If you have received our award e-mail, congratulations on receiving a Mary Gordon Roberts Fellowship for the summer of 2021! We have made our funded awards in concert with several other granting groups at Harvard, so that our partial funding can combine with other partial funding to give you a viable budget. We hope this fellowship and any co-awards will help you undertake a gratifying research experience and a successful thesis project. This page will provide you with details of your responsibilities as a Mary Gordon Roberts Fellow. Funded fellows are expected to meet all responsibilities below, and non-stipendiary fellows are expected to meet responsibilities described in sections End-of-Year Project Report (minus financial report), Presentations, Research Standards/Training/Approvals, and Fellowship Acceptance.
Payments will be made through the Harvard financial system buy2pay feature. If you are not already signed up for buy2pay, you will receive an invitation to join. This will include a direct deposit option for your award, which will get you funds more quickly than a mailed check. As noted in your award letter, we will pay your award in two parts, 2/3 at the outset (by mid June) and 1/3 after we receive your mid-summer progress report.
Purpose of Funds, Changes to Research Plan: We are providing you with this funding to do the research you described in your fellowship application. If you do not undertake this research this summer, you will need to reimburse us the amount of your grant. You should also consult with us if you change the topic of your research in a major way, as a new topic may not be eligible for our funding. That said, it is natural in research for a topic, study parameters, and details of methodology to evolve beyond that described in an initial proposal, and such changes are entirely acceptable and will not oblige you to return this fellowship. You are welcome to consult with us (email shawn_harriman@harvard.edu) if you and your advisor are uncertain whether anticipated changes are major or regular.
Excess Funds: If you do not use all the funds you requested for the summer (for example, you found cheaper housing than expected or you did not run all the study participants you planned for), you should return the unspent funds to us at the end of the summer.
Mid-Summer Progress Report: In order to receive the final third of your award, you must submit a mid-summer progress report. This report should be several paragraphs to one page in length and describe the work you have done so far. Your thesis advisor must sign the report to certify that it reflects your work. You may address the report to the Members of the Standing Committee on Mind Brain Behavior, c/o Shawn Harriman, and may submit it via email to shawn_harriman@harvard.edu. Once we receive this report, we will process the second installment of your award.
End-of-Summer Project Report: Your final report should be one to two pages in length and also include a financial report. The project report should discuss what portion of your thesis project you completed, your findings if available, what you learned, the challenges and high points of your summer research, and how your research will shape your ongoing thesis work. The financial report should itemize and provide receipts for expenses; if your award was for a stipend rather than specific living and/or research costs, please provide number of hours worked weekly and number of weeks. We will also check in with your thesis advisor separately. As with the mid-summer report, you may address your reports to the Members of the Standing Committee on Mind Brain Behavior and submit it to Shawn Harriman via email. The submission deadline is Tuesday, August 31st.
Acknowledgements: The financial support provided by the Mary Gordon Roberts Summer MBB Fellowship should be acknowledged in your thesis and any related publications or posters you prepare.
Presentations: As a Mary Gordon Roberts Fellow, you will be expected to present your research at an MBB event, for example an MBB poster session.
Research Standards, Training, and Approvals: Before you begin your thesis research, we expect that you will receive appropriate animal training or human subjects approval as appropriate, and while you conduct your research, we expect that you will adhere to the professional standards for research in your discipline.
Fellowship Acceptance: To accept your fellowship and its terms noted above, and to allow us to process your award payment, please complete the fellowship acceptance form you received with your award email and return it to MBB Financial Associate Andrea Martinez (Andrea_Martinez@harvard.edu) by 9 AM (EDT) on Monday, May 17th.
We are so pleased to have you as a summer Fellow and we look forward to hearing how your research unfolds!