Funding Opportunities

Wayne F. Placek Grants

The Wayne F. Placek Grant encourages research to increase the general public’s understanding of homosexuality and sexual orientation, and to alleviate the stress that lesbian women, gay men, bisexual women, bisexual men, and transgender individuals experience in this and future civilizations.

Deadline: June 12, 2024
Amount: Up to $15,000
Sponsors: APF

The Wayne F. Placek Grant encourages research to increase the general public’s understanding of homosexuality and sexual orientation, and to alleviate the stress that lesbian women, gay men, bisexual women, bisexual men, and transgender individuals experience in this and future civilizations. Since 1995, the Placek Fund has granted more than $1 million.

The Wayne F. Placek Grant encourages research that addresses the following topics:

  • heterosexuals’ attitudes and behaviors toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQIA+) people, including prejudice, discrimination, and violence
  • family and workplace issues relevant to LGBTQIA+people
  • special concerns of sectors of the LGBTQIA+ population that have historically been underrepresented in scientific research
  • issues concerning Black LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities

APF will give away two Wayne F. Placek Grants in 2024. One of these grants, the Wayne F. Placek Grant in Memorial of John Peterson, will be focused on psychological research into issues concerning Black LGBTQIA+ individuals and communities, that is conducted by scholars of color.

Wayne F. Placek was initially a research subject of Evelyn Hooker, a groundbreaking psychologist whose 1950s research laid the foundation for the view that homosexuality was not a form of psychopathology. Ultimately, Hooker’s research led to the removal of homosexuality as a clinical diagnosis. Placek, who identified as a gay man, was a participant in Hooker’s studies. Placek was so moved by Hooker’s work that he left his entire estate to her. He instructed that the money be used to advance the general public’s understanding of LGBTQIA+ individuals and reduce the stress and adversity experienced by members of the LGBTQIA+ community. Today, the Wayne F. Placek Grant has funded over $1 million in LGBTQIA+ research.

Eligibility

APF encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds with respect to age, race, color, religion, creed, nationality, ability, sexual orientation, gender, and geography.

Applicants must be either a doctoral-level researcher or graduate student affiliated with an educational institution or a 501(c)(3) nonprofit research organization.

Graduate students and early career researchers are encouraged to apply.

Application Instructions

Application Materials:

  • project proposal
  • project timeline 
  • detailed budget and justification
  • CV 

Evaluation Criteria
Applications will be evaluated on:

  • relevance to Placek program goals
  • magnitude of incremental contribution
  • quality of proposed work (significance, innovation, approach)
  • applicant’s demonstrated scholarship and research competence

Please be advised that APF does not provide feedback to applicants on their proposals.

Please review our Program FAQs for important details on the application process.

Recent Recipient

Cory Cascalheira

New Mexico State University

“Towards Computationally Enhanced Technology-Delivered Interventions for  LGBQ+ People:  Establishing the Computational Construct Validity of Psychosocial Stress with Big Data”

Past Recipients

2023

Cory Cascalheira, New Mexico State University
“Towards Computationally Enhanced Technology-Delivered Interventions for  LGBQ+ People:  Establishing the Computational Construct Validity of Psychosocial Stress with Big Data”

Wayne F. Placek Grant in Memorial of John Peterson

Jacquelyn Chin, University of California, Santa Barbara
“A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of a Community-Partnered Mental Health Intervention for Black Queer Young Adults”

2022

Joshua Goodman, PhD, Southern Oregon University
“Feasibility and Acceptability of a Tailored Intervention to Promote Sexual Minority-Affirming Parenting”

Jennifer Goldberg, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
“A Critical Narrative Inquiry into the Experiences of Queer and Trans Midwifery Service-Users in Ontario”

2021

Nicholas Perry, PhD, University of Denver, and Stephanie Goldstein, PhD, Brown University

2020

Andrea Kaniuka and Rob Cramer, PhD, University of North Carolina, Charlotte

2019

Jenna Alley, University of Utah

2018

Richard Liu, PhD, Brown University 

2017

Corey Flanders, PhD, Mount Holyoke College 

2016

Shana Cole, PhD, Rutgers University

2015

Luis Armando Parra, University of California, Davis 

2014

David J. Lick, University of California, Los Angeles

2013

Negin Ghavami, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles
“Understanding Disparities in Health and Academics of Ethnically Diverse LGBQ Students in Urban Middle Schools”

2012

Rachel Farr, PhD, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

2011

Robert J. Cramer, PhD, Sam Houston State University

Marieka M. Klawitter, PhD, University of Washington

2010

Janna Scarborough, PhD, East Tennessee State University

Peter Theodore, PhD, Alliant International University, California School of Professional Psychology, Los Angeles

