FALL 2024 cycle is closed.

See the Proposal Requirements & Reporting Guidelines for more information.

The deadline is October 25, 2024.

Contact Alexandra de Havilland, Executive Director, with any inquiries. Tel: (919) 681-0475.

History

The Trent Foundation was established in 1977 by Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans and her second husband, Dr. James H. Semans, to honor the memory of her first husband, Dr. Josiah Charles Trent. Duke University faculty and staff were assisted by seed grants for projects addressing medical history, medical humanities, human sexual function, and international studies. The Trent Foundation awarded 504 grants totaling more than $1.39 million to Duke faculty and staff members. Together with members of the Trent and Semans families, the foundation also established the Josiah Charles Trent Professorship in the History of Medicine and the Josiah Charles Trent Scholar in Medical Humanities at Duke University, to support two of Dr. Trent’s lifelong passions.

With the passing of Ms. Semans, the foundation has transitioned into the Josiah Charles Trent Memorial Foundation Endowment Fund. Twice a year, in the spring and the fall, the Fund assists Duke University faculty and staff by providing modest grants.


Areas of Funding

We welcome funding requests of $500 – $10,000 per proposal. A second request for the same proposal has a diminished chance of funding. Our standard grant period is 12 months with no-cost extensions negotiable if necessary.

Human Sexual Function

Clinical or laboratory research involving human sexuality or reproduction, with emphasis on the psycho biological aspect of sexual function and dysfunction.

Medical History

Research projects, conferences, speakers, etc. in the area of medical history.

Medical Ethics and Medical Humanities

Conferences, speakers, or research on ethical issues in the fields of medical and biomedical research, treatment and practice, and in the areas of medical professionalism, as well as medical humanities and humanism in medicine.

International Studies

The Fund’s international studies grant-making intends to increase faculty and student knowledge of other countries and/or to deepen cultural exchange. The Fund supports conferences, lectures, research, and other projects that will have a broad impact on the Duke community. Although students are not eligible for direct funding, we encourage projects that engage students in significant ways and encourage them to consider diplomatic careers.

What we do not fund

The Fund does not support indirect costs (F&A or G&A), or publication subventions and generally will not support visiting scholars. Neither undergraduates nor graduate students are eligible to apply for grants.

Selected grants awarded from spring 2024 cycle:

Human Sexual Functions

  • Zhiqing Huang
    “Impacts of ferroptosis and peritoneal fluids on endometriosis development and treatment”

Medical History

  • No awards

Medical Ethics and Humanities

  • Hannah Jacobs/Margaret Brown
    “Promises and challenges of multivocal research practices into segregated asylums”

  • Cameron Kim/Elizabeth Bucholz
    “Biomedical ethics meets biomedical engineering ethics in an integrated undergraduate curriculum – Ethics Everywhere”

  • Emily Rogers
    “Poison over people: A history of AIDS activism and alternative medicine, 1988-1993”

International Studies

  • Joan Munne
    “Spanish as L2 International Conference: Pathways for Transformative Learning”
  • Karin Shapiro
    “Your Grace: The Life and Times of Walter Khotso Makhulu ”
  • Katie Hyde
    “Sparking climate engagement and hope through the arts – A literacy through photography pilot with educators and youth in Zanzibar, Tanzania”
  • Ganga Moorthy
    “Genomic characterization of antimicrobial-resistant Gram-negative bacteria causing neonatal bloodstream infection at a tertiary hospital in northern Tanzania”
  • Rolvix Patterson
    “Leaving no one unheard: Hearing care deliver by primary health workers in Rwanda”
  • Joao Vitor Perez de Souza
    “Supporting emergency call decisions: Using large language models to classify emergency calls in Brazil”

Advice to Applicants

We welcome and encourage inquiries from applicants regarding the fit of their projects with the foundation’s interests.

Contact Alexandra de Havilland for information.
Tel: (919) 681-0475.

See the Proposal Requirements & Reporting Guidelines for more information.

Trent Foundation Endowment Fund Committee

Founders

Dr. and Mrs. James H. Semans

President

Josiah C.T. Lucas
Charlotte, NC

Committee Members

Trent Jones
Ketchum, ID

Ken Harris
Matthews, NC

Kathryn Andolsek, M.D.
Durham, NC

Margaret Humphreys, M.D.
Durham, NC

Rebecca Stein, Ph.D.
Durham, NC

Erika Weinthal, Ph.D.
Durham, NC

Staff

Alexandra de Havilland
Executive Director