Grants and Writing Resources for the Uniformed Services University

At USU's fourth annual Graduate Education Awards on May 6, 2026, the Board of Regents Award went to two doctoral graduates. One, an M.D./Ph.D. student in molecular and cell biology, built an experimental framework that models how cancer cells evolve under therapy, and the student's work on SOS1-targeted therapies has informed preclinical efforts at major pharmaceutical partners. The next day the School of Medicine gave its Emma L. Bockman Memorial Award to a graduating medical student for research comparing first-line antibiotic treatments for acute cholecystitis at tertiary care military treatment facilities.

Where Student Work Appears

The USU Science Review is an annual magazine run entirely by graduate and medical students, who fill its editorial board and staff. Contributors include graduate students, medical students and faculty. The science runs from molecular biology to neuroscience, infectious disease and global health, and the magazine also carries features on professional development, books and media, and health and wellness. A faculty member in Anatomy, Physiology and Genetics advises the editors.

The magazine has two stated goals. One is discussion between the graduate and medical schools. The other is practice, since students on staff build writing and editing skills.

Funding for Nursing Research

The Graduate School of Nursing reports more than $40,000 in current student research funding, and says 85 percent of its students receive funding for dissertation research from national organizations. Its Faye Glenn Abdellah Center for Military and Federal Health Research supports faculty and student projects and runs work groups where researchers sharpen methods and critique one another's work.

USU also houses the TriService Nursing Research Program, the only Congressionally authorized Department of Defense program that funds military nursing research. A TSNRP Research and EBP Award ranges from $20,000 to $400,000. An active-duty nurse must serve as principal investigator, and a graduate student can apply with the university as the applicant organization. Master's and doctoral nursing students who plan to apply can attend Grant Camp, where they write the application on TSNRP forms with ongoing faculty feedback. Students send a proposal outline and a letter of support to get in.

Help With Writing and Theses

The Academic Writing Center in the James A. Zimble Learning Resource Center works with graduate and postgraduate students on scientific and academic writing, and gives feedback on dissertations, theses and DNP projects. In-person consultations at the Bethesda LRC run up to 40 minutes, with drafts uploaded 48 hours ahead. Writers at other USU locations can choose written feedback by email or a 40-minute Google Meet session. The center also hosts writing groups and brownbag talks on topics such as narrowing a research question.

Center staff help route finished theses, dissertations and DNP projects to the University Archives, which keeps a digital collection of Theses, Dissertations, & DNP Projects. The TSNRP Writing Workshop, designed for military nurses eligible for TSNRP funding, aims at a submitted manuscript, grant proposal, practice guideline or report. Participants complete eight online modules and monthly assignments with a mentor, then spend three days in person with individual critiques.

Before a dissertation, thesis or DNP project goes to the committee, our editors can check its grammar, consistency and format. See our Uniformed Services University dissertation and thesis editing and Uniformed Services University essay editing pages, or write to editors@editorsforstudents.com.

From Our Writing Guides

• Formulating the PICOT Question: The DNA of Your Capstone
• The Clinical Inquiry Framework: A Forensic Audit of Research Viability
• How to Avoid Academic Dishonesty: Citing and Quoting Sources