2025 UVA Brain Institute Future Leaders Summer Fellowship

Students on Grounds in Summer

The UVA Brain Institute is excited to announce the opening of the UVA Brain Institute Future Leaders Summer Fellowship program to support undergraduate students pursuing neuroscience research experiences. We are now accepting applications from undergraduate researchers currently at UVA to engage in full-time summer neuroscience research at UVA and encourage all interested and eligible students to apply.

Eligibility

Undergraduate students are eligible if they:

  • Are a rising 2nd, 3rd, or 4th year UVA student currently in a lab doing neuroscience research.
  • Have not already been awarded a Double Hoo, Harrison, Ingrassia, or other UVA internal award for the summer of 2025.
  • Are available to commit to working in the research lab full-time for 10 weeks during the summer of 2025.
  • Are currently working in a UVA neuroscience lab that will host their research for the summer.
  • Agree to present their work from the summer at an in-person research event in Charlottesville in the Fall of 2025.  

Funding

Awardees will receive $5,000 as a summertime stipend. These funds will be disbursed to the student for the purposes of summer living expenses (rent, utilities, food, etc.). This program does not fund other expenses such as travel, supplies, etc. 

Application Process

Applicants should submit:

  1. a project proposal
  2. a CV including a paragraph describing the impact of this fellowship on their future career goals, and
  3. an unofficial transcript. 

Applicants will also be asked to provide the contact information for their UVA faculty mentor who will complete the Research Mentor Support Form. 

The project proposal should be written in the style of a grant application, not to exceed 2 pages (single-spaced, 12-point font, with 1-inch margins), and should include the following sections:

  1. Background and question(s)
  2. Method(s)
  3. Anticipated outcome(s) - which may also address potential limitations of the study significance of the work.

Proposals should be uniformly cited using a citation style appropriate to the field of the project and include a bibliography (which will not count toward the page limit). Figures, tables, and graphics are welcome in the project proposal and will count toward the page limit.

Applications should be submitted via this online form. 

Reviewers will assess each application based on merit, considering clarity of the research question, appropriateness of methodology, the project’s feasibility, impact on the lab and student, and the applicant’s preparation for undertaking the project.

Student Application Deadline: Friday, April 4, 2025 at 11:59 PM ET

Decisions for this year's competition will be communicated to all applicants by Friday, April 18.