Medical Student Research Grant

This R&E Foundation grant gives medical students the opportunity to gain research experience in medical imaging while they’re still in school. Recipients will define objectives, develop research skills and test hypotheses, all before even choosing a residency program. Ultimately, this experience gives students a chance to consider academic radiology as a future career option.

In order to attract the brightest young researchers to radiology, the Foundation will award up to 10 additional grants for medical students who identify as minorities underrepresented in medicine (UIM) beginning in the 2020 grant funding year.

Application cycle open

We are currently accepting applications for the 2025–26 Medical Student Research Grant!

Application deadline: Feb. 7, 2025

Apply now

Nature of projects

Any area of research in the radiologic sciences is eligible for funding. Projects may include any of the following:

• Hypothesis-driven basic science
• Clinical investigation
• Drug, device or therapy development
• Comparative effectiveness
• Evidence-based radiology
• Ethics and professionalism
• Quality improvement
• Clinical practice efficiency
• Imaging informatics

Award amount

Grant recipients receive $3,000, which is matched by the sponsoring department, equaling $6,000 total. It is to be used as a stipend for the medical student. Funds are intended to secure time for the recipient and may not be used for non-personnel research expenses.

Eligibility

You must be an RSNA member to apply for the Medical Student Research Grant. If you’re a non-dues-paying member, your scientific advisor or your co-investigator must be a dues-paying member.

You must also meet the following criteria:

All applicants

• You must be a full-time medical student at an accredited North American medical school.
• You must commit to working full-time for at least 10 weeks on your research project.
• Your research project must take place in a department of radiology, radiation oncology or nuclear medicine in a North American medical institution, but this doesn’t have to be the same institution where you’re enrolled as a student.
• You cannot have been a principal investigator on a grant or contract totaling more than US $60,000 in a single year. This includes single and combined grants and contracts from government, private and commercial sources.
• You and your principal investigators cannot be employed by any for-profit, commercial company in the radiologic sciences.
• You cannot submit more than one grant application to the RSNA R&E Foundation a year, and cannot have a concurrent RSNA grant.
• Funding from other grant sources must be approved by Foundation staff if it wasn’t described in the original research plan.

UIM applicants
The Association of American Medical Colleges defines UIM using the following criteria:

• Racial and ethnic populations who are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population

The R&E Foundation further defines UIM as: 

• Those who self-identify as a member of a racial or ethnic group historically underrepresented in medicine, such as:
  
  • African-American/Black
  • Hispanic/Latino
  • American Indian/Alaska Native
  • Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander

Additional information and instructions

For more detailed information, including applications, please review this grant's policies and procedures (PDF).

Applicant resources

We’re here to help you succeed. Check out our grant writing workshops, research and development guides and application process FAQs.

Current recipients

To view additional recipients from prior years, please use our online grant and award recipient search tool.