Grants

Call for Proposals

The Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship offers funding twice per year (Fall and Spring) in support of faculty-led undergraduate student research, scholarship, and creative activity. Faculty and students in all academic disciplines are encouraged to submit proposals.

Funds can be used to towards travel or the purchase of materials and supplies necessary for the project. Individuals may submit one proposal (travel or materials) per seasonal round.

See previously funded projects below.

Fall Grant Period: August 1-31

Spring Grant Period: January 1-31

Faculty

Please review the Call for Proposals.

Faculty may submit an application needed to conduct research or scholarly work OR an application for travel to conduct or present research or scholarly work in collaboration with one or more undergraduate students. A Mentoring Philosophy and the Department CFC Budget number are required components of the application. Please note: Faculty must accompany the traveling student(s) to the research experience to receive funding from CURS. Review the Call for Proposals prior to submitting an application.

**New Fall 2024** Faculty research projects must be submitted to the CURS Undergraduate Research Opportunity Portal by August 31st/January 31st to be reviewed for CURS funding. Documentation of research courses (ex. CURS 2990, HONR 3990H, or Department 4990) for students to receive funding. CURS abides by the add/drop deadline set forth by the Registrar's Office. Students need to email curs@augusta.edu to be registered for a CURS course. CURS will submit research course requests to the Registrar each sememster prior to the Add/Drop deadline. Any request after these deadlines will be implemented in the second 8 week session of the term or the following term.

Restrictions:

Requests should not exceed $1000.
Faculty may not submit both a materials and travel application.
Unallowable expenses include, but are not limited to, publication fees, membership dues, personnel (stipends, consulting fees, technicians, etc.), participation incentives, core facility charges, etc.

Students

Please review the Call for Proposals.

Undergraduate students may submit an application for travel to conduct or present research or scholarly work produced in collaboration with a faculty mentor. For travel grants, students must complete a Travel Authorization Form to upload into your grant application.

Student travel grants must be student-written (a faculty mentor may review the proposal), and these submissions are weighed against other student applications. Review the Call for Proposals for guidance.

**New Fall 2024** If two or more students are traveling to the same location to present or conduct research, each student will submit their OWN PROPOSAL. Any shared expenses such as lodging should be clearly explained in the Budget Justification of the application. Each student should submit their own Travel Authorization form which states all travel costs. AU expects responsible financial stewardship. Only one person may be reimbursed for a given receipt, thus shared costs are the responsibility of the travelers.

Restrictions:

Requests should not exceed $1000 for all participants on the proposal.
Caps may be placed on the amount of individual student funding due to state regulations.

Unallowable expenses include, but are not limited to, publication fees, membership dues, personnel (stipends, consulting fees, technicians, etc.), participation incentives, core facility charges, etc.

Application and Award Instructions

Application

Review the 2024-2025 Call for Proposals.
Review the CURS Grant Evaluation Rubric.
For travel grants, complete a Travel Authorization Form to upload into your grant application.
Complete the CURS Grant Application Please note: There have been updates for both faculty and students applications for the 2025 academic year. Please review the proposal call and ensure you have enough time to complete the application before the deadline.

Please note request should not exceed $1000. Caps on grants vary by year depending on state funding.

Award

Upon notice of awarded proposal, the awardee must complete the Use of Funds Agreement. Failure to submit proper documentation by the communicated deadline may result in your funds being reallocated.
CURS Business Operations will handle all expenditures and reimbursements. All travel and reimbursements must follow the policies of AU Travel
If you receive funding for Materials, your grant will be transferred to your home department. If you receive funding for Travel, your grant will be distributed through reimbursement following your submission of the Travel Expense Statement. Please name your file LASTNAME_INITIAL_2024TravelExpense .pdf and send to CURS@augusta.edu with the subject line “Travel Expense Statement.”
- Travel Expense Statement (within Georgia)
- Travel Expense Statement (outside of Georgia)
At the end of the semester, complete the Faculty or Student Grant Utilization Report.
Please see your award letter for deadlines.

Please contact curs@augusta.edu if you have any questions.

Tips for Writing a Competitive CURS Proposal

Write clearly and for an interdisciplinary audience. Do not use disciplinary jargon.

Explain all budget items in the narrative.

Be thorough when describing your mentoring philosophy (faculty) and what you hope to accomplish and learn (students).

