ASF Undergrad Summer Research RFA
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The Autism Science Foundation invites applications from highly qualified undergraduates interested in pursuing basic and clinical research relevant to autism spectrum disorders during the summer.

The proposed research must be scientifically linked to autism. Autism Science Foundation will consider all areas of related basic and clinical research including but not limited to: human behavior across the lifespan (language, learning, communication, social function, epilepsy, sleep, self-injurious behavior, catatonia), neurobiology (anatomy, development, neuro-imaging), pharmacology, neuropathology, human genetics, genomics, epigenetics, epigenomics, immunology, molecular and cellular mechanisms, studies employing model organisms and systems, and studies of treatment, service delivery, policy and employment. Priority will be given to students from underrepresented groups OR to studies that focus on understanding and narrowing the diagnosis and services gap across different races, ethnicities or socioeconomic status levels.

Awards:
Autism Science Foundation will make a number of Awards determined by its available financial resources. Research must be conducted in a university-based laboratory or in the field under the supervision of a highly qualified mentor for a period of no less than 8 weeks.

Awards of $3000 will be made directly to the university sponsoring the research. Of this, the university must pay $2500 directly to the student as a stipend; $500 shall be used for lab expenses and indirect university costs. This award cannot be used to directly cover tuition payments. The sponsoring university is responsible for withholding any taxes required by law.

Eligibility:
Applicants for summer undergraduate research awards must be currently enrolled undergraduates in good standing in a program leading to a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree. The summer research may take place at a university other than the one where the student is enrolled as an undergraduate. The mentor should be faculty at the university where the research will take place. The research itself may take place on or off campus (i.e. in a school, at a job site employing individuals with autism, at a summer camp, etc.) as long as it is supervised by an experienced mentor and/or advisor and a plan on how this will occur is included in the application.

The proposed mentor must hold a tenured or tenure-track faculty appointment (or equivalent) at an accredited institution of higher education or health/medical/research institution, and must be an established and active investigator in some aspect of autism research. Each mentor may support only one candidate per summer.

Inclusion of an additional advisor other than the mentor is encouraged, but not required. As examples, this could include a more senior person in the lab who will be working closely with the student, or someone who provides scientific guidance or advice on research recruitment, or the conduct of research in underserved communities. It is highly suggested that someone who is studying underserved communities include someone as an advisor who has previously worked with these communities if their mentor has limited experience in this area.

Proposals Using Post Mortem Tissue:
Proposals using post mortem tissue for research must provide documentation that the necessary tissue is or will be available at the research site at the time of the award. Proposals without proper documentation will be returned without review.