ARO Travel Award scheme

The Deafness Research UK ARO Travel Fellowship scheme was established to enable UK researchers working in hearing and deafness research to attend the Association of Research in Otolaryngology conference, which is held in the USA each February.

Deafness Research UK has committed a provisional sum to support attendance at the ARO midwinter meeting.  A deadline for applications will be set and decisions will be made soon after that deadline when all applications for that year are available.  NO LATE APPLICATIONS WILL BE CONSIDERED. Supervisors and laboratory heads should disseminate this information to potential applicants.

For this year the deadline will be Friday 28th October 2011, allowing the funding decisions to be made by the end of November.

ARO 2012 TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• In the first instance, the maximum award will be limited to £650. Applications for partial support will be considered. 
  
• Established scientists with alternative support are urged not to apply as the fund is relatively modest.  However, while preference will be given to younger scientists and students, the fund is open to all.
  
• Applicants will not be required to present a paper at the meeting, but preference will be given to those intending to do so.
• There is no limit to the number that may apply from any one research group.  Each case will be taken on merit.  However, where the number of deserving cases exceeds the funds available (which is usually the case), it is envisaged that support will be spread equitably among as many research groups as possible.
• Successful applicants will be required to submit a brief report (one side of A4) to Deafness Research UK on their attendance, written from a career development perspective within 1 month of return.  Failure to submit a report may preclude funding from Deafness Research UK in the future. 
  
• Support from Deafness Research UK should be acknowledged on posters and any extended abstracts.
• The list of Deafness Research UK ARO Fellowships awarded each year will be available on request. 
  

TO APPLY

Applications should be submitted by email to

Applications should include the following: 

(i)  a brief CV (2 pages max),
(ii) a brief statement, no longer than one A4 page, of the contribution the applicant will be making to the meeting, the benefits that should result from their attendance and any other relevant information. 
(iii) a copy of any abstract submitted to the meeting (if applicable)

Applications from junior scientists (whether post-docs or students) should also be accompanied by a short letter/email of recommendation from their supervisor or research team leader.

Prioritisation of Applications

REASON FOR PRIORITISATION:

The scheme has now established itself and is very popular with the auditory community with the result that it attracts increasing numbers of applications.  In order that Deafness Research UK can make a significant contribution, some applicants are not successful each year and, in order to maintain transparency, the following criteria were developed to guide the decision making process.

PRIORITISATION:
(1) First priority are 2nd and 3rd year PhD students and postdoctoral research fellows.
These are the young scientists that are at the stage of their career when they will most benefit from the breadth and depth of the ARO midwinter meeting.  The meeting acts as a showcase for their research work at a time when they are looking for their next career move.

(2) Second priority are other PhD students. 
In the past, no applications were possible from first year PhD students as the abstract deadline was usually the day of commencement of their research.  It is now the case that as a result of certain types of funding, some students in their first year may be continuing a research project from the previous year and therefore have data to present.  Given the number of applications and the limited budget such applications will only be funded when funds are available.

(3) Third priority are established researchers.
The low priority reflects the fact that established researchers often have other possible sources of funding.  However, applications for top-up funds or even full support will be considered where appropriate.  All such cases are considered on merit.

(4) Fourth priority will be those who have received a Deafness Research UK ARO Travelling fellowship in the immediate past.
If funds are available there is no reason why support from Deafness Research UK should not be awarded in successive years.  However, if the scheme attracts the level of applications it has in previous years (which seems likely) we would not expect to be able fund an individual in successive years.

Where there is flexibility possible, it is the intention to spread the funding as widely as possible across the UK hearing community.

Please see the Deafness Research UK website for further information www.deafnessresearch.org.uk or email .