Grant Information
The Graduate Diversity Enrichment Program provides $5,000 over two years to provide PhD students (enrolled in NC Institutions of Higher Education) opportunities for greater science and research enrichment experiences. Up to ten awards will be granted for the 2025-2027 period.
Application Files
Request for Proposals
Application Instructions
Progress Reporting
Due Date: January 1
BWF has provided progress report guidelines to assist in preparing and submitting Progress Reports in an acceptable manner. Award recipients must provide BWF with a progress report detailing outcomes and a financial report.
Progress Reporting for Awardees
Progress Report
A Progress Report must be completed and should contain the following information:- A narrative on the research conducted, including courses or workshops, attended presentations, conferences, or collaborations established. Please address the goals and achievements of your activities in your narrative.
- If you attended a conference, meeting, or seminar, attach an agenda, a program, and a participant/speaker list.
Financial Report
A Financial Report must be completed and should contain the following information:- An itemized financial statement reporting how the funds were used.
- For meetings and conferences, include a breakdown of the expenses for speakers, young investigators, postdoctoral students, etc., where appropriate.
General
Do I need to be nominated by my institution?
You must be nominated by an advisor at a degree-granting institution in North Carolina, where you are enrolled full-time as a doctoral student.
What role does the advisor play in my application?
The advisor provides a nomination for the applicant and shares how the award would be instrumental for the applicant’s enrichment experiences. The advisor and applicant may be requested to participate in a diversity workshop.
Is the BWF application deadline firm?
Yes. An application can be started and remain active until the stated deadline.
Can I submit a paper application?
No. BWF requires that all applications for this program be submitted electronically by the application deadline. Paper applications will not be accepted.
Can I change my application once submitted?
No. Once your application has been submitted, it cannot be changed.
To whom should my advisor letter be addressed?
The advisor's letter should be addressed to the GDEP Review and Selection Committee. The mentor must submit the letter prior to the application deadline. Faxed letters will not be accepted.
Are there format requirements for the project plan?
Yes. Use standard 11- or 12-point type for the text. The text must be single-spaced with one-inch or larger margins on all sides. The font size requirement is strictly enforced.
Eligibility
How do I determine if I can apply; what is the first step?
Applicants must be Ph.D. candidates currently enrolled at an accredited, degree-granting institution in North Carolina.
Please review the eligibility requirements in the Request for Proposals.
How do I determine if I am within the criteria of being within an underrepresented group?
The GDEP program prioritizes candidates who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting equal access and opportunity through their activities, background and life experiences, which may be informed by someone’s membership in groups that have been historically underrepresented in the profession, including, as examples, those from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, women, first-generation college students, those from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds, those from rural areas, and persons with disabilities.
Can I apply if I am in my first year as a doctoral student?
No. At a minimum, applicants should be within the last semester of their 2nd year as a doctoral student at the time of the application and should not be within any more than their 4th year of study.
Are permanent residents of the United States eligible to apply?
Applicants must be United States or Canada citizens at the time of the application deadline.
2025
Akua Acheampong Duke University School of Medicine Molecular Determinants of G Protein Subtype Specific Coupling at the Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor
Dalal Azzam Duke University School of Medicine Molecular Insights into Human Mismatch Repair: A Structure-Function Elucidation of Pathway Disruption and Protein Assembly
Olivia Conway Duke University School of Medicine Optineurin-Mediated Mitophagy as a mtDNA Quality Control Pathway in Primary Hippocampal Neurons
Sy’Keria Garrison University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Investigating the Impact of Perineuronal Nets on Behavioral Flexibility and Electrophysiology in the Orbitofrontal Cortex
Lailah Alyssa Ligons Duke University ElectroGLuE: Electropolymer that Genetically Links Neurons to Electrodes
Miranda Lumbreras Duke University School of Medicine Investigating the Immune Response of the Meninges during Cryptococcal Infection
Vianna Martinez Duke University School of Medicine Elucidating the Age-Dependent Role of BMP13 in Cartilage Repair
Patrick Prochazka Duke University School of Medicine Evaluating the Potential of Repurposing Targeted Therapies for Precision Lung Cancer Prevention
Mohammad Riahi North Carolina State University Development of Intelligent Closed-Loop Systems for Automated Diagnosis, Remote Care, and Precision Intervention in Healthcare Applications
Celeste Rocio Robles University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Investigating the Mechanisms and Heterogeneity of Herpes Simplex Virus 1 Infection and Reactivation in Sensory Neurons
Kirsten Smith Duke University School of Medicine Potential Roles for Secreted Bacterial Fibronectin Binding Proteins in Angiogenesis
Asjah Wallace Duke University School of Medicine Investigating the Role of Histone Deacetylase-3 in Metastatic Undifferentiated Pleomorphic Sarcoma
Tamia Waker-Atwater Duke University School of Medicine Exploring the Role of Nurses and Their Neurophobia Experiences in Caring for Patients with Neurologic Conditions
Claudia Sofia Wong Duke University Studying Oxidative Stress Using a Small Artery In Vitro Model
2023
