This section describes various sources of available funding for faculty, post-doctoral fellows, and students in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. We hope this information will help members of the department to identify and successfully compete for internal and external funding, and more importantly, help form new multidisciplinary collaborations within the Duke research community.
Click here for a list of external awards that have been granted to MGM departmental and programmatic students and post-doctoral fellows from 1999 to 2017.
MGM Summer Undergraduate Research Engagement (MGM SURE)
The Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology is pleased to announce a 10-week summer fellowship program for Duke undergraduates. This program runs ~10 weeks from June to August. The deadline to apply is March 31, 2024.
Overall, the program aims to capture students who are interested in developing a research project in an MGM lab during their undergraduate years at Duke and completing their senior thesis based on this research. The program also aspires to prepare students to be scientific scholars immersed in sustained long-term pursuit of biomedical research. More …
Financial Support from the Graduate School
The contributions of graduate students are highly valued in the university, and Duke has a strong commitment to financially support the students it selects for graduate study. The Duke University Graduate School and its graduate programs offer a wide array of financial support. Funding is available from annually allocated awards funds, instruction, endowed fellowships, foundations and other private support, as well as federal research and training grants.
For additional information, please contact the Office of Financial Aid at grad-finaid@duke.edu or visit their website.
Conference Travel Award from the Graduate School
The Graduate School provides up to $525 for domestic and $700 for international travel for advanced students who have passed all parts of the preliminary examination and are presenting a paper or poster at a national conference.
For additional information, visit the website.
MGM Meritorious Travel Award
The Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology will award travel grants of up to $1000 each, to support postdoctoral fellows and graduate students associated with primary and secondary MGM faculty to attend national and international scientific meetings. These travel grants are available to all MGM students and fellows on the basis of the scientific quality of the submitted abstracts. There will be a total of 8 travel awards awarded for each application deadline, 3 postdoc applications and 5 graduate student applications. Applications should be submitted prior to each deadline.
To apply, email a single PDF file to Melissa Palmer, melissa.sykes@duke.edu including:
- Cover letter indicating candidate name, name of the Principal Investigator (PI) of the corresponding MGM or secondary laboratory, conference name, dates, location, purpose, and justification.
- Abstract
- Two-page CV in this format: Biosketch Blank Format
Deadlines: November 15, March 15, and July 15
Successful applicants will be notified within two weeks of each deadline. Preference is given to fellows/students who have not received an MGM Travel grant in the past two years. A maximum of twenty four travel grants in the amount of $1000 will be awarded per year. More …
Mitchell Meritorious Research Travel Awards
The Duke University Center for Host-Microbial Interactions (CHoMI) will award travel grants, worth $1000 each, to support students or post-doctoral fellows to attend national and international scientific meetings. Travel grants will be awarded on the basis of the scientific quality of the submitted abstracts.
More …
Duke Center for RNA Biology: Travel Fellowships available for students and postdocs: Please email Sharon Whitesell (sharon.whitesell@duke.edu) your abstract, name of planned meeting, and CV.
Research Scholarships for Third Year Medical Students
Duke is unique among medical schools in that the third year experience involves a year of focused scholarship involving research, international travel, or public health aspects of medicine. This provides a unique and broad perspective on the role and possible impact of research in medicine, and as such can serve as a formative experience. Because medicine and research are each very different pursuits, requiring different skills and approaches, graduates of the Duke medical school have an appreciation and understanding of the potential impact of research in the future trajectory of medicine, and as such, can serve as ambassadors between these two disciplines.
Beginning in 2010, there will be two $5,000 scholarships awarded to students conducting third year research in a laboratory affiliated with a primary or secondary faculty member in the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology. The MGM scholarships are named for past department chairs and for Thomas Mitchell, PhD, in recognition of his dedication to third year students.
