IBACS is pleased to welcome our affiliates back to the 2026/2027 academic year! We are excited to embark on another year of cross-disciplinary and collaborative research.
Please find below some important reminders and updates about our services, resources, and funding opportunities:
Staffing and Research Support
IBACS affiliates can work with I-BRAIN Fellows, who offer specialized skills to support projects that use the Brain Imaging Research Core’s facilities. Please email us at ibacs@uconn.edu if interested.
Research Facilities
E-Lab is a shared research facility administered by IBACS. It offers space, equipment, training, and support for researchers who wish to monitor the human body’s physiological responses to a wide range of stimuli. Current equipment includes EEG (32- and 64-channel), eye-tracking, and tDCS.
MBNF is a shared research facility administered by IBACS. It provides behavioral phenotyping services for engineered mouse models and other mouse models with human clinical relevance.
This shared facility is a mobile laboratory for research, community outreach, training, and clinical services. It is available to anyone in the UConn community by reservation. Visit our website to view photos and the fee structure. IBACS affiliates can also apply for awards to use SAM if other funds are not available.
Other Resources & Services
Desks in Arjona 311 Available
There are desk spaces available for graduate students, post-docs, visiting scholars, and sponsored undergraduates working in IBACS-affiliated labs in Arjona 311. Desks can either be signed out individually or, if you plan to use the space sporadically, access can be provided to our flex-space desks. Access to our kitchen/lounge and meeting rooms will also be provided. Please contact Crystal to sign out a desk.
Arjona Meeting Space Available
IBACS has three Arjona meeting spaces available for use by affiliates, including OWL/hybrid support. Please email Crystal to inquire about access to the space and making reservations.
EAR supports faculty affiliates applying for competitive external awards. IBACS-affiliated investigators can submit their proposal drafts for formal review by an advisory committee, which will provide recommendations for the final proposal. Additionally, external advisors with domain-specific expertise can provide input to help strengthen applications.
Open to: Faculty affiliates
Key Application Dates: accepted on a rolling basis
Funding Opportunities
Seed Grants provide funding to eligible faculty for interdisciplinary projects and research initiatives. Successful applications typically involve collaborations that require expertise across laboratories and traditional disciplinary boundaries. We prioritize projects that will lead to publications and external awards.
Open to: Faculty and postdoctoral affiliates
Key Application Dates: Large awards (>$10K) fall deadline: Oct. 1, 2026; spring deadline: April 1, 2027. Small awards (<$10K): accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted.
The Institute awards funding to help researchers cover publication costs, providing affiliates with greater access to the top publications in their fields. The award provides a lump-sum of up to $1.5K to cover full publication costs, or up to 50% of the costs with a $3K cap on the IBACS contribution.
Open to: Faculty, graduate student, and postdoctoral researchers
Key Application Dates: accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted
IBACS offers funding for one-time or recurring meetings, workshops, and conferences that support the Institute’s mission.
Open to: Faculty, graduate students, postdoctoral, and external affiliates
Key Application Dates: accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted
IBACS affiliates can apply for awards to use our Science Alliance Mobile (SAM) for research or outreach. Please visit the webpage for more information and use the meeting/event support form to apply.
Undergraduate Opportunities
This award provides funding for undergraduate students conducting an independent research project. The student’s project must contribute to the Institute’s mission. Students can apply for awards of up to $1,000.
Open to: Undergraduate students working with an IBACS-affiliated faculty member
Key Application Dates: Now open. The fall deadline is September 21, 2026; spring deadline is February 2, 2027.
This award provides funding for undergraduate students conducting an independent research project. The student’s project must contribute to the Institute’s mission. The award consists of $5,000 for a single summer. Students may use up to $3,500 of the award on fellowship funds to covering living expenses, with the remaining funds available to purchase materials and equipment in support of the research project.
Open to: Undergraduate students working with an IBACS-affiliated faculty member
Key Application Dates: Opens on December 1, 2026, and closes on February 1, 2027.
Graduate Student Opportunities
IBACS offers three-month summer research fellowships to graduate students working on topics with relevance to the brain and cognitive sciences. This program prepares students to apply for competitive external funding and equips them with valuable career skills via a summer grant writing workshop taught by Prof. Nicole Landi.
Open to: Graduate student affiliates
Key Application Dates: Opens on December 1, 2026, and closes December 31, 2026.
This fellowship offers affiliated graduate students the chance to inspire the next generation of brain and cognitive sciences scholars. Fellows receive funding and specialized training, develop outreach programs, and engage K-12 students from underrepresented groups at UConn.
Open to: Graduate student affiliates
Key Application Dates: Application dates for 2027 will be announced soon.
IBACS offers assistantships for graduate students to work at the Brain Imaging Research Core (BIRC), supporting scientists with imaging experiments. Ph.D. students with MRI experience will receive advanced neuroimaging training and professional experience supporting BIRC users in implementing, running, and analyze studies using MRI, tDCS, TMS, NIRS, and EEG imaging methods.
Open to: Graduate student affiliates
Key Application Dates: We anticipate this application will open in Spring 2027. Stay tuned!
Additional Funding & Resources
These awards provide up to $500 to be used for meeting/conference travel expenses where data will be presented that aligns with the IBACS mission.
Open to: Graduate student and postdoctoral affiliates; undergraduate students who are members of an IBACS-affiliated lab
Key Application Dates: accepted on a rolling basis until funds are exhausted
This fellowship provides 20 weeks of free, full-time daycare to graduate students affiliates who have become new parents.
Open to: Graduate student affiliates
Key Application Dates: accepted on a rolling basis until two awards are made
Stay Connected
Have something you want to share with our affiliates? Please submit to the IBACS soapbox! Anyone can submit announcements about events, training opportunities, courses, talks, funding opportunities, and more. Our soapbox is sent out to our listserv every other Monday at 2pm.
The Institute is always looking to expand our community of University affiliates, helping researchers network and connect to generate collaborative research. If you know of others in your department who would like to be affiliated with the Institute, please forward this email or encourage them to learn more about the benefits of affiliation on our website.
Join the IDEA Committee
The IBACS Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee meets monthly and focuses on facilitating activities and events that foster discussion around these topics for undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, postdocs, staff, and more in the brain and cognitive sciences community. All are welcome to join our committee and help plan and run these events. Email us if you are interested!
Best wishes for a productive year ahead!
Inge-Marie Eigsti
Director, IBACS
Crystal Mills
Institute Coordinator, IBACS