Amy Aponte The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Regulation of the retinoblastoma tumor suppressor (Rb) by the ubiquitin-proteasome system
Ana Berglind The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Leveraging genetics and bioinformatics to identify novel therapeutic targets in epilepsy
Kayla Fernando Duke University School of Medicine Testing the role of the integrated stress response in cerebellar synaptic plasticity and motor learning
Giovanna Elizabeth Hernandez Maximizing Scientific Research Training and Collegiality While Studying Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae in Graduate School
Benjamin Franklin Kornegay III The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Uncovering the Role of Zinc Finger Proteins in Cohesin Mediated Enhancer-Promoter Loop Formation
Davoneshia Lollis Duke University Investigating the Role of WNT Signaling Modulation in the Evolution of the Developing Human Cerebral Cortex
Choiselle Marius Duke University School of Medicine Yolk-sac Erythromyeloid Progenitors in Fracture Healing and Regeneration
Dasean Nardone Duke University School of Medicine Targeting Interferon Signaling in Macrophages for Cancer Immunotherapy
Jessica Portillo Duke University Medical Center The Role of Host Genetics in Modulating the Beneficial Effects of the Gut Commensal Akkermansia muciniphila
Pedro Luis Rodriguez-Echemendia The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill c-Fos Immediate Early Gene Expression in the Neural Systems Underlying Learned Negative Affect
Charles Okechukwu Wake Forest University Health Sciences CF10/LV Overcomes 5-FU/LV-Resistance in Murine and Human CRC Cell lines
Danielle Williams The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Characterizing the Evolution of Macrophage-Tropic HIV-1 in the Central Nervous System
2021
Austin Maduka Duke University Defining Novel Roles of Ubiquitin Accumulation during the Mammalian Oxidative Stress Response
Shunafrica White North Carolina A&T State University The Effects of Diabetes on the Mechanical Properties of Patellar Tendon
Ashley Aguillard University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Elucidating the role of ankyrin-B in brown adipose tissue function and energy balance
David Aponte Diaz University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Membrane and lipidome dynamics during Enterovirus infection
Danielle Brathwaite University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Emergency Department-Based Psychiatric Services for Children and Adolescents: An In-depth Investigation of Care in North Carolina
Danielle Chappell University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Characterizing the impact of a cellular deubiquitinase on the lifecycle of Kaposi's Sarcoma-associated Herpesvirus
Jeliyah Clark University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Nutritional modulation of fetal susceptibility to prenatal inorganic arsenic exposure
Marta Cruz Cisneros University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Genetic Regulation of Antibody Response to Adjuvanted Vaccination
Carmen Marable University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill The Role of the Placenta-Brain-Axis in Children's Neurodevelopment
Jamshaid Shahir University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Cell Cycle Remodeling During Human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation
Ellysa Vogt University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill Developing an extremophile yeast model for new insights into septin assembly at the membrane
2019
Alejandro Antonia Duke University Host-Directed Therapy to Circumvent Immune Evasion by Leishmania major
Dalton Nathaniel Hughes Duke University Network Dynamics of Negative and Positive Valence Systems in Decision Making
Luis Alexander Navarro Duke University Guided Adsorption of Protein-Bottlebrush Hybrids for Functional Surface Coatings
Estefany Yamilet Reyes Duke University Mechanism to evade host immunity by Mucorales fungi
Blanca Victoria Rodriguez Duke University Characterizing the association of RNA with bacterial membrane vesicles and their delivery to host cells
LaKeya Charmaine University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Hardy Using STALs to exploit CD22 on peanut-specific memory B cells to induce tolerance
Juanita Limas University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill A Novel Way of Blocking Origin Licensing and Recapitulating Early Oncogene Activation
Shenee Chantel Martin University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Examining the molecular consequences of sleep disruption in Alzheimer's disease onset and progression
Kia Zolee Perez-Vale University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Defining the molecular mechanisms underlying apical-basal polarity establishment and morphogenesis
Ricardo Rivera-Soto University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Characterizing the role of the PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway in KSHV-associated malignancies
Tamara Vital University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill Exploring the mechanism underlying a small molecule inhibitor of chromatin accessibility
2017
Grace Renee Anderson Duke University Exploiting collateral sensitivity to target kinase inhibitor-resistant lung cancers
Manuella Rossette Clark-Cotton Duke University Mechanisms of cell fusion during mating in Saccharomyces cerevisiae
David Rafael Martinez Duke University Identifying placental factors that modulate maternal IgG transplacental transfer
Joseph Njoroge Mwangi Middle College at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro Using ion mobility mass spectrometry to identify multiple isomeric RNA disease biomarkers
Christine Emily Psaltis East Carolina University Identifying the role of prohibitin in preserving organ function during sepsis
Christine Vazques Duke University Defining how a tyrosine within the hepatitis C virus protease regulates antiviral innate immunity
Award Timeline
Jul 07, 2025
Application Deadline
Sep 15, 2025
Notice of Award
Nov 01, 2025
Award Start Date
Aug 30, 2027
Award End Date
Program Contacts
