• An agreement between Boehringer Ingelheim and the USDA Agricultural Research Service provides – as part of the BI Veterinary Scholars Program – an opportunity for scholars interested in conducting research in production animals/livestock. Through this agreement we will fund up to 12 students annually.  

 

• The selected students will spend the summer program at one of nine USDA facilities around the country where a mentor and a research project will be assigned.  All costs for the students will be covered, including a monthly stipend and costs associated with travel (includes travel cost from the schools to the USDA centers and back and travel costs to attend the Veterinary Scholars Symposium).  

 

• These positions are in addition to those awarded through this application process and are not a matching grant. Please indicate your desire to participate in this opportunity within your application, and we will provide additional information. 

Program Mission 

The mission of the Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Scholars Program (BIVSP) is to provide an opportunity for veterinary schools to expose veterinary students to biomedical research through a scholar internship program.  By providing a supportive research environment in an established laboratory together with seminars and discussion groups on careers in science, it is hoped that students will consider the pursuit of a career in biomedical research as one of their options after completing their veterinary degree. 

 

Funding Requirements 

• Funding for the program will be provided by Boehringer Ingelheim.  Funding for approved proposals will be for one calendar year and must be used within the calendar year provided.  Any remaining funds must be documented in the program review.   

 

• Grants are awarded on a competitive basis and proposals are closely reviewed against required criteria. Applications requesting funding up to a maximum of $26,000 (USD) will be considered.  

 

• Boehringer Ingelheim funding can be used only for stipends of students who are enrolled in the BIVSP.  The funding request should be based on the number of scholar stipends requested.   

 

• Funds towards travel expenses for BIVSP students to and from the Veterinary Scholars Symposium will be provided (for up to 4 funded scholars, in the value of $1,200 per sponsored student) in addition to original grant. These funds will be disbursed directly to each school, based on the number of BIVSP sponsored students. 

 

• Boehringer Ingelheim funding must not be used for 1) indirect costs (fixed or administrative), 2) capital expenses 3) research materials, or 4) graduate, post-doctoral or residency stipends.   

 

• The Boehringer Ingelheim grant is a matching grant.  Each school must match the funding provided by Boehringer Ingelheim for the program.  College matched stipends equal to the Boehringer Ingelheim stipends may be obtained from college budgets or other grants; the source of the matching funds must be clearly stated in the application.   

 

• It is expected that each school will provide the necessary funding to cover the proposed extracurricular activities outlined in the submission as these are considered an integral part of the Boehringer Ingelheim experience and by extension, the selection process. 

 

Scholar Selection 

• As the program mission is to provide students with an initial exposure to research, preference will be given to programs that provide opportunities for students who do not have past research experience.  

 

• Promotion of a school’s program to non-host scholars outside its own campus should be enhanced by a user-friendly website and by notification of the Boehringer Ingelheim program directors and/or Associate Deans at other funded and non-funded veterinary schools. As part of the application process, each school should indicate both the total number of scholars and the number of non-host school scholars the program proposes to accommodate, as well as providing details of how such students will be oriented and accommodated.  

 

Research 

• Research can occur anytime in the calendar year, but preference will be given to summer projects. 

 

• Individual projects should be manageable within the timeframe of the program and should enable the student to formulate a testable hypothesis, identify specific objectives, conduct research, interpret data and present their findings in the form of an abstract and/or poster.  Demonstration of the use of biomedical research skills in specialty fields (e.g., Pathology, Toxicology, Laboratory Animal Medicine, Pharmacology, Clinical, and Imaging) is desirable. 

 

• Subsequent presentations/publication of the results of research conducted should clearly acknowledge that the research was supported in whole or in part by a grant from the Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Scholars Program.   

 

Extracurricular Activities 

• The proposed program should have a clearly defined set of activities to enable students to learn about the broad aspects of careers in research.  Examples include interactive workshops on ethics in research, grant writing, journal clubs, decision making/leadership, preparation of Curriculum Vitae, and letters of application for work; off campus visits to research centers with discussion and presentations by outside faculty from academia, government and industry are also well appreciated by participants.  Identification and goals for each of the proposed trips and workshops should be provided in the proposal, along with procedures in place to ensure scholars’ attendance is possible at the workshops and trips. 

 

• Activities should only be listed in the proposal where it has been confirmed in advance that the school will provide the required funding. 

 

• Attendance at the annual Veterinary Scholars Symposium by the Program Director and a representative number of the funded scholars is mandatory. 

 

• Boehringer Ingelheim will fund travel and registration to the Symposium for a maximum of 4 BIVSP scholars per school. Schools may continue to send more students by securing funding from an alternate source for travel and registration.  

 

School Application Process 

Please forward the completed application as an electronic copy in PDF format on or before the deadline to bivetscholars@boehringer-ingelheim.com. Submissions will not be accepted by hard copy.   

 

Applications must be made using this template and should include all of the following items: 

 

• Completed application signed by the Dean or Associate Dean of Research of the college. 

 

• A concise description of the objective, program description, process and budget.  Information requested in the table of Section I does not need to be duplicated in the 3-page narrative in Section II. Additional lines within each box on the table may be added, if needed, to provide complete information. 

 

• All colleges that received funding in the preceding year must submit a program review at the time of funding application.

 

• Please note that we have changed our Alumni tracking template to enhance our data analysis.  Please use the new template provided going forward. The tracking information should be filled out in the attached excel spreadsheet and submitted with the application package.   

 

Program submissions must be complete and received by the deadline to be considered for funding. 

Programs will be evaluated based upon the following guidelines: 

40%       2023 Program Review (if applicable) including evaluations of participating students and mentors 

Host school website review 

Completeness of Boehringer Ingelheim Scholars tracking information  

60%       2023 Program Proposal (research; seminar program and extracurricular activities) 

 

Schedule: 

 31 October 2023                             Deadline for BIVSP applications 

 05 January 2024                             Schools notified of funding status via email 

 05 January 2024                             Post program on the BIVSP website 

 17 April 2024                                   2024 Program funding disbursed 

 

Website Requirement 

 

All schools, once notified of approved funding in January, must post their program not later than January 05 on an appropriate page or section of their school website that can be easily found from the main veterinary college home page of the funded institution. Information should include a complete description of the program, a list of potential mentors and summary of their research interests (with contact information) and proposed extracurricular activities for the program. The page should include text acknowledging that the summer program is funded in part by Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Scholars Program (or similar text). Application information and submissions also must be available online. Stipend information and availability of the program to students from non-host veterinary schools should be included on the web page. 

 

Links to these individual institution pages are provided on this the official website of Boehringer Ingelheim Veterinary Scholars Program. If the url of the page containing this program information has changed since the previous year, please provide the new link so that we can update our website.  

 

Similarly, the BIVSP web page of the funded institution should contain a link to the official program website listed above.   

 

We look forward to receiving your 2024 BIVSP application! 

 

Monica D. Figueiredo, DVM, PhD 

Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health 

BI Veterinary Scholars Program Executive Director  

monica.figueiredo@boehringer-ingelheim.com