Index

Student Grant Program

Upcoming Event: Grant Writing Workshop (Virtual)
February 2, 2026 | 11:00 a.m. 鈥 12:30 p.m. | Microsoft Teams

Ready to strengthen your grant鈥憌riting skills? Join USF Sigma Xi for a hands鈥憃n workshop designed for students and post鈥慸octoral fellows conducting research in STEM fields. Chapter officers will walk through the Sigma Xi Student Grant Program, share examples of successful proposals, and answer your questions about preparing competitive applications.

Participants will learn about:

  • Upcoming submission deadlines
  • Tips for writing clear and compelling proposals
  • How awards of $700 (graduate) and $300 (undergraduate) can support your research

RSVP (optional) to receive the calendar invite, or join directly via Teams using the link below.

Microsoft Teams Meeting
Join:

Meeting ID: 226 337 482 838 27
Passcode: sB9JA7KQ

For additional information, please email sigmaxi@usf.edu.

Student Research Award Grants Application Deadline - a new earlier deadline:

  • Our Student Grants: Due by February 15 and September 15 each year.
  • Feedback to all applicants: Due by March 1 and October 1 each year.
  • National GIAR Grants: Due by March 15 and October 15 each year.

National Recipient - Spring 2025

  • , Ph.D. Candidate in Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Year 4; Advisor: Joel S. Brown; Project title: Game Theory and Tumor Angiogenesis: Understanding the Dynamics of VEGF Evolution. 

Please note that only active members of the chapter are eligible for the award. Every spring and fall, with nomination deadlines of February 1 and September 1, the USF Sigma Xi chapter officers will meet to determine the next cohort of nominees.

Submit all materials, including the recommendation form, by email to SigmaXi@usf.edu.

The Sigma Xi USF chapter announced its first Student Grant Program to support research for both undergraduate and graduate students in Fall 2022.

Graduate Recipients - Fall 2025

  • , Ph.D. Candidate in Integrative Biology, Year 3; Advisor: Diego Santiago Alarcon; Project title: "Ecological dynamics of avian blood parasites across an urban gradient" ($681)
  • Emily Kaiser, Ph.D. Candidate in Marine Science, Year: 6; Advisor: Amelia Shevenell; Project title: "Reexamining the timing of deglaciation within the Biscoe Trough, West Antarctic Peninsula" ($690)

Graduate Recipients - Spring 2025

  • Felipe Stanchak, Ph.D. Candidate in Marine Science, Year 2; College of Marine Science; Advisor: Amelia Shevenell; Project title: "Evaluating the suitability of DSDP legacy cores for Plio-Pleistocene ocean temperatures reconstructions of East Antartica" ($699)
  • , Ph.D. Candidate in Volcanology, Year 3; School of Geosciences, College of Arts & Sciences; Advisor: Aurelie Germa; Project title: "Newly identified monogenetic volcanoes in Antioquia. Colombia: the possibly northernmost monogeneticl volcanic filed of Andes Cordillera" ($640)

Graduate Recipients - Fall 2024

  • Christine Bergmann, Ph.D. Candidate in Applied Anthropology, Year 5; Dept. of Anthropology, College of Arts & Sciences; Advisors: Robert H. Tykot and Charles Stanish,  Department of Anthropology. "Creating a Pollen and Phytolith Reference Collection for Paleoenvironmental Studies in the Andean Region" ($700)
  • Khuloud Alrashdi, Ph.D. Candidate in Chemical Engineering, Year 3; Dept. of Chemical, Biological & Materials Engineering, College of Engineering; Advisor: Norma Alcantar; Project title: "Sustainable Photocatalytic Films: Enhancing TiO2 with ZnO and Cactus Mucilage for Water Purification" ($363.87)

Graduate Recipients - Spring 2024

  • Colin Goodman, Ph.D. candidate, Deban Lab, Department of Integrative Biology. 
    鈥淢uscles, motor patterns, and movement: what explains interspecific variation in thermal performance curves?鈥
  • Fernanda Silva Pimenta, PhD student, Department of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering. 鈥淟andfill Gas to Produce Liquid Fuels and Chemicals using an Eggshell Catalyst鈥 

Undergraduate Recipients - Spring 2024

  • Kira M. Ruiz-Houston, Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, Minor in Infection Control; Minor in General Public Health. 鈥淔unctional Analysis of Novel Holin Proteins in Mycobacteria Phage D29.鈥
  • Daniela Zamora Alviarez, B.S. Mechanical Engineering. 鈥淐haracterization of Graphene Monolayer and Bilayers for Electrocatalysis鈥

Graduate Recipient - Fall 2023

  • Sunhye Kim, Ph.D. Geology program. Research mentor: Dr. Patricia Spellman. Project title: Quantifying the impact of farming on karst spring water quality.

Undergraduate Recipient - Fall 2022

  • Lauren Trumbull, B.S. Integrative Animal Biology/ Research mentor: Dr. Mark Margres
    Award will be used for RP-HPLC runs at USF core facility for 61 venom samples.

Graduate Recipients - Fall 2022

  • Laura Calabro, Master in Geology, School of Geosciences. Research mentor: Dr. Bogdan Onac. Award will be used to cover the expenses for radiocarbon dating at the Beta Analytic radiocarbon dating lab in Miami
  • Niveditha Nerlakanti, Cancer biology PhD program, Dept. of Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology (CMMB). Research mentor: Dr. Conor Lynch. Award will be used to travel to the Metastasis Research society conference