Research grants offset the costs of a specific research project. Examples of other forms of support include travel grants, scholarships to attend a specific workshop or summer institute, fellowships for a period of study at a foreign institution and funding to analyze a specific data set. Funding is available for trainees at all levels, beginning as early as high school and extending through early career development. Special programs allocate resources to students who belong to underrepresented groups. The NIH has special fellowship mechanisms for ethnic minority students and students with disabilities.
Professional associations can be helpful.
Email discussion lists often post notices of upcoming grant opportunities. The NIH offers grants geared toward investigators at different levels of training. Although these awards require a research proposal, the funds are intended more broadly to support one or more years of training activities. Before applying to either a private or government source for funding, trainees should carefully evaluate how well their training goals fit with the priorities of the funding source. A first step is reviewing stated funding priorities.