WMS Research Grants

The 2023 grant cycle is now closed. Applicants will be notified of the results in mid-December. 

WMS Grant Scoring Criteria


In order to foster and promote research on health and medicine in extreme or austere environments and to advance the field of wilderness medicine, the WMS offers the following grants:

  • Charles S. Houston Grant ($5,000) for medical or other health care students. Please note that Houston Grant applicants may submit a draft to [email protected] for suggestions from our Research Committee, but it must be received at least one month before the submission deadline. 
  • Research-in-Training Grant ($5,000) for residents and fellows of an accredited graduate medical education program or doctoral candidates working towards a PhD.
  • Herbert N. Hultgren Grant ($10,000) for a member of the WMS at any stage in their career in support of research that advances the field of wilderness medicine, which may be interpreted broadly.
  • Peter Hackett-Jennifer Dow Young Investigator Grant ($10,000) for a young investigator (physician or non-physician, who is either a resident, fellow, or less than 5 years out of training) in support of research that improves wilderness medicine practice. 

Funding criteria: 

Applicant must:

  • Be an active Standard or Premium member of the WMS.
  • Have not received a WMS grant in the past year (previous grant cycle).
  • Apply only in one grant category.
  • Submit a completed application that follows the required format (see Grant Application Instructions and Resources files below for details).

The project must:

  • Be well-defined.
  • Result in a substantive contribution to the field of wilderness and environmental medicine.
  • Be completed within 18 months of award notification.
  • Have regulatory paperwork (i.e., proof of IRB approval and trial registry if indicated) completed within 12 months after the award submission deadline.
  • Include a timeline that considers COVID-19. As of October 1, 2021, no additional extension will be provided as a result of COVID-19.
  • Have a complete budget that follows the required format (download and use the Budget Template file below).
  • Be easily distinguishable as a separate component if a part of an existing research program.
  • Include, but not limited to:

- Clinical investigations and interventional studies
- Laboratory (“basic”) science
- Development of new techniques or novel applications of existing techniques
- Improvements in equipment design or use
- Public information
- Injury prevention
- Epidemiological surveys

Funding is competitive and at the discretion of the WMS. Decisions will be based upon the project’s importance and relevance, feasibility, appropriateness of budget, and likelihood that the work will result in scientific publication.

Requirements for Grant Acceptance

  • WMS Research Grants are not subject to institutional indirect costs.
  • No more than 50% of grant money may be used for travel expenses to perform the research.
  • No funding will be released without proof of ethics or institutional review board approval for any studies involving human subjects.
  • No funding will be released for clinical trials without documentation of clinical trial registration.
  • Recipients will file a progress report one year after funding describing use of the funds and project status.
  • Findings will be submitted for presentation in abstract form at a future WMS Annual Meeting.
  • Grants funds should not be used for travel to present the work. WMS will offer discounted registration to grant winners to present results in oral or poster form at a WMS meeting.
  • Projects will result in an article submitted for publication in the peer-reviewed medical literature, ideally in Wilderness & Environmental Medicine.
  • All publications resulting from the funded work will acknowledge the funding source.
  • Grant awardees will notify the WMS when work from a WMS sponsored project is published.

Below you will find additional resources and examples. Please contact Anna Russell at [email protected] if you have any questions.

Budget Template
(Microsoft Excel Workbook)
Grant Examples
(Adobe PDF File)