Travel and Research Information, Applications, & Reimbursement Guidelines

Limited funds from the Lowe Endowment and Levy Fund are available to Yale MD students. Students are invited to submit an application for funding that can be used towards research costs/equipment. Preference will be given to faculty/student pairs who do not have research grants or other funds available to cover these expenses. Funds will not be given if the faculty mentor holds a grant or has other funds. Medical students may apply for research costs/equipment for one research project per academic year, which runs from July 1st – June 30th. Medical students cannot submit a second application for research costs/equipment for the same research project. The maximum amount that can be applied for is $1,000.

Please note: Students will only receive reimbursements for expenses for which they submitted an application, and received an award letter, from OSR. Students will not be reimbursed for any expenses incurred prior to this approval. Therefore, students should not incur any expenses before the application has been reviewed, and an award letter has been received.

Important note for students seeking funding for study participant remuneration/incentives:

Yale University has strict guidelines which must be adhered to regarding study participant remuneration. The PI, study team, and student are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of study participants receiving this remuneration. Participant names and/or other identifying information must not be shared with anyone outside of the study team. For any student seeking this type of funding, please include your full name, mailing address, last 4 digits of your Social Security number, and cell phone number with your submitted application.

Students awarded funding for study participant remuneration will be issued a prepaid reloadable card from the Yale Treasury, which takes approximately 1-2 weeks to arrive. The student has 90 days to use the funds on this card and must use this card to purchase all study participant remunerations. Please note that students will need to provide itemized receipts for all purchases using the prepaid card.

Students are required to submit a Participant Record Log to OSR via osr.med@yale.edu after they have distributed the study participant remunerations, along with a single, consolidated, PDF of all itemized receipts.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Please use the following naming convention when sending your application: LastnameFirstname_LoweLevy_2023-2024 and combine all supporting documents in a single file. Please send your application, and all supporting documents, to Box@Yale.

Application to the Lowe and Levy Endowment Fund

Historically, YSM students enrolled in the MD program have been eligible to be reimbursed for up to 50% of their out-of-pocket expenses, up to a maximum of $700, to present their research at one scientific conference per year. Students traveling internationally were eligible for an additional $700 travel supplement from the Lowe fund, for a maximum of $1,400. In response to student calls for increased research conference travel funding, the amount students may be reimbursed for 50% of their travel has been increased to $1,000 for domestic travel and $1,700 for international travel by the addition of Lowe endowment supplements. Students are responsible for all remaining costs. In past years, some students have supplemented OSR travel funds by seeking funds from their mentor, conference-specific travel awards, or other sources.

Details about the reimbursement guidelines:

• We expect students to plan their travel as far in advance as possible to get the best rate for airfare. Students are expected to select air travel within the basic least expensive cabin class offered. Connecting flights are less expensive than direct flights. Ticket upgrades will not be covered.
• We will cover hotel expenses for a maximum of three days. However, the expectation is that students will select reasonably priced lodging.
• Any meals included in conference registration fees, or airline ticket fees, are not eligible for reimbursement.
• Students are expected to select ground transportation that is reasonably priced. If at all possible, please take public transportation rather than costly taxis.
• Students must review the University Guidelines for Medical Student Reimbursement for the full list of reimbursement guidelines.

For students applying for travel support through the Office of Student Research, please complete the following two-step process:

Step one: Before you travel

• Students must apply for travel funds at least thirty days before travel.
• Carefully follow the instructions on this application form: Medical Student Travel Application Form
• Please submit your complete application to the Office of Student Research to the Box@Yale. Note that you will be asked to enter your NetID and password.
  • Students must use the following naming convention for submitted files: LNAME_Fname_MeetingAcronym_AcademicYear (i.e.. SMITH_Robert_SID_2023-2024.pdf)

• Students must submit their expenses within ten business days following their return from travel. Expenses submitted more than 10 days after travel will not be reimbursed.
• Students must complete the Travel Reimbursement Request Form. Please be prepared to upload PDF copies of the following documents to the form:
• A signed, PDF copy of the Travel Expense Report Form
• A PDF of the conference schedule/agenda. A single page with “at a glance” details is acceptable.
• If the student is receiving partial funds from the mentor or department in which the research was performed, then a statement of support with an administrator’s name, and email address, should be uploaded with the following naming convention: LNAME_Fname_MeetingAcronym_DeptSupport.
• You must use the following naming convention for all files. Files uploaded without this naming convention will delay the reimbursement process.
  1. LNAME_Firstname_ExpenseReport
  2. LNAME_Firstname_Receipts
  3. LNAME_Firstname_AcronymAgenda (ie. SMITH_Robert_SIDAgenda)
• Please contact the Office of Student Research at osr.med@yale.edu with any questions.