Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Grants

Application Closed

Applicants in the AY24-25 award cycle have been notified of funding decisions. The application for the AY25-26 award cycle will open in August 2025.

 

Program Overview

The Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Grants program, facilitated by ADVANCE, funds a range of scholarly activities to meet the career-relevant needs of faculty members in science and engineering disciplines. In particular, we seek to support needs beyond those typically funded through traditional channels. 

Funding

Funds of up to $20,000 may be requested, depending on the scope and needs of the proposal.

Eligibility

All U-M Ann Arbor faculty members with active appointments that are tenured, on the tenure-track, or actively transitioning to the tenure track (currently non-tenured instructional faculty members, research faculty members, and clinical track faculty members) in science and engineering disciplines. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions regarding eligibility.

Faculty members on the tenure track in the arts, humanities, and social science disciplines will be redirected to apply to the SUCCEED Faculty Grants Program in the winter term.

 

Questions?

Email the ADVANCE Grants Team at [email protected]

Elizabeth Caroline Crosby teachingWho is Elizabeth Caroline Crosby?

World-renowned neuroanatomist Elizabeth Caroline Crosby (1888-1983) began her distinguished career at the University of Michigan in 1920. Beginning as an anatomy instructor, she rose through the ranks to become the first woman full professor in the Medical School.

A dedicated researcher, teacher, and mentor, Dr. Crosby published extensively in comparative anatomy and received several prestigious awards. Her research greatly expanded the available knowledge of the nervous system of vertebrates. Dr. Crosby was the first woman to be awarded the Henry Russel Lectureship at the University of Michigan (1946); she earned the Henry Gray Award in Neuroanatomy in 1972 and the National Medal of Science in 1979.

After her retirement in 1958 at age sixty-nine, Dr. Crosby served as a clinical consultant at both the University of Michigan and University of Alabama. Although she never married, Dr. Crosby adopted and oversaw the education of two young girls in the 1940s. Dr. Crosby remained active in scientific work until the end of her life in 1983 at the age of ninety-four.

Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Faculty Grant Recipients

2024 Crosby Recipients

Crosby recipient winners. See Crosby webpage for full list.

  • Top row
    • Mania Aghaei Meibodi - Architecture & Urban Planning
    • Rachel Bergmans - Medicine
    • Aimée Classen - LSA
    • Alison Davis Rabosky - LSA
    • Tiffany Fryer - LSA
  • Bottom row
    • Abigail Jacobs - Information
    • Lindsay Kobayashi - Public Health
    • Nicole Koropatkin - Medicine
    • Daphna Stroumsa - Medicine
    • Liuyan Zhao - LSA
2023-24 Crosby Recipients

2023-24 Crosby recipients

  • Top row
    • Robin Brewer - School of Information
    • Na Hyun Jo - LSA, Physics
    • David Jones - Medical School
    • David Jurgens - School of Information
    • Danai Koutra - College of Engineering
  • Bottom row
    • Claudia Loebel - College of Engineering
    • Gabriela Marcu - School of Information
    • Wenhao Sun - College of Engineering
    • Jenna Wiens - College of Engineering
2022-23 Crosby Recipients

  • Arash Adel - College of Architecture
  • Aline Cotel - College of Engineering
  • Anouck Girard - College of Engineering
  • Aubree Gordon - School of Public Health
  • Nakhiah Goulbourne - College of Engineering
  • Dominique Kinnett-Hopkins - School of Kinesiology
  • Annalise Rahman-Filipiak - School of Medicine
  • Corinna Schindler - College of LSA
  • Kendrin Sonneville - School of Public Health
  • Joanna Spencer-Segal - School of Medicine
  • Serife Tol - College of Engineering
  • Marjorie Weber - College of LSA
  • Jun Wu - School of Medicine
2021-22 Crosby Recipients

