SfN Awards and Prizes FAQs

Award nominations typically open in the early Spring. We suggest checking award pages in January to see if the dates have been updated.