Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA)

Enrollment Period:

Annually recurring from January to February.

The 2025 enrollment period will be open from January 20, 2025, through February 23, 2025.

The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA), housed at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC), is pleased to announce funding for research at the ASM Archives in the area of the history of microbiology.  

Grant

One cash grant of $1500 each per year will be awarded.  Awardees are required to present the results of their research as a poster at the ASM annual meeting Microbe within 2 years of research conducted (dependent upon ability to attend the meeting). Further, awardees are required to publish the results of their research within 2 years of research conducted within the ASM-sphere. 

Research Areas

The grants are to support research of the awardee's choosing, in areas that have relevant materials in the CHOMA collection.  The CHOMA collection includes 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics, photographs of scientists and microbes, topical files on various aspects of microbiology, biographical materials, instructional materials (including slides and motion pictures), records of the Society (including journals and proceedings of meetings) from its founding in 1899 to the present, and several collections of personal papers. For additional information on the collection, go to the CHOMA home page at https://lib.guides.umbc.edu/c.php?g=836720&p=5975476.

Time Frame and Location of Research

• The travel grant is to be used for travel expenses to visit the ASM Archives, located at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, to conduct the above-mentioned research. 
• All research must take place within 12 months of the award.   
• All awardees must provide a report to the Archivist on their research within six months of the research visit.   

Application Procedures

Applicants for the History of Microbiology Research Travel Awards must submit the following via e-mail to the ASM Archivist at archives@asmusa.org

1. CV (any length)
2. Detailed description of the proposed project (three pages maximum) clearly demonstrating its historical intent**
3. Short description of previous historical research undertaken by applicant (if applicable) and/or an indication of how/why the applicant became interested in the history of microbiology.
4. Tentative list of archive materials to be used based on the descriptions of CHOMA holdings found at the website.
5. One letter of recommendation (either e-mailed directly by individuals providing the recommendations or forwarded by candidate)

An effective history of microbiology research question may: 

• Address a specific problem or correct a misconception
• Have a stated hypothesis, appropriate historical data, and an original analysis
• Present new biographical information with a fresh, compelling analysis

Questions? Contact ASM Archivist, Colleen Puterbaugh at cputerbaugh@asmusa.org or archives@asmusa.org.

Submission Deadline: All applications and letters of recommendation must be submitted no later than February 23, 2025, to the ASM Archivist, Colleen Puterbaugh, at cputerbaugh@asmusa.org or archives@asmusa.org.

Selection Committee

All applications will be reviewed by a working group of the Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) Subcommittee.  Decisions on individual applications will be announced within 4-6 weeks of the application deadline date.  Decisions of the selection committee are final.    

Award Announcement

Awards will be announced within 4-6 weeks of application deadline date. 

All candidates will receive an e-mail notification of the status of their applications after the selection committee makes its decisions.

Acknowledgment of Funding   

In any publication or presentation of your research, please acknowledge funding as follows:

"Funding for this research was provided by the Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA)."

Additional Information

For additional information on the award and award guidelines, contact Colleen Puterbaugh at cputerbaugh@asmusa.org or archives@asmusa.org.

Submission Deadline:  February 23, 2025

The History of Microbiology Research Travel Award program was initiated in 2012 by the Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA).  The awards were given to support historical research of the awardees' choosing, in areas that could be supported by materials in the CHOMA collections. The CHOMA collections, located at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, include 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics, photographs, biographical materials, topical files on various aspects of microbiology, records of the Society from its founding in 1899 to the present, and several collections of personal papers. 

To see profiles of past awardees, click on the years listed below:

2024 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award Recipients

2023 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award Recipients

2019 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award Recipients

2015 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award Recipient

2013 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award Recipient

2012 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award Recipients

Any Questions? Contact ASM Archivist at archives@asmusa.org 

The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award: 

Adriana Fraser, M.A. History of Medicine

Adriana Fraser; University of Pennsylvania Ph.D. student, Department of History and Sociology of Science is conducting research for her dissertation entitled, Making Danger: Biological weapons research, Biosafety, and the Management of Microbial Life, 1940-1990” making great use of the Biological Warfare collection, among others.  Her research delves into this thicket of design, environment, safety, and danger in the context of American, Canadian, and British biological weapons research in the second half of the twentieth century.

Lorenzo Servitje, Ph.D. 

Lorenzo Servitje;  Department of English; Health, Medicine, and Society Program at Lehigh University will use the award to research for his upcoming publication, The Science (and) Fiction of Antibiosis: A Cultural History, which examines the history of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in biomedical prose and popular discourse from the pre-antibiotic era to the growing corpus of fiction in various media exploring the “post-antibiotic apocalypse.”

 

The History of Microbiology Research Travel Awards are given to support historical research of the awardees' choosing, in areas that can be supported by materials in the CHOMA collections.  The CHOMA collections, located at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, include 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics, photographs, biographical materials, topical files on various aspects of microbiology, records of the Society from its founding in 1899 to the present, and several collections of personal papers. 

