Grants

How can Society grants support your career?

The Society offers grants to support members undertaking a host of activities. There’s something for everyone: whether you’re an undergraduate student or retired professor, technician or school teacher, we have something for you!

It’s been drummed into scientists that in order to stand out from the crowd you have to do more – publish more, review more papers, collaborate more. It can be tricky to secure funds to see some of these ventures through, which is where we can help. The Society’s grant schemes support the professional development of our members in many ways. From Education and Outreach Grants to Society Conference Grants, applying for these funding opportunities is not only good practice for writing grant applications; receiving a grant can also seriously enhance your CV.

There are broadly six types of grants:

• Grants to cover the cost of conference attendance.
• Grants to support research.
• Funds for local events.
• Support to develop microbiology in low-income countries.
• Funds for education and outreach activities.
• Careers grants for undergraduate student members.

Here are a few examples of successfully funded projects to inspire your activities.

Education and Outreach Grants

To support microbiology promotion activities or the development of microbiology teaching initiatives.

DR MARTIN KHECHARA – MISSION TRANSMISSION!

Mission Transmission! took place in September 2014 at the University of Wolverhampton, and was an interactive lecture day that taught Key Stage 4 science students about disease transmission. 145 students from six different schools in the area attended. The reach of the event was widened using online streaming via the University. Martin recruited a team to help deliver the event – this involved contacting schools, marketing and making sure the audio-visuals worked on the day.

Local Microbiology Event Sponsorship

To help members host invited speakers or contribute to symposium funding.

BEVIN MCGEEVER – LONDON POSTGRADUATE SYMPOSIUM ON BACTERIAL PATHOGENESIS AND HOST RESPONSE 2014

Bevin received a Local Microbiology Event Sponsorship, which, together with funding from other learned societies, enabled an organising team of PhD students at the Medical Research Council Centre for Molecular Bacteriology and Infection (MRC CMBI), Imperial College London, to set up their first postgraduate symposium. As well as sharing current advances in host–pathogen interaction, the symposium aimed to improve communication between London-based postgraduate students in the field.

Research Visit Grants

To allow researchers (up to their first lecturer post or equivalent) to visit another lab to undertake a research project.

DR LUCY THORNE – RESEARCH VISIT TO THE MRC UGANDA VIRUS RESEARCH INSTITUTE IN 2014

Lucy received a Research Visit Grant which allowed her to visit Professor Alison Elliott who has established the Entebbe Mother and Baby Study – as part of this they have collected blood samples from over 1,500 children in the local population throughout their first five years of life, alongside providing healthcare. This unique cohort enabled Lucy to investigate the prevalence of enteric viral infections in Ugandan children and to determine the age at which most children first encounter each virus. The ongoing collaborative project will also focus on the impact of social background on infections, and of co-infections such as HIV and malaria.

 

"Thanks to Society Conference Grants I have attended two Society Conferences and feel as though I’m part of the UK microbiology community. Having face-to-face meetings with people I only know from their research publications has been extremely useful for building up my research contacts."
Helina Marshall, University College London, received a Society Conference Grant for the 2014 Annual Conference in Liverpool.

 

"The conference was very useful, it gave me a broad and detailed overview of what career options there are for me after I graduate, it was great to talk to the professionals in different fields and gain some insight."
Richard Goodman, University of Sheffield, received a Careers Conference Grant to attend the London Life Sciences Careers Conference, 2014.

 

"This research visit facilitated the beginning of what I’m sure will be a long and fruitful collaboration between two research groups. The results generated are very intriguing. We are excited to continue this research and analysis, and we are confident a high impact publication will result directly from this research visit."
Siobhan Hogan, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, received a Research Visit Grant to visit Dr Mal Horsburgh’s lab, Liverpool, to investigate novel therapeutics for treatment and prevention of staphylococci intravascular catheter infections.
 

"It was pleasing to discover that this was the first time in Romania that human and veterinary microbiologists had met to discuss the growing issue of antimicrobial resistance."
Dr Dorina Timofte, University of Liverpool, received International Development Fund sponsorship to arrange technology transfer to diagnostic laboratories in Romania, 2012.

 

Feeling inspired? Here’s a calendar of closing dates for grants:

CLOSING DATE	GRANT SCHEME
Early February	Society Conference Grants Inclusion Grants Undergraduate Student Conference Grants Harry Smith Vacation Studentships
1 March15 March	Travel Grants Microbiology in Schools Fund
1 April	Research Visit Grants International Development Fund Education and Outreach Grant
1 June	Travel Grants
1 September Rolling, up to the Life Science Careers Conference 15 September	Travel Grants Careers Conference Grants   Microbiology in Schools Fund
1 October	Research Visit Grants International Development Fund Education and Outreach Grant
30 November	Hayes-Burnet Award Heatley-Payne Award
1 December	Travel Grants

Local Microbiology Event Sponsorship applications are accepted throughout the year.

For further information including eligibility criteria, see our website or contact [email protected].

MARIA FERNANDES

Professional Development Officer
[email protected]