2024 Funded Projects

2024 Fall Grant Awardees

Faculty Mentor	Department	Student(s)	Title of Project
Prof. Chadwick Tolley	Art & Design	Lauren Rich, Sophia Byne, Seth Prior	Reimagining Literacy: The Art of Making Zines and Graphic Novels.
Dr. Almira Vazdarjanova	Pharmacology & Toxicology	Madden Jones, Jasmine Patel, Jackson Stewart	Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder research
Dr. Shogo Mori	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Timothy Pagsisihan, Rain Crippen	Characterization of the enzymatic homologation pathway
Dr. Nevin Lambert	Pharmacology & Toxicology	Gavin Feinberg	G protein trafficking and signaling in living cells
Dr. Ravirajsinh Jadeja	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	Veer Patel	Short-chain fatty acid signaling in retinopathy of prematurity
Dr. He Yang	Mathemathics	Jessica Brown	Predictive Modeling of U.S. Missing Persons: A Data-Driven Approach
Dr. He Yang	Mathemathics	Travel Grant	Predictive Modeling of U.S. Missing Persons: A Data-Driven Approach
Dr. Robert Cromer	Biological Sciences	N/A	Effects of Habitat Fragmentation on Wildlife Movements
Dr. Jennifer Bradford	Biological Sciences	Kayla Wilder	Does the CXCR3/CXCL10 Pathway Alter Triple Negative Breast Cancer Invasion Ability?
Dr. Matteo Borgini	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Kyara Vences, Emil Ayala-Cosme, Deborah Yang	Synthesis And Purification Of Peptides As Nrf2 Inhibitors
Dr. Siva Panda	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Holden Dinkins, Brianna Lynn, Manya Sharma, Rishi Krishnamurthy	Development of New Drug Candidates for Cancer Treatment using Molecular Hybridization and Rational Drug Design Approach
Student Travel Awards	Major	Mentor	Mentor Title of Project
Katherine Conkright	Chemistry	Dr. Siva Panda	One-Pot Synthesis of Arylpiperidinone Conjugates as Potential Therapeutics for Cancer
Jaylan Richardson	Integrated Studies	Dr. Karen Wiles	Skeletal Muscle and Bone Depictions For Student Anatomy And Physiology
Holden Dinkins	Medicinal Chemistry	Dr. Siva Panda	Synthesis of Novel Biotinylated Diarylpiperidinone Derivatives as Potential Antitumor Agents
Elisha Westmore	Psychology	Dr. Jia He	Molecular Hybridization of Ciprofloxacin and Norfloxacin to Target Cancer Cells
Brianna Lynn	Forensic Chemistry	Dr. Siva Panda	COMPLEAT project

2024 Spring Grant Awardees

Faculty Mentor		Student(s)	Title of Project
Dr. Dawn Langley-Brady	Nursing Science	Truc-Mi Hoang, Brandi Bramwell, Julie Bishara, Jasmine Patel	Elucidating Biological Pathways of Essential Oils For Analgesia in Chronic Pain
Dr. Deborah Jehu	Community & Behavioral Health Sciences	Amaya Sommer	Randomized Controlled Trial Of Exercise In People Living With Dementia
Dr. Jennifer Bradford	Biological Sciences	Sona Jose, Jesse Seng,	Production of a novel mouse model with dysfunctional NF-κB signaling in bone marrow-derived macrophages
Dr. Kumar Vaibhav	Neurosurgery	Manuela Guzman Zabala, Vivha V. Amble, Tajman S. Randhawa, Sriram Budim	Living with TBI: When and How it goes bad?
Dr. Matteo Borgini	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Emil Ayala, Deborah Yang, Kyara Vences,	Synthesis Of Peptides As Protein-protein Interaction Inhibitors Of Nrf2
Prof. Raoul Pacheco	Art & Design	Terry Wilber, Diana Rojas Romero	Extending Capabilities of Clay
Dr. Jadeja Ravirajsinh	Biochemistry and Molecular Biology	Amelia Newell	Novel Therapy Target for Retinopathy of Prematurity: Exploring the Role of HCAR2
Dr. Shogo Mori	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Gracie Blackstone, Shivam Patel, Favor Aruna	Site Directed Mutagenesis and Purification of the Homologation Enzyme HphA
Dr. Siva Panda	Chemistry and Biochemistry	Nihal Amineni, Brandon Powell,	Development of Natural Product-Based Therapeutics for Cancer Treatment
Dr. Stacey Bennetts	Biological Sciences	Gabsu Smallwood	An Investigation on Zn tolerance in a Phyllite Population of a Rare Plant Species, Pediomelum piedmontanum
Dr. Theja DeSilva	Physics and Biophysics	Joshua Hale	Two Oral Research Presentations at American Physical Society's March Meeting
Dr. Trinanjan Datta	Physics and Biophysics	Brody Brogdon, Logan Beatty	Electromagnetic Nerve Stimulation and Synchronizing Coupled Chaotic Neural Network
Student Travel Awards	Major	Mentor	Title of Project
Amanjot Saini	Cell and Molecular Biology	Dr. Brian Agee	Development For A Natural, Green Synthesis Of Loperamide
Amaya Sommer	Kinesiology	Dr. Deborah Jehu	Dual-Task Posture In Older Adults With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Annya Forbin	Psychology	Dr. Elizabeth Culatta	Behavioral Changes In Women Who Have Experienced Sexual Assault
Danila Dokuchayev	Dental Hygiene	Dr. Rafael Pacheco	Color Stability Of Various Resin Sealants After Staining Protocol
Elyse Vincent	Psychology	Dr. Jenelle Slavin-Mulford	The Impact of Administration Modifications on TAT Narratives
Iris Truong	Chemistry	Dr. Siva Panda	Design and Synthesis of Molecularly Hybridized Ibuprofen as Potential Anticancer Agents
Josh Hale, Logan Beatty, Shawn Macon, Brody Brogdon	Physics, Computer Science, Physics, Physics	Dr. Trinanjan Datta, Dr. Abdul Malmi-Kakkada
Katherine Flemming	Chemistry	Dr. Matteo Borgini	Synthesis and Screening of α-Methylene Lactams as Covalent Inhibitors
Skyler Owens & Shopno Ahmed	Chemistry, Chemistry	Dr. Shogo Mori	Characterization of HPHA: The First Enzyme in the Homologation Pathway
Sonia Jose	Cell and molecular biology	Dr. Jennifer Bradford	Involvement of the NF-kappaB and CXCL10/CXCR3 Signaling Pathways in Triple Negative Breast Cancer Invasion
Vanessa Browning & Taylor Kate Guerrero	Psychology, Elementary Education	Dr. Alex T. St. Louis	From Science Thought to Science Practice: Developing Student Questioning Through Scientific Inquiry

Information for:

Resources