Grants & Funding

ASPB Funding Opportunities

ASPB Research Fellowship Awards

Support offered by the ASPB to support student research.

The American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB) Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF) fund promising undergraduate students so they can conduct meaningful research in plant biology during the early part of their college careers. SURF recipients are expected to present their research at ASPB’s annual Plant Biology meeting in the year following the fellowship award and research completion.

Applications accepted at: https://surf.aspb.org/.  Applications open December 11, 2023 and close February 12, 2024.

Questions? Contact Sylvia Lee, slee@aspb.org. or 301-296-0898

Learn more and view recipients

Questions? Contact Crispin Taylor, ctaylor@aspb.org or 301-296-0900.

ASPB Annual Meeting Travel Awards

ASPB is offering a limited number of travel grants to attend the Annual Meeting.

ASPB’s Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee is offering a limited number of Recognition Travel Awards for students, postdocs, and faculty who are themselves members of groups minoritized in the US scientific workforce and/or who are directly supporting the education and professional development of students in such groups.

Recognition Travel Awards provide “full ride” fellowships to attend ASPB’s annual meeting, which is scheduled to be held in Honolulu, HI, from June 22-26, 2024. The award typically includes coverage of travel to and accommodations in Honolulu, HI, registration for Plant Biology 2024, a per diem allowance, and membership in ASPB through 2025. Applicants do not have to submit a research abstract to be considered for this award; however, successful applicants with pertinent research are strongly encouraged to present that research during Plant Biology 2024.

The goals of the program are to increase diversity among the annual meeting attendees and to provide access to the science and networking opportunities available at a major society meeting to those that might not otherwise have been able to attend. Undergraduate students are strongly encouraged to apply, as are graduate students, postdocs, and faculty. ASPB membership is not a requirement to apply.

Go to https://rta.aspb.org/ for eligibility requirements and instructions to apply.

Applications open September 20, 2023.

Applications close December 6, 2023.

Questions? Contact Sylvia Lee, slee@aspb.org or 301-296-0898

ASPB is competitively awarding a limited number of travel awards to attend Plant Biology 2024, which is scheduled to be held this year in Honolulu, Hawaii from June 22-26, 2024. The travel award program aims to increase attendance of early career scientists at the annual meeting by providing funds for those in financial need. Broadening participation of underrepresented groups to increase diversity and inclusion among Plant Biology attendees is a primary goal. Undergraduate students, graduate students, postdocs, pre-tenure faculty, and professionals beginning their careers in plant science are also strongly encouraged to apply. Applicants must be members of ASPB; however U.S. residency is not a requirement to apply.

Go to https://travelgrants.aspb.org/ for eligibility requirements and instructions to apply.

Applications open September 13, 2023.

Applications close November 15, 2023.

Questions? Contact Sylvia Lee, slee@aspb.org or 301-296-0898

ASPB is now accepting applications via electronic submission for the Women’s Young Investigator Travel Awards to attend Plant Biology 2024, which is scheduled to be held this year in Honolulu, HI from June 22-26, 2024. The goal of the program is to increase attendance of early-career female investigators who are within the first five years of their appointment in academic faculty-level positions, government research positions, or corporate research scientist positions, as well as experienced postdocs. Awardees must hold positions at an academic, corporate, or government institution. The Society plans to allot $7,000 to be awarded in increments of $1,000 for this program.

Go to https://wyita.aspb.org/ for eligibility requirements and instructions to apply.

Eligible women must meet these criteria:

  •  ·Must be members of ASPB. (Applicants may reside outside the U.S.)
  •   Must currently be in one of the following categories:
  •   Academic faculty member (within first 5 years of appointment)
  •   Government researcher (within first 5 years of appointment)
  •   Corporate researcher (within first 5 years of appointment)
  •   Experienced post-doctoral researcher with at least three consecutive years of research in their field (seeking to obtain an independent position)

Applications close November 1, 2024.

Questions? Contact Sylvia Lee, slee@aspb.org or 301-296-0898.

Education & Outreach

ASPB is offering a limited number of fellowships to support the education and outreach efforts of our members.

Plant BLOOME Awards

In 1995, the ASPB established the Plant Biology Learning Objectives, Outreach Materials & Education Grant (BLOOME) grant program with the goal to enhance public awareness and understanding of the essential roles of plants in all areas of life.