These scholarships are restricted to students working in the field indicated by the name of the scholarship with a mentor (who has a primary or secondary appointment in MGM) on the approved list. Currently, it is expected that MD-PhD candidates and students receiving significant external scholarship funding, such as HHMI fellowships, will not be eligible for these scholarships.
Two of the four scholarships will be awarded in any given year, depending on the interests and availability of appropriate students. Applicants will be evaluated by a departmental committee. The four MGM scholarships are:
- The Nevins Scholarship in Molecular Genomics
- The Petes Scholarship in Genetics and Cancer Biology
- The Keene Scholarship in RNA and Molecular Biology
- The Mitchell Scholarship in Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Additional information will be provided to the Office of Student Affairs, Advisory Deans, and Third Year Program Directors as these scholarship opportunities are finalized. Students should apply via the standard scholarship application available from the Office of Student Affairs, and the application deadline will be the same as for all other internal scholarships.
MGM Meritorious Travel Award
The Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology will award travel grants of up to $1000 each, to support postdoctoral fellows and graduate students associated with primary and secondary MGM faculty to attend national and international scientific meetings. These travel grants are available to all MGM students and fellows on the basis of the scientific quality of the submitted abstracts. There will be a total of 8 travel awards awarded for each application deadline, 3 postdoc applications and 5 graduate student applications. Applications should be submitted prior to each deadline.
To apply, email a single PDF file to Melissa Palmer, melissa.sykes@duke.edu including:
- Cover letter indicating candidate name, name of the Principal Investigator (PI) of the corresponding MGM or secondary laboratory, conference name, dates, location, purpose, and justification.
- Abstract
- Two-page CV in this format: Biosktech Blank Format
Deadlines: November 15, March 15, and July 15
Successful applicants will be notified within two weeks of each deadline. Preference is given to fellows/students who have not received an MGM Travel grant in the past two years. A maximum of twenty four travel grants in the amount of $1000 will be awarded per year. More …
Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Biological Sciences
This page provides information on some fellowships for postdoctoral researchers in the biological sciences. To search for postdoctoral funding, see the Duke Database for funding opportunities.
Duke Center for the Genomics of Microbial Systems (GeMS): GeMS provides bioinformatics and computational support for microbial scientists through the GeMS Bioinformatics Group which includes Olaf Mueller, PhD, and Josh Granek, PhD. The GeMS Bioinformatics Group is outfitted with workstations and server space suitable for large sequencing projects. Click here to learn more about these services. Please click here (https://sites.duke.edu/microbialgenomics) for more information.
Duke Center for RNA Biology: Travel Fellowships available for students and postdocs: Please email Sharon Whitesell (sharon.whitesell@duke.edu) your abstract, name of planned meeting, and CV.
Travel grants (generally $750 per successful applicant) are available to graduate students or post-docs who are affiliated with a Center for Virology laboratory and who are attending a conference that has a significant virological dimension. Applicants must present either a poster or a talk at the conference to be eligible. Applications will be vetted by a small committee, but we hope to support almost all applicants that satisfy the above criteria. Please click here for more information
As a service for all researchers at Duke University and Duke University Medical Center, Duke’s Office of Research Support and Office of Research Administration provides information on funding sources for research and other scholarly projects.
This Funding Opportunities Database also contains extensive information on funding sources for Duke postdoctoral fellows and graduate/professional students.
The NIH Guide for Grants and Contracts is the official publication for NIH medical and behavioral research grant policies, guidelines and funding opportunities. Weekly updates of NIH funding opportunities are available through this site.
Duke Funding Alert is an online newsletter produced by the Office of Research Support Funding Opportunities Team to bring you the latest funding news and information. Duke Funding Alert is published on the Duke Funding Opportunities website: https://researchfunding.duke.edu/index.asp.
If you have questions or need additional information, please contact our MGM Research Administration staff at MGMresadmin@duke.edu.
If you would like to work with MGM pre-award staff to initiate a proposal, please access the MGM Intent to Submit/Proposal Intake Form to start the proposal process.