2009

T. Andrew Caswell, University of South Florida

Bethany G. Everett, University of Colorado, Boulder

2008 (Large)

Large
Eden King, PhD, George Mason University

Anneliese Singh, PhD, University of Georgia

Small
Christine Alksnis, PhD, Wilfrid Laurier University

K. L. Broad, PhD, University of Florida

Valerian Derlega, PhD, Old Dominion University

Nicole Rossi, PhD, Augusta State University

Tracie Stewart, PhD, Georgia State University

2007

Investigator Development Award
Mary L. Gray, PhD, Indiana University

Elizabeth Suter, PhD, University of Denver and Jody Koenig Kellas, PhD, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Large
Jennifer K. Bosson, PhD, University of South Florida

James A. Coan, PhD, University of Virginia

Lisa M. Diamond, PhD, University of Utah

Small
Eve M. Adams, PhD, New Mexico State University

Timothy J. Bilbarz, PhD, University of Southern California

Andrea Carnaghi, PhD, University of Trieste and Anne Maass, PhD, University of Padova

Debra A. Hope, PhD, University of Nebraska, Lincoln

William A. Jellison, PhD, Quinnipiac University

2006

Investigator Development Award
Debra J. Broderick, PsyD and Michael F. Steger, PhD, University of St. Thomas

Large
Abbie Goldberg, PhD, Clark University

Elizabeth Ashby Plant, PhD, Florida State University

Small
Jamie Barden, PhD, Howard University

James M. Graham, PhD, Western Washington University

Lori Patton, PhD, Iowa State University

Sharon Scales Rostosky, PhD, University of Kentucky

Meifan Wei, PhD, Iowa State University

James L. Werth, Jr, PhD, University of Akron

2005

Investigator Development Award
Jane Ward, PhD, University of California, Riverside

Large
Gregory B. Lewis, PhD, Georgia State University

Ann Marie Ryan, PhD, Michigan State University

2004

Investigator Development Award
Leslie E. Cragin, PhD, University of California, San Francisco

Michelle R. Hebl, PhD, Rice University

Ann M. Ryan, PhD, Michigan State University

Melanie C. Steffens, PhD, Universitat Trier

Large

Glen I. Roisman, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign

Joe N. Rollins, PhD, Queens College, City University of New York

Small
Jessica Fields, PhD, San Francisco State University

Thomas M. Lampinen, PhD, British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS

Sharon Scales Rostoski, PhD, University of Kentucky Research Foundation

Esther D. Rothblum, PhD, University of Vermont

Leo Wilton, PhD, Binghamton University

2003

Investigator Development Award
Melanie A. Morrison, PhD, University of Saskatchewan

Large
Donald P. Haider-Markel, PhD, University of Kansas

Bonnie Moradi, PhD, University of Florida

Larry Nucci, PhD and Stacey S. Horn, PhD, University of Illinois, Chicago

Small
Ed de St. Aubin, PhD, Marquette University

2002

Large
Michael A. Ash, PhD, University of Massachusetts

Paisley A. Currah, PhD, Brooklyn College, City University of New York

Nilanjana Dasgupta, New School University

Robin J. Lewis, PhD, Old Dominion University

Small
Michael A. Ash, PhD, University of Massachusetts

Paisley A. Currah, PhD, Brooklyn College, City University of New York

Nilanjana Dasgupta, New School University

Robin J. Lewis, PhD, Old Dominion University

2001

Investigator Development Award
Evelyn Blackwood, PhD, Purdue University

Peter J. Hegarty, PhD, College of Staten Island, City University of New York

Large
Ilan Meyer, PhD, Columbia University

Julianne M. Serovich, PhD and Patrick C. McKenry, PhD, Ohio State University

Jeffrey Lynn Woodyard, PhD, Stetson University

Small
Kory Floyd, PhD, Arizona State University 

Monika E. Kolodzieg, PhD and Roger D. Weiss, MD, McLean Hospital

Stephen C. Wright, PhD, University of California, Santa Cruz

2000

Large
W. E. Douglas Creed, PhD, Boston College

Nilanjana Dasgupta, PhD, New School University

Sharon Scales Rostosky, PhD, University of Kentucky

Stephen T. Russell, PhD, University of California, Davis

Small
J. Michael Bailey, PhD, Northwestern University

Lisa M. Diamond, PhD, University of Utah

Ronald G. Morrow, EdD and Diana L. Gill, PhD, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

William P. Norris, PhD, Oberlin College