The Dean’s ASPIRE Grants (Arts and Sciences Projects, Investigations, and Research Endeavors) are designed to promote independent research projects among our exceptional undergraduate students in the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences (KSAS). These awards, which range from $500 to $5,000, enable undergraduates in KSAS to pursue original research, work closely with a Hopkins faculty mentor, and advance knowledge for the world. Awardees have an entire year to use the funding.

KSAS undergraduates in the humanities, natural sciences, and social sciences are all eligible for these awards. First-years, sophomores, and juniors are eligible to apply. (Seniors are not eligible to apply for these awards.)

Funding may be used for any research-related expenses, such as travel, equipment, supplies, printing costs, and data collection. Funds may be also be used for a student stipend, if the applicant can demonstrate that a stipend is essential to completion of the project.

If your project is funded, a final product must be turned in to the Office of the Dean at the end of the funding period. This product will be the culmination of your research and may take the form of a thesis, paper, documentary film, etc. It may be posted on the URSCA website.

How to Apply
Submit a pre-application by October 28, 2024 (optional but strongly recommended), and a final application by December 9, 2024. Click here for an overview of the application process.

Current ASPIRE Grantees’ Projects

Computational study of a de novo protein that phase separates in vivo into liquid and crystal states
Armaan Ahmed ’26, Biophysics

Effect of Calcium-Activated Potassium Channels on Vestibular Nerve Responses to Fast Head Movements
Daniel Ballinas ’26, Molecular and Cellular Biology

Development of an Intranasal Treatment for Neonatal Brain Injury with LM11A-31
Andrew Cavanagh ’26, Neuroscience

Mapping Polo-like kinase-dependent phosphorylation sites in C. elegans
Alicia Guevara ’25, Molecular and Cellular Biology

Regulation of the Oxidative Stress Response by Small RNAs in Archaea
Arman Kian ’26, Molecular and Cellular Biology

Graph Neural Networks to Predict Ablation Targets for Computationally Driven Atrial Fibrillation Therapy
Yash Lal ’26, Mathematics

The Irrational Plurality: Fernando Pessoa’s Internal Multiplicity and the Loss of the Individual in Surreality
Janero Li ’26, Philosophy

A Road of Her Own: Women Travelers of the 1940s
Lillian Liu ’26, History

Latino Experiences at Hopkins: A Digital Library
Sandy Monter-Casio ’26, Sociology

African Americans and the Environment: The Influence of Capitalism on the Development of Public Health Issues and Interventions During The Great Migration (1910-1970)
Sidney Rucker ’26, Public Health Studies and International Studies

Understanding Visual Distractions with Alpha Brain Waves
Joshua Seewald ’26, Neuroscience

Media Perspectives of Populism: An Examination of Rhetoric Around Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Presidential Campaign
Yvette Shu ’27, Political Science

Postpartum depression in carceral settings: improving access despite inequity
Mingyuan Song ‘ 25, Neuroscience and Medicine, Science, and the Humanities

Vahine Tahiti: the Tug of War of Culture and Clothes
Ginger Trask ’25, International Studies and History