Undergraduate Research Award

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Undergraduate Research Awards (URAs) aim to enhance undergraduate student engagement in academic research and the sharing of ideas. These URAs enable undergraduate trainees enrolled in the Bachelor of Medical Science (BMSc) modules offered by the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Western to enrich their research experience by contributing to current scientific discussions at professional conferences.

We encourage all undergraduate students enrolled in modules offered by Pathology and Laboratory Medicine who have a paper, poster, or scholarly creative work accepted for presentation at a professional conference to apply for an award.

Award Information

Pathology and Laboratory Medicine URAs provide funding support toward national/international conference travel expenses and registration fees. URAs may be used to reimburse students for up to CAN $500 of conference travel-related expenses (for example, airfare, conference registration, housing, etc). This URA is not provided for students to carry out research.

A maximum of two awards will be given out in any given year. The Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Western may change the amount and number of awards.

Eligibility

  • Applicant must be enrolled in the 3rd or 4th year of an Honor’s Specialization Program offered by the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Western.
  • Applicant must be conducting their research under the supervision of a Pathology and Laboratory Medicine faculty member.
  • Applicant must be accepted to present their research at a professional conference and must have an active role in delivering the conference presentation.
  • Students may be eligible for up to two awards, but first-time applicants will be given priority.

Application

Applications will be due by February 15th of each academic year and will be adjudicated by a Committee comprised of the Undergraduate Chair and the Course Coordinators of 4980E for Medical Bioinformatics, One Health and Pathology.

A completed application shall include:

  • Conference details: conference/meeting name, dates, location, registration fee.
  • A copy of the abstract accepted for presentation.
  • A letter from the supervisor indicating the importance and benefit for the student to attend the meeting. This letter of support should indicate the need for travel support.
  • If the student has already received a Pathology and Laboratory Medicine URA, a brief description of how the abstract in the new application is sufficiently different from the previously accepted/awarded abstract.
  • Applications should be emailed to admin.pathology@schulich.uwo.ca