Legacy Award

Applications are not currently being accepted for this award.

The Legacy Fund was established in 2010 with an important founding gift from Past President Don Lindburg, with the stipulation that it be used for a new initiative in service to the Society and to primatology. Many young scientists present their first professional paper at the Society’s annual meeting, and go on to become lifelong members of the Society and significant contributors to the science and practice of primatology. In recognition of the role that the Society has played in career development, the Legacy Fund was established to facilitate interdisciplinary training for an ‘early-career’ professional in primatology. The intent of the award is to provide for a period of short-term training in a discipline, or development of a skill-set, that is outside the recipient’s area of expertise, but will add to the ability of the recipient to make unique contributions to primate research or to the agencies and organizations that affect primate research. Examples include (but certainly are not limited to) a field primatologist receiving training in molecular biology or endocrinology, a laboratory primatologist acquiring skills in field primatology, or a primatologist serving on a Congressional committee, doing training with USDA, or interning in journalism and science writing. The Legacy Fund is managed by the ASP Legacy Project Committee.

Eligibility

The applicant must be in a professional position, a Full Member of ASP, and possess the terminal degree appropriate to the applicant’s career (MA, Ph.D., DVM, MD).

Application

The application, which should be submitted as a single PDF file, must contain the following sections:

  1. One page essay on Candidate’s accomplishments and goals;
  2. Two page description of proposed activities, including a clear statement of how the activities will supplement the Candidate’s existing strengths;
  3. An itemized budget and a narrative budget;
  4. Detailed letter from hosting individual and/or institution confirming the commitment to training and details of the training;
  5. Curriculum vita for the Candidate

Evaluation

The Legacy Project Committee will evaluate the Candidate’s full application, and assess the degree to which the training will lead to a career-enhancing outcome with regard to the ability of the candidate to make important contributions to the field of primatology. 

Budget

Proposals will be accepted that request up to $10,000 in support. The itemized budget of expenses and a narrative budget should identify in broad terms how the requested money will contribute to the identified training goals. Allowable expenses include travel, per diem, and equipment or reagent costs. Support for others’ salaries will not be allowed.

Reporting to ASP

Candidates who receive the ASP Legacy Award will prepare a two-page summary of the outcome of the training experiences for the Legacy Project Committee at the completion of training and within one year of receipt of the award. In addition, within three years of completion of training, the awardee will be invited to an annual meeting of ASP to present a “Legacy Address” to the Society. This address should highlight the interdisciplinary training received during the award and the resultant impact on the career trajectory of the awardee.

Submission of Application

Completed applications must be submitted in a single PDF file, with items 1-5 listed above. The next application cycle will be announced in the ASP Bulletin and on this website.

Dr. Amanda Dettmer, Laboratory of Comparative Ethology, NICHD, Bethesda, MD – 2015 

Project: From Bowel to Brain: Studying Gut Microbiota Integrity and Chronic HPA Axis Activity in Rhesus Monkeys Across Development.

At the time of her Legacy Award, Dr. Dettmer was a postdoctoral trainee at NICHD in the laboratory of Dr. Stephen Suomi. She is now an Associate Research Scientist at the Yale Child Study Center. Her research focuses on the theme of “risk and resilience.” She will use the ASP Legacy Award to learn techniques to assess the quantity and diversity of intestinal microbiota, and use these techniques to study the associations between gut microbiota integrity and HPA axis activity in rhesus monkeys across the first year of life. Amanda gave the Legacy Award Address at the 2018 meeting in San Antonio, TX, about her training experience and preliminary research results. Her first publication emanating from this study was published in April 2019 in the American Journal of Primatology: “A descriptive analysis of gut microbiota composition in differentially reared infant rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) across the first 6 months of life.”

Dr. Julienne Rutherford, University of Illinois, Chicago – 2013

Project: The role of placental morphology and physiology in fetal brain.

At the time of her Legacy Award, Dr. Rutherford was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Women, Children and Family Health Science in the College of Nursing, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Anthropology, at the University of Illinois, Chicago. She is now Associate Professor and Associate Department Head of the Department of Women, Children, and Family Health Science. Her work with the intraunterine environments of primates made her a perfect fit for this award, which has allowed her to pursue novel directions incorporating advanced techniques and knowledge in neuroscience. With the support of this award she can continue to investigate links between placental function, and brain development.

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