Summer Fellowship Grant Guidlines for Summer 2020

If you have received our award e-mail, congratulations on receiving a Mary Gordon Roberts Fellowship for the summer of 2020! We have made our 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.

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.

Project Reports: During the summer, we will check in with your thesis advisor about your progress, and at the end of the summer, you should submit a report on your research to us. This report should be about one page in length, and should discuss what portion of your thesis work 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 thesis. You may address this report to the Members of the Standing Committee on Mind Brain Behavior, c/o Shawn Harriman, and may send it via e-mail to shawn_harriman@harvard.edu. Accompanying this report should be a record containing a copy of all your expenses. This report should be submitted by Friday, August 21st.

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 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 Andrea Martinez (Andrea_Martinez@harvard.edu) by 9 AM (EDT) on Monday, June 8th. On the form, if you do not have your summer address confirmed, list your home address and note "(home)" after it. Please also use nine-digit zip codes ("zip plus 4") for summer or home addresses. To find your zip+4, check the post office zip code tool.

We are so pleased to have you as a summer Fellow and we look forward to hearing how your research unfolds!