Applications will be accepted early 2024 (check BLOOME application site for deadlines)

Questions? Contact Winnie Nham, education@aspb.org or 301-296-0902.

View previous BLOOME recipients and project descriptions

Open exclusively to ASPB members, Transforming Education in Plant Biology offers financial support to successful applicants to participate in focused, substantive, and practical professional development with the aim of creating undergraduate plant biology instructional materials aligned with the recommendations of Vision and Change and ASPB’s core concepts in plant biology (https://aspb.org/education-outreach/higher-education/).  Applicants can select from the suggested multi-day professional development sessions noted below or propose another program that fits with the recommendations of Vision and Change.

Please check the TEPB website for program announcements and updates.

Questions? Contact Winnie Nham, education@aspb.org or 301-296-0902.

2020 winner

Katelyn Butler (Anderson University)

I am a plant pathologist and assistant professor at Anderson University in Anderson, IN. While my primary research interests focus on the interactions of plants and with their pathogens, I have enjoyed spreading my roots to all areas of molecular plant biology as my students and I explore the role of understudied proteins in Arabidopsis.   As a recent addition to the faculty at Anderson, I have been revamping my introductory plant science course which teaches the fundamentals of biology through the lens of plants. This is an exciting opportunity to teach students foundational knowledge they will apply throughout their career while also introducing them to the exciting world of plant biology (and converting a few to a career in plants along the way).

As a recipient of the Transforming Education in Plant Biology award, I will attend the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science workshop to learn how to write effective case studies for use in my introductory plant science classroom. I then plan to write five case studies, each aligned with a AAAS Core Concept in biology and APSB Plant Biology Learning Objectives. These case studies will provide students an inquiry-based way to explore the fundamentals of biology through the world of plants. The case studies will be shared with the broader biology education community.  I plan to assess the efficacy of the case studies in improving student understanding of the AAAS Core Concepts and present my work to the ASPB community. My hope is that these case studies will be used broadly in introductory biology courses and bring exciting, relevant plant biology to all students.

2019 winner

Mary Heskel (Macalester College)

Chloroplasts, Carbon, and Climate: Teaching leaf to global carbon cycling in an introductory ecology course

As a new faculty member in the Biology Department at Macalester, I am in the process of revamping an introductory Ecology course to more explicitly integrate the impacts of climate change and human development. As the only actively-teaching plant biologist in the department, I also see this as a crucial opportunity to emphasize the role of plants and other photosynthetic organisms in primary production and climate regulation. I hope to convey the ‘magic’ and immeasurable importance of Rubisco to students who might not be exposed to plant biology in other courses.

As the recipient of the Transforming Education in Plant Biology award, I plan to attend a Summer Institute on Scientific Teaching to develop teaching materials (a ‘teachable tidbit’) to share with the greater ASPB community. The Summer Institutes emphasize evidence-based teaching practices, active learning, effective assessment, and inclusive teaching, with the goal of helping higher-ed educators create products that will enhance student learning in their respective content fields. As a plant ecophysiologist whose research spans cells to ecosystems, I approach teaching photosynthesis as both an assemblage of intricate biochemical pathways and as a global transformation of energy that is observable from space. The Summer Institute workshop will allow me to effectively teach photosynthesis for understanding beyond a simplified equation, and help students recognize its fundamental and global importance to life on Earth.

2018 winner

Dong Wang (University of Massachusetts)

Plants as master builder: investigating legume symbiosis proteins in a biochemistry laboratory course

I will use the TEPB funds to develop and showcase an undergraduate laboratory course that allows students to engage in authentic research experiences.  These pedagogical approach, course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), will teach students to apply their conceptual understanding of biology with newly acquired laboratory skills to conduct original research that leads to new scientific insights.  I plan to direct student research on plant genes important for the symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.  The TEPBwill allow me to expand the scope of my research on the nitrogen-fixing symbiosis and efficiently integrate it with my undergraduate teaching.

Federal Funding Opportunities

The links below include information finding funding from other sources.

Primer on funding from the NIH.

Active Program Announcements

Primer on funding from the USAID.

Primer on funding from the DOD.