WASHINGTON, DC -- For the second year, the Society for Neuroscience (SfN) awarded a record number of Trainee Professional Development Awards. Funding from the SfN Council and other generous donors allowed 261 young scientists to present their research and collaborate with leading neuroscientists from around the world at Neuroscience 2018. This is a 28 percent increase from the number of awards presented in 2017 and affirms the value this program provides to the trainee community.
SfN believes that supporting the next generation of neuroscientists is crucial to furthering the work of the field at large. Trainee Professional Development Awards are presented to deserving undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who demonstrate scientific merit and excellence in their research. These awards offer trainees the opportunity to present a scientific abstract at both a poster session honoring winners of this award and during the regular poster floor schedule, to make connections and network with established scientists, and participate in the wealth of learning exercises available at the SfN annual meeting.
The winners received complimentary registration to attend Neuroscience 2018, along with a $1,000 stipend for awardees based at an institution in North America and $2,000 for those from international institutions. Recipients represent 152 institutions in 22 countries, with 38 recipients attending international institutions. Moreover, recipients are at all levels of training: 83 are post-doctoral fellows, 154 are graduate students, and 24 are undergraduate students. Throughout its programs, SfN seeks to promote gender equality and to increase diversity, in all of its forms. Trainees from all around the globe are eligible and are encouraged to apply for the awards.
The awards are supported by individual donors to the Friends of SfN Fund, private foundations, and partnerships with corporate donors. SfN has maintained partnerships with Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Novartis Institutes of BioMedical Research, and Sanofi and also welcomed a new partnership with Amgen this year. In recognition of the growing interest Trainee Professional Development Awards, the SfN Council approved a $100,000 gift to the program as well as a commitment to matching gifts of $25,000 and higher.
The sustained growth of this program makes a strong statement about SfN's commitment to supporting the career development of the next generation of scientists. Over the next year, SfN will be piloting enhancements to the Trainee Professional Development Awards program with a robust offering of training resources and exercises that will be readily accessible on Neuronline. You can watch for updates on when the 2019 application cycle on the SfN website.
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The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is an organization of nearly 36,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and the nervous system.