The Elvin McDonald Research Endowment Fund (EMREF) is the Society’s research fund. This fund is used to underwrite research grants for gesneriad researchers who seek a better understanding of the anatomy, physiology, relationships, distribution, growth and development, or the pests and diseases of gesneriads. Grants may be used for a variety of specific purposes, such as travel during fieldwork to gather specimens or observe pollinators, or travel to examine specimens in herbaria or botanical gardens.  Awards may also be used for manuscript preparation, photography, microscopy, molecular or ecological studies, and to supplement other funding that the researcher may receive.

The Nellie D. Sleeth Scholarship Endowment Fund (NDSSEF) was established with a bequest from the estate of Nellie D. Sleeth, a past treasurer of The Gesneriad Society. The fund provides scholarships to interested and deserving students of botany or horticulture. One scholarship award is made each year to a student currently enrolled in a college or university who seeks a better understanding of the anatomy, ecology, physiology, relationships, distribution, growth and development, horticultural uses, or the pests and diseases of gesneriads.  The award may be used for a variety of specific purposes, e.g., travel during fieldwork to gather specimens or observe pollinators, or travel to examine specimens in herbaria or botanical gardens.  Awards may also be used for manuscript preparation, photography, microscopy, molecular or ecological studies, and to supplement other funding that the student may receive.  Award recipients are known as Sleeth Scholars.

Attention Researchers and Students
Students and researchers are invited to apply for grants from either the EMREF or NDSSEF.

EMREF grant information

NDSSEF grant information

You can help gesneriad students and researchers by making a donation to either or both of these funds.

2011 Award Recipients

EMFREF: Cassandra L. Coleman,
a graduate student working with John L. Clark at the University of Alabama in the Department of Biological Sciences, received the EMREF award in 2011. She is currently working on her Master of Science degree. Her research is on pollinator shifts in the neotropical genus Gasteranthus.

NDSSEF: Laura Clavijo Romero, currently a Ph.D. student at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alabama, was the Sleeth Scholar for 2011. Laura is using her award doing field work in Colombia on the genus Drymonia.

Here is a listing of Previous Award Recipients