The Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant is intended to defray costs of conducting clearly defined research projects including research expenses, equipment or software, and/or off-campus study of foreign languages or specialized methodologies/techniques needed for research.

"The Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant is a great opportunity for me to pursue my projects in lab and not have to worry as much about the cost," Kelsey said. "The application allows me to fully plan out and describe my experiment, preparing me for both later grant writing as well as scientific writing about my project."

Graduate students are eligible to apply for a Rackham Graduate Student Research Grant if they are in good academic standing in a Rackham degree granting program, and if the proposed research project or activity directly relates to and helps achieve progress towards his or her degree.

Ms. Hallinen's research project focuses on E. faecalis bacterial biofilm formation, particularly on the population dynamics of mixed cooperating populations. She mixes wild type cells with mutated cells that produce an enzyme that can break down an antibiotic. She is interested in studying how this mixed population cooperates and how this cooperation changes the spatiotemporal formation of the biofilms.

"I appreciate the help from Rackham to pursue my graduate projects in Biophysics," added Kelsey. "I am excited to see where my research will take me!"