W. Fred Taylor, acting director of the Division for Research Capacity Building at the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), will receive the Honorary CUR Fellows Award at an April 18 reception during the Council on Undergraduate Research’s 2018 Posters on the Hill event on Capitol Hill. Taylor oversees NIGMS’s capacity-building programs, which include the Institutional Development Award Program (IDeA), the Support of Competitive Research Program (SCORE), the Native American Research Centers for Health (NARCH), and the Science Education Partnerships Award Program (SEPA).

Posters on the Hill, CUR’s signature student advocacy event, is held in partnership with the American Chemical Society. Accompanied by their faculty mentors, 60 exceptional undergraduates will share their research on April 17–18 with Members of Congress, congressional staff, and federal government officials, as well as highlight the value of federal investment in undergraduate research.

Said Elizabeth L. Ambos, executive officer for the Council on Undergraduate Research, “Fred Taylor’s sustained leadership and advocacy for biomedical research and training programs has resulted in significant national growth in undergraduate research engagement in the biomedical sciences. CUR is particularly appreciative of the work of the NIGMS’ INBRE (IDeA Networks for Biomedical Research Excellence) program to broaden and diversify the ranks of biomedical professionals.”

Said Taylor, "I am pleased and honored to receive this award from the Council for Undergraduate Research and to have been able to contribute to the spark that is igniting the flames of the biomedical research agenda of tomorrow.”

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