Emerging Scholars Award | Civitan International Research Center

The UAB Civitan International Research Center’s Emerging Scholar Award provides research funding for clinical or basic science research related to brain development for trainees at the graduate student and postdoctoral fellow levels.

Proposals for the Emerging Scholars program are requested from across the UAB campus for clinical or basic science research projects aimed at enhancing our current understanding of normal and abnormal brain development, cognition, autism spectrum disorders, developmental disabilities, and mental retardation, or the effects of exposure to environmental toxins on the development of the brain.

Emerging Scholars Request for Applications 2026

Deadline: April 30, 2026
Grant Start Date: August 1, 2026
Eligible Applicants: Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Trainees
Award Level: $30,000 for one year
Submit Title Format: Emerging Scholar Application “First Initial. Last Name”
Application Document Type: PDF (Please convert documents into PDF before submission)

Submit Application Opens an external link.

The Civitan International Research Center (CIRC) requests proposals for clinical or fundamental science research aimed at enhancing our current understanding of typical and atypical brain development, autism spectrum disorders, developmental disabilities, impaired cognitive development, or the effects of environmental toxins on brain development.

The $30,000 award may be used as a stipend or for direct costs (Advisor’s decision).

Applicants should be PhD graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, research associates, or instructors in the non-tenure track with less than 10 years from receiving their terminal degree (e.g., Ph.D.). Previous awardees are ineligible.

Proposals should consist of a single PDF document containing a two-page description of the planned research, a proposed budget, a letter of endorsement from the mentor, and the applicant's CV. The mentor should submit the application on behalf of the applicant along with a statement from the mentor indicating their approval of the application and budget proposal (this can be a one-sentence statement/letter).

Although not required, we particularly welcome applications that propose to create a patentable/marketable product.

The mission of the CIRC is to improve the well-being and the quality of life of individuals and families affected by neurodevelopmental disabilities; to provide interdisciplinary clinical and research training in neurodevelopmental disabilities; to utilize this knowledge to develop and provide high-quality exemplary services and programs; and to exchange information promptly with consumers, practitioners, scientists, and society.

Awardees must be present at the Junior Civitan All In Summit in February of 2027 and speak to Civitan International members about their research once or twice during the year of the award or the following year.

2025-2026 Awardees

Azariah K. Kaplelach

Graduate Biomedical Sciences, Graduate Student Trainee

Anusha Adavikottu, Ph.D.

Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering, Postdoctoral Fellow

Past Awardees

2024-2025

Andrew T. Hale, M.D., Ph.D.
Neurological Surgery Resident
Department of Neurosurgery

Muthukumar Karuppasamy, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Alexander Neuromuscular Disease Research Lab
Department of Pediatrics
2023-2022

Kasey Brida
Graduate Research Assistant
Genetics, Genomics, and Bioinformatics

Anna Schreiber, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow, Neurobiology
2021-2022

Rudhab Bahabry, Bachelor of Medicine
Fellow
Department of Neurobiology

Andrea Reid, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Division of Pediatric Neurology
2020-2021

Norimichi Ito, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Psychiatry
Behavioral Neurobiology

Reagan Pennock, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Austin Svancara, M.A.
Graduate Student
Developmental Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2019-2020

Nicholas Boyle
MSTP Graduate Student
Department of Neurology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Qiangqiang Xia, Ph.D.
Post Doc
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Helen Root
Trainee
Medical/Clinical Psychology Program
2018-2019

Abbey Herringshaw - Whit Mallory Award
Graduate Student
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Silvienne Stint Jago
Graduate Student
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Heather Dark
Graduate Student
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2017-2018

Nancy Gallus, B.S. - Whit Mallory Award Neuroscience
Graduate Student
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Mary Phillips, B.S.
Neuroscience Graduate Student
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Rylie Hightower, B.S.N., R.N.
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Pediatrics

Jose Maximo, M.A.
Graduate Student
Department of Psychology
2016-2017

Melissa Thye - Whit Mallory Fellow
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Julia Beattie
Graduate Trainee
Department of Psychology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Megan Rich
Pre-doctoral Neuroscience
Department of Radiology and Neurobiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Hai Vo
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2015-2016

Jada Hallengren, Ph.D. - Whit Mallory Fellow
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama of Birmingham

Jessica Nichols
Graduate Student Trainee
University of Alabama of Birmingham

Svitlana Bach, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama of Birmingham

Jenna Lebersfeld
Graduate Student Trainee
University of Alabama of Birmingham
2014-2015

Haley Johnson - Whit Mallory Fellow
Graduate Trainee
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Andrew Arrant, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Trainee
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Vladimir Grubisic, M.D., Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department Neurobiology
Michigan State University

Natasha Pacheco
Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2013-2014

Sarah Gillot - Whit Mallory Fellow

Andrew Kennedy, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurobiology
Bates College

Latoya Paul, Ph.D.
Instructor
Louisiana State University

Yanjie Li, Ph.D.
Research Associate
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2012-2013

Elena Adlaf, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
Department of Neurobiology
Duke University

Vishnu Cuddapah, M.D.
Pediatrician
Department of Cell, Developmental and Integrative Biology
Childrens Hospital
Philadelphia, PA

Adam Funk, M.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Cincinnati

Meredith Reid
2011-2012

Aundrea Bartley, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Aimee Franklin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Cell Developmental and Integrative Biology
Southeastern University

Lauren Libero, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow
UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute

Stefanie Robel, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurobiology
Virginia Tech
2010-2011

Asher Albertson, M.D., Ph.D.
Neurologist
Department of Neurobiology
St. Louis, MO

Brandi Baker, M.D.

Wei Li, Ph.D.
Instructor
Department of Neurobiology
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Donna Murdaugh, Ph.D.
Research Assistant
University of Alabama at Birmingham
2009-2010

Kelly Dunham

Johanna Gandy, Ph.D.
Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Sarah Cannon Research Institute

Mark Pennick, Ph.D.

Ryan Walsh, M.D., Ph.D.
2008-2009

Gaston Calfa, Ph.D.
Instructor
Department of Neurobiology
Universidad National de Cordoba, Argentina

Nolan Jean Ernest, M.D., Ph.D.
Pediatrician
Dothan Pediatric Clinic

Elizabeth Lucas, Ph.D.
Department of Psychiatry
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Tania Roth, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Neurobiology
University of Delaware
2007-2008

Stephen Crimmins, Ph.D.
Chief
Department of Neurobiology
Bench Laboratory
William Beaumont Army Medical Center

Chuansheng Zhao, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Neurobiology
The First Hospital of China Medical University
Shenyang, Liaoning, China

Cryshelle Patterson, Ph.D.

Chris Uskaitis M.D., Ph.D.
Fellow
Boston Children’s Hospital
2006-2007

Courtney Miller, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Neurobiology
The Scripps Research Ins

Lars Kristiansen, Ph.D.
2005-2006

Maria Hopkins, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Psychology, CAS
University of Alabama at Birmingham

Jennifer Larimore
Assistant Professor
Department of Neurobiology
Agnes Scott College

Ken C. Walls

Hua Yu Sun