Grants

SMSNA Scholars in Sexuality Research Grants Program

Grants

Applications for the 2025 Scholars in Sexuality grant is currently closed and expected to reopen in January 2026.

The maximum award amounts are:

$5,000 for Undergraduate/Medical/Graduate School Students
$7,500 for Resident or Post-Doctoral/Fellows

The Sexual Medicine Society of North America (SMSNA) “Scholars in Sexuality Research Grants Program” supports junior investigators conducting research into human sexuality and sexual wellness. It is the intent of this program to attract junior clinicians and researchers to the field of sexual medicine and to support their early studies.

Applications will be accepted from graduate or medical students, residents in graduate medical education training programs, and post-doctoral/post-residency fellows.
Applications will be accepted from researchers representing diverse backgrounds including, but not limited to: urology, psychology, psychiatry, gynecology, internal medicine, geriatrics, public health, physiology, genetics, molecular biology, social work, law, etc.
Research projects must be carried out within the United States or Canada to qualify for funding.
Applicant’s mentor must be an SMSNA member.
All funded applicants will receive membership in the SMSNA at no charge for 2 years.

Applicants must complete the online application form by March 25 of each year prior to the SMSNA Scientific Meeting at the AUA or by August 31 of each year prior to the SMSNA Fall Scientific Meeting. Applications received after each date above will be considered in the following grant review cycle. Please note: If all grant funds are awarded during the first application cycle (deadline: March 25), no additional funding will be available until the next award year.

Applications will require the following attachments. All documents should be prepared in Arial 11 point font:

Personal Information:

Biographical information
Photo/headshot (attachment)
CV (attachment)
Career development plan: How the grant will influence future endeavors in sexual medicine (500 words maxiumum)

Research Information:

A summary statement of 1-3 sentences detailing the importance of the work and how it aligns with the priorities of the SMSNA
Detailed proposal of the research question (four-page required for undergraduate, medical school and/or graduate level students, six-page required for residents or post-doctoral fellows). Proposals must contain the following:
- Specific Aims and Hypothesis (addressing the aims of the research and scope of grant)
- Background of the problem being addressed
- Preliminary data
- Experimental design (including an outline of the proposed investigation and potential alternatives and problems that may be encountered)
- Estimated time to complete proposed study
Budget (cannot include overhead or indirect costs)
Attestation that grant funds will not be used for salary and benefits of the awardee.
Optional: Please describe in a single parapragh how your project addresses issues of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in sexual medicine
Letter of support from the mentor, who must be an SMSNA member

*Research under a suitable mentor outside of the society may be acceptable in some extraordinary circumstances for appropriate projects. If a proposed mentor is not a member of the SMSNA, we require that they join the SMSNA prior to inception of the research project.

For questions or information about this grants program, please contact the SMSNA Executive Office at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Past Recipients

Ramzy Burns

Indiana University
The Other Half: Evaluating the Impact of Female Sexual Dysfunction Screening and Evaluation on Partners of Men with Inflation Penile Prostheses

Lauren Burton

The Cooper Health System
Investigating Cannabinoid Receptors in Clitoral and Peri-clitoral Tissues for Targeted Therapy in Clitorodynia, Female Sexual Dysfunction, and Pelvic Pain

Wongsakorn Kiattiburut
Lawson Research Institute
Development of a Refined Two-dimensional and a Novel Three-dimension Cellular Models for Peyronie’s Disease

Bernardita Ljubetic

Cleveland Clinic Health System
Quantifying quorum-sensing molecules from explanted inflatable penile prosthesis bacteria isolates

Savannah Quach

University of Nevada, Reno
Gender euphoria through art journaling: A qualitative study of the transgender and gender diverse perspective

Bradley Roth

University of California, Irvine
Comparing sexual function outcomes following minimally invasive surgical therapies (MIST) for benign prostatic hyperplasia

Nicole Wright

Baylor College of Medicine
The Impact of Modern Sexual Media on the Sexual Health of Young Women

All Section

SMSNA Scholars in Sexuality Research Grants Program

Past Recipients

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