-for-profit organization. Donations are tax-deductible.

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