Lab Visit Travel Bursary 

This bursary is intended to cover the travel costs of visiting a lab for hands-on learning of a specific experimental or analytical approach in research areas of interest to the ISCBFM. The overarching goal of this opportunity is to support the applicant’s training (i.e. with a new technique, model, analytical approach, etc.) in a lab with established expertise. The host lab may or may not have existing collaborations with the lab of the applicant. In this regard, this call is not designed to fund collaborative research projects.

This bursary (up to $5,000) being offered to investigators who are active members of the ISCBFM, following an annual review of applications by the Education Committee of the ISCBFM. All evaluations will strive to maximize diversity among the recipients. The funding will cover economy class travel (by airplane, train, coach, or private vehicle) in accordance with the ISCBFM’s current geographical allocation scale based on the origination and destination locales, accommodation and food expenses at reasonable rates. Additional budget could be requested to allocate funds towards direct research costs related to the training program (consumable goods) only in cases with full justification, and up to $2,000.

 Applicants are requested to use the ISCBFM submission portal to submit an application that describes the proposed research activities and provides all required documentation.

Who Can Apply?

To be eligible for the Lab Visit Travel Bursary, applicants must request a lab visit not exceeding 3 months’ duration, to the laboratory of an established faculty investigator who is a member of the ISCBFM. The applicant also must be a member of the ISCBFM Society and belong to one of the following categories:

• Student Early Career Investigator - This includes students who are enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree programs offering BSc, MSc, MD and PhD degrees, and are undertaking research training in the laboratory of a faculty member who is an ISCBFM member.
• Research Specialist Investigator - This category includes laboratory professionals with BSc or MSc degrees who possess specialized expertise essential for the work of an established faculty investigator who is an ISCBFM member.
• Scholar Early Career Investigator - Postdoctoral Scholars with a PhD, MD or equivalent doctoral degree who have obtained their terminal degree and are completing training prior to taking a faculty position.
• Faculty Early Career Investigator - Investigators with PhD, MD or equivalent degree who have completed their training within the past 5 years (offset by leaves of absence related to family care or health reasons), and typically have a faculty or staff appointment in a research institution.

Only one application per originating lab per year will be considered: the head of the originating laboratory can sign at most one application per year.

Selection Process

The recipients of the travel bursary will be selected from all applications received in one round by the Education Committee based upon:

• Eligibility based on the criteria listed above;
• Relevance of the project proposed to the general interests and priorities of the ISCBFM;
• Impact of the proposed training on the applicant’s career trajectory and the field of research;
• Feasibility of the proposed plan in light of relevant resource availability, commitment of the host laboratory, existing expertise, time constraints and budget;
• Originality of the proposed work with emphasis on the rigor, reproducibility and novelty of the research plan; and
• Adequacy of the proposed budget, considering factors such as travel distance, length of stay, the hosting country living costs, and/or any required direct research costs.

How to Apply:

Completed application materials should be submitted via the ISCBFM submission portal below by midnight (AEDT), December 31, 2025. NOTE: Only active ECI members will have access to the portal. Check your eligibility with time ahead.

Complete applications must include:

• An abstract of the proposed research plan that includes what the applicant will be learning at the host location with clear objectives and outcomes. This abstract should be prepared using a 12point font with one-inch margins and should not exceed 2 pages, including figures.

• A summary of no more than 500 words from the head of the host laboratory detailing the personnel and infrastructure support that will be provided by the host laboratory. This summary should confirm that the originating laboratory will cover the balance of all travel costs or direct research costs not covered by this Bursary.

•  A letter of confirmation from the applicant’s institution and/or the head of the applicant’s laboratory attesting to the institutional support for, and eligibility of, the applicant for this Lab Visit Travel Bursary. This letter can include mention of any leaves of absence, as relevant for establishment of the Faculty ECI status.

• A Curriculum Vitae or NIH Biosketch of the Applicant (max 3 pages).

• A proposed reasoned budget with a total requested of $5000 or less. This might include the request of additional $2,000 for direct research costs.

• A letter of attestation from the recipient that they will acknowledge this support from ISCBFM in all presentations and publications of the work resulting from this training. This letter should also indicate that the applicant is willing to present at a future ISCBFM meeting a poster summarizing work accomplished during their Lab Visit Travel Bursary.

• ISCBFM membership numbers for both the applicant and the head of the lab hosting the proposed work.

Bursary Evaluation

The Education Committee will evaluate the applications based on the stated criteria and provided information. A recommendation report will be sent to the Executive Committee and Board of Directors for the final award decision. 

All applicants will receive a decision email within 3 months following the call deadline from the Chair of the Education Committee notifying the funding decision on their bursary together with a short summary of the evaluation.

Lab Travel
Submission Portal