Crosby awardee photos

  • Laura Balzano (College of Engineering)
  • Ashley Bucsek (College of Engineering)
  • Jade Burns (School of Nursing)
  • Rhima Coleman (College of Engineering)
  • Anouck Girard (College of Engineering)
  • Jenan Kharbush (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Kelley Kidwell (School of Public Health)
  • Samuel Kwon (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Nancy Love (College of Engineering)
  • Jean Morrison (School of Public Health)
  • Massy Mutumba (School of Nursing)
  • Sarah Peitzmeier (School of Nursing)
  • Kerri Pratt (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Michaelanne Thomas (School of Information)
  • Justine Wu (Medical School)
2020-21 Crosby Recipients
  • Jacinta Beehner (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Tawanna Dillahunt (School of Information)
  • Annette Ostling (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Maria Papaleontiou (Medical School)
  • Sara Pasquali (Medical School)
  • Allison Steiner (College of Engineering)
2019-20 Crosby Recipients
  • Laura Balzano (College of Engineering)
  • Marin Clark (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Alison Davis Rabosky (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Anouck Girard (College of Engineering)
  • Yihe Huang (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Ines Ibanez (School for the Environment and Sustainability)
  • Naomi Levin (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Elisa Maria Maffioli (School of Public Health)
  • Alison Mondul (School of Public Health)
  • Michelle Munro-Kramer (School of Nursing)
  • Jillian Pearring (Medical School)
  • Megan Pesch (Medical School)
  • Sheria Robinson-Lane (School of Nursing)
  • Qiong Yang (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
2018-19 Crosby Recipients
  • Ana Baylin (School of Public Health)
  • Jennifer Blesh (School for Environment and Sustainability)
  • Gyorgyi Csankovszki (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Shanna Daly (College of Engineering)
  • Hui Deng (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Aubree Gordon (School of Public Health)
  • Anna Mathew (Medical School)
  • Sierra Petersen (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Emily Provost (College of Engineering)
  • Elizabeth Roberts (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)
  • Patricia Wittkopp (College of Literature, Science, and the Arts)

Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Faculty Grant Spotlight

Green Life Sciences Symposium: Plant-environment interactions across scales (September, 2018)       

“The Crosby grant, along with supplemental funding, allowed us to expand the Green Life Sciences Symposium to a two-day event with 26 invited speakers, a poster session, and a career fair. This gave us the flexibility to invite established keynote speakers, ‘up and coming’ assistant and associate professors, and a number of women and/or minority scientists to share their research. We were likewise able to offset some of the travel costs for junior scientists (postdoctoral researchers and graduate students) to attend. Overall, the symposium was a great success, with excellent talks, lots of networking, and an incredibly fun and supportive vibe. The support from the Elizabeth Crosby award helped make this symposium a reality!”                                                                                                   
Regina Baucom, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology

Crosby Award recipient 2017-18

“Having the Crosby award meant that our research was not delayed when two people had to be out of the lab for an extended time. We were able to hire someone to help move their projects forward, and it benefited the careers of at least four people: both of the people who were out of the lab, the person we hired, and me.” 
                                                                               
Katherine Spindler, Microbiology and Immunology, Medical School

Crosby Award recipient 2017-18

The Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Research Award supported novel investigation into the advancement and leadership opportunities for women surgeons. A qualitative study provided rich insights into barriers and facilitators experienced by women surgeons. We also learned about individual and institutional factors that affect advancement and leadership opportunities. The funding was essential to support collaboration with an executive coach to facilitate confidential research interviews, and to offset costs for a research assistant and administrative personnel.

Coming together around this research sparked stronger synergy among team members and mobilized development of the Michigan Women’s Surgical Collaborative (MWSC). In 2017, MWSC launched the inaugural Women in Surgery Leadership Development Conference. The high demand and incredibly positive feedback from participants encouraged us to make this an annual event.

                                                                               
Gurjit Sandhu, Michigan Women’s Surgical Collaborative

Crosby Award Recipient 2016-17

As of 2023, 243 Elizabeth Caroline Crosby Faculty Grants have been awarded.

29% of recipients have used a portion of their funding to assist with child or other dependent care needs.

Distribution of Crosby Award Recipients from 2003 to 2020, by College: LSA, 31%. Medical School, 30%. College of Engineering, 20%. School of Public Health, 9%. Other, 10%.