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VICB Ambassador Travel Award

The VICB Ambassador Travel Award supports advanced graduate students in sharing their research with the broader scientific community while serving as ambassadors for interdisciplinary science. This award provides funding for recipients to return to their undergraduate institutions to deliver a research seminar, engage with students and faculty, and highlight the pathways that lead to careers in biomedical research.

MED Basic Sciences - 2025 Ray Blind Biomedical Lab. Female scientist working in Lab

By fostering these visits, the program promotes scientific exchange, strengthens institutional connections, and offers trainees valuable professional development experience in communicating their work to diverse audiences.

Benefits for Graduate Students

  • Professional Development – Presenting in an academic setting strengthens public speaking skills, builds confidence, and enhances the ability to communicate complex research to varied audiences.

  • Networking – Reconnect with faculty and students while expanding professional relationships that may lead to collaborations or future career opportunities.

  • CV/Resumé Enhancement – Adds a credible invited talk to the trainee’s academic record, demonstrating recognition of their expertise.

Benefits for the Former Undergraduate Institution

  • Department Reputation – Showcasing alumni who have advanced into competitive graduate programs elevates the department’s profile internally and externally.

  • Recruitment Tool – Demonstrates clear student success pathways, helping attract prospective students.

  • Knowledge Transfer – Brings new research insights and methodological approaches back to the home institution.

Eligibility

  • Must be a 3rd-, 4th-, or 5th-year graduate student.
  • The student’s mentor must be a VICB member.
  • The presenter must have a well-developed, cohesive research story appropriate for an invited seminar presentation.
  • Travel is limited to domestic travel within the continental United States.
  • The Ambassador Travel Award is offered twice per year, with calls for applications typically released in September and January.
    • Recipients selected in the Fall competition are expected to present at their undergraduate institution in the following Spring, while recipients selected in the Spring competition are expected to present in the following Fall.

2026 Spring Winners

Miriam Bregman (Doug Mitchell Lab)

Presenting at Towson University in Fall 2026

Alyssa Ehni (Borden Lacy Lab)

Title: "Multi-specific nanobody-Fc fusions against TcdB protect in vivo from diverse Clostridioides difficile strains"

Presentation: Miami University-Oxford (Fall 2026)

Emilee Patterson (Allison Walker Lab)

Presenting at Hartwick College in Fall 2026

2025 Winners

Riley Carter (Doug Mitchell Lab)

Title: "Bioinformatics-guided discovery of new natural product biosynthetic strategies"

Presentation: Southern Utah University (Spring 2026)

Cameron Cohen (Lauren Parker Jackson Lab)

Title: "The AP-4 accessory protein tepsin exhibits multivalent binding to LC3B"

Presentation: Emory University (Spring 2026)

Valentina Guidi (Daria Kim Lab)

Title: "Progress towards a modular synthesis of gentamicin aminoglycoside antibiotics"

Presentation: Nova Southeastern University (Spring 2026)

Clay Tydings (Allison Walker Lab)

Title: "Modeling and Designing Peptides with Therapeutic Potential"

Presentation: Carleton College (Fall 2026)