Neuroscience > Research > Research Awards

Neuroscience Travel Grant Awards

These travel grants are available each Fall and Spring semesters to undergraduate Neuroscience Program students. They are open to students who are presenting at a research conference on behalf of their research lab. These awards can be used for hotel accommodations, transportation, food and membership fees. These awards are typically reimbursed up to $1,000. 

Note: The fund is not given to students prior to traveling. The Neuroscience Program will email students each semester to give explicit details on how to apply for the travel grant and the application deadline date.

The Neuroscience Program also provides students with an opportunity to attend the annual Society for Neuroscience Conference using the travel grant whenever it is being held in Washington D.C. with a maximum travel grant of $250. The next SfN in D.C. will be in the Fall of 2026, dates TBD.

Application Deadline

  • Fall 2024: 4 PM September 20, 2024
  • Spring 2025: 4 PM February 21, 2025

Application Process

Each student must submit a Neuroscience Travel Grant Award Application that includes the following:

1) Curriculum Vitae

2) Statement of interest and career goals of no more than a page

3) Letter of support from Lab Principal Investigator (please email directly to Sara Suzuki). 

4) An abstract of the presentation to be given at the meeting

If you have questions regarding the application process, please email Sara Suzuki.

A committee of faculty in the Neuroscience Program will evaluate the applications and determine which to fund based on the quality of the project, the student’s participation in the projection and the quality of the student’s statement of interest and goals.  This process may include a short interview with the applicants. 

Travel grants are only eligible for the conference in which the student has applied for that semester. The travel grants will not be given if the abstract is not accepted.

Reimbursement Process

  • Funds for reimbursements will be given after the travel has taken place, not in advance.
  • Grant funds are for reimbursement of meeting-related expenses that include transportation, registration fees, meals and hotel accommodations for the duration of the conference.
  • Students should keep all credit card, cash, and itemized receipts. Students will not be reimbursed for alcohol.
  • The receipts should show how payment was made. If made with a credit card, it should show the last 4 digits of the credit card on the receipt. Please email all receipts to Rodney Williams.
  • Travel Grant Recipient Form

David S. Olton Research Award

The David S. Olton Award is given annually to support undergraduate research in the area of the biology of behavior, broadly defined. Undergraduate students from Johns Hopkins psychology, behavioral biology, and neuroscience are encouraged to apply. The award is $4,000. This award is a research award, designed specifically to help students complete a research project of their own that they might not otherwise be able to carry out due to financial limitations. The award can potentially cover a wide range of costs including stipend support (either during the academic year or the summer) or supplies essential to the project. Note the award is not intended for permanent lab equipment for PIs (see below).

Deadline: 4 PM December 13, 2024

Questions? Contact Dr. Bohn

Application should include:

A. A letter of support from your supervisor, with your name in the filename, uploaded here:   Olton Award Uploads (Supervisors should describe their mentorship and logistical support for you and the project, assess your ability to conduct the research and address any potential questions on fund use for equipment)

B. The following, as a single pdf file with your name in the filename and uploaded here: Olton Award Uploads

  1. A short proposal (up to a maximum of 4 pages + 1 page Literature Cited), the proposal should include:
    • An Introduction that describes the background to a broad expert scientific audience, and the research question(s) and/or hypothesis(es) of the project. 
    • A Methods section that describes how the hypothesis will be tested, what techniques will be used and the expected resulting data.
    • A Student Contribution and Timeline section that includes specifically what the student will be doing on the project and how/whether the project ties into other researchers’ concurrent projects in the laboratory
    • Literature Cited (at least 5)
  2. A 1-page budget with justification including how this award will contribute to your ability to complete the project. If equipment is included for the laboratory it must be clear why this is crucial to the applicant’s project. This should also be discussed in the letter of support from the research sponsor.
  3. A 1-page summary of your research and course experience relevant to the project
  4. An unofficial transcript

Key criteria for grant selection in critical order are:

  • Is the project within the scope of the award – behavioral biology broadly defined? Is there behavioral relevance to the project?
  • Student independence, contribution and feasibility.
    • Was the proposal written by the student?
    • Does the student demonstrate an understanding of the project (including literature cited)?
    • Is the proposed research feasible for the student to conduct?
  • Quality of science.

The award was established in remembrance of David S. Olton, a professor of psychology at the Johns Hopkins University, who was a leader in the field of hippocampus research. During his career, Olton published more than 150 peer-reviewed articles and pioneered the use of the radial arm maze as an important tool in the investigation of learning and memory. He contributed to our understanding of the hippocampus by investigating how aging affects memory, and exploring the use of drug therapies to curb memory loss. Olton also helped design the parameters of the existing Program in Behavioral Biology, and was influential in the decision to renovate Ames Hall.

Shortly after his passing in 1994, his family established the fund in his honor. As undergraduate research had been an interest of Olton’s during his time at Hopkins, the fund was designed with that aspect in mind.

Additional Undergraduate Research Awards 

The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences offers an incredible array of opportunities for student researchers. See all of the undergraduate research awards available on the Undergraduate Research, Scholarly & Creative Activity website.