Two Marshall University faculty members have been awarded grants that will help them prepare large research proposals.
The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission’s Division of Science and Research awarded Research Proposal Mini-Grants of $6,000 each to Dr. Gary Schultz and Dr. Guo-Zhang Zhu, both of whom are assistant professors of biological sciences.
The grants provide replacement salary for an uninterrupted period of time so the faculty member can write large research proposals during the summer. As a condition of obtaining the grant, each faculty member agrees to submit a proposal for funding to an external agency or foundation.
Schultz is exploring the diversity of the bacterial community in various ecosystems, including the Ohio and Guyandotte rivers, to learn how to better understand and manipulate ecosystems.
Research in Zhu’s lab focuses on understanding the molecular basis of mammalian fertilization and early embryonic development.
Dr. Jan Taylor, the Division of Science and Research’s director of research programs, said, “The Mini-Grant Program is an investment in research and, ultimately, in economic development for our state. By giving these faculty members the chance to more fully concentrate on writing large external research proposals, the State of West Virginia may ultimately attain benefits that are well beyond this small investment.”
The Research Proposal Mini-Grants are funded by the West Virginia Research Challenge Fund, which lays the foundation for many of the state’s competitive grant programs. For more information, visit www.wvresearch.org.
