Sexuality society reviewing student grant applications

The Society for the Study of Scientific Sexuality currently is reviewing applications for its fall 2003 student research grant, according to David Fleming, executive director of the society's office.\nEach year, the SSSS provides two students -- one in the spring and one in the fall -- with $1,000 each for a specific topic of sexuality research. \nThe money provided to these students comes from contributions from members of the society and fund-raisers by the foundation.\nThese nationally granted awards are given mainly to graduate students and doctoral students, but anyone from any discipline of study can apply, Fleming said. Past applicants include those studying biology, psychology or nursing.\n"The researcher fills out an application and an abstract and tell us what kind of research they want to do," Fleming said. "We then have a list of reviewers who blindly rank and select our winners."\nPast winners have researched such topics as "Traumatic Victimization: Relating to Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Adults and Their Siblings," "Physiological Component of Sexual Dysfunction in Association with Household Sexual Abuse" and "The Pleasure Deficit: the Role of Desire in Contraceptive Use." \nAccording to Fleming, these research papers have been done by students from the University of Vermont, the University of Texas and Emory University, respectively. \nHitting closer to home, Nicole Merritt, an IU graduate student, won an SSSS grant for her research in the field "a few years ago." \n"It was pretty straightforward," Merritt said. "I had to explain what I was going to do and provide preliminary data."\nOnce she received the grant, she worked under IU's of psychology department for her study of "Alcohol and the Effects for Sexual Response and Risk Taking."\nFleming said the organization receives 20 to 30 submissions per year like Merritt's from student researchers across the nation.\nA number of research papers from students researching under the grants have been published in the the SSSS journal as well as other journals.\n"We encourage the participation of student research to master's and graduate students in providing stipends to do research and get their stuff published," Fleming said. "Our winners have produced some pretty significant results."\nThe applications for this year's fall grant are still being reviewed. The winner will be announced in the next couple of weeks, according to the SSSS Web site.\n-- Contact staff writer Stacie Vasko at svasko@indiana.edu.