The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award: 

Dr. Lori D. Banks, Ph.D.

Lori Banks, Bates College, Department of Biology, will use the award to conduct research at CHOMA to explore the intersection of civil rights policy and the work of Black microbiologists during the early 20^th century in the US.

Marina E. Eremeeva, M.D. , Ph.D. , Sc.D.

Marina Eremeeva, Georgia Southern University, Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, will use the award to conduct research at CHOMA to evaluate the historic impact of rickettsiology and the role of rickettsiologists on the overall development of the fields of general microbiology, public health, and veterinary science. 

 

The History of Microbiology Research Travel Awards are given to support historical research of the awardees' choosing, in areas that can be supported by materials in the CHOMA collections.  The CHOMA collections, located at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, include 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics, photographs, biographical materials, topical files on various aspects of microbiology, records of the Society from its founding in 1899 to the present, and several collections of personal papers. 

The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2019 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award: 

Dr. Tara Smith, Ph.D. 

Tara Smith, Kent State University, College of Public Health, used the award to conduct research at CHOMA fully exploring the story of pertussis vaccine development to include the contributions of Pearl Kendrick and Grace Eldering. Through the course of her research, she also uncovered information on Dr. Alice Evans' own struggles with long term brucellosis and Dr. Smith published a paper exploring the connections to long COVID and chronic diseases, which was published here: Long COVID: Alice Evans, Brucellosis, and Reflections on Infections Causes of Chronic Disease.

Dr. Catherine Vrentas, Ph.D. 

Cathy Vrentas, PPD ThermoFisher Scientific, used the award to conduct research at CHOMA exploring the impact of ASM outreach activities changed over the course of the last century as well as the perception about the role of outreach by the ASM community in order to track trends in outreach practice and to address the current conception that historical involvement in microbiological outreach was limited.

 

The History of Microbiology Research Travel Awards are given to support historical research of the awardees' choosing, in areas that can be supported by materials in the CHOMA collections.  The CHOMA collections, located at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, include 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics, photographs, biographical materials, topical files on various aspects of microbiology, records of the Society from its founding in 1899 to the present, and several collections of personal papers. 

The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2015 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award: 

Lauren N. Ross, M.D.

Lauren Ross, University of Pittsburgh, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, used the award to conduct research at CHOMA on early American bacteriologists' understanding of Koch's postulates and more generally their ideas about disease causation as reflected in textbooks, lab manuals, and other materials.

 

The History of Microbiology Research Travel Awards are given to support historical research of the awardees' choosing, in areas that can be supported by materials in the CHOMA collections.  The CHOMA collections, located at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, include 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics, photographs, biographical materials, topical files on various aspects of microbiology, records of the Society from its founding in 1899 to the present, and several collections of personal papers. 

The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2013 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award: 

Sharon Bertsch McGrayne 

Sharon McGrayne, a freelance writer and editor in Seattle, Washington, will use the award to conduct research at CHOMA for her book, Woman in Science (working title). The research will focus on Dr. Rita Colwell, and her extensive service to ASM.

 

The History of Microbiology Research Travel Awards are given to support historical research of the awardees' choosing, in areas that can be supported by materials in the CHOMA collections.  The CHOMA collections, located at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, include 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics, photographs, biographical materials, topical files on various aspects of microbiology, records of the Society from its founding in 1899 to the present, and several collections of personal papers. 

The Center for the History of Microbiology/ASM Archives (CHOMA) is pleased to announce the recipient of the 2012 History of Microbiology Research Travel Award:

Melanie Armstrong

Melanie Armstrong, Mellon Visiting Assistant Professor, University of California, Davis, and Postdoctoral Researcher in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Berkeley. Armstrong will use the award to study the history of high-security, infectious disease laboratories, exploring how technologies have been implemented to contain microscopic organisms and how the conceptions of microbial risk along with understandings of the microbes themselves have changed over time. She will also explore how environmental impact statements and other forms of public communication are used to articulate the threats of microbes to particular populations.

Sarah Wiley

Sarah Wiley, Masters of Science student in Journalism with an emphasis on science communication and international media, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Wiley will use the grant to research and trace the scientific discourse of leprosy transmission from the late nineteenth century to the present. She will concentrate on the role of scientific researchers and their work in discerning the reservoirs and route of transmission, an area less explored in leprosy research, which has traditionally been dominated by research on the social/cultural implications of the disease.

 

The History of Microbiology Research Travel awards are given to support historical research of the awardees' choosing, in areas that can be supported by materials in the CHOMA collections. The CHOMA collections, located at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, include 9,000 volumes on microbiology and related topics, photographs, biographical materials, topical files on various aspects of microbiology, records of the Society from its founding in 1899 to the present, and several collections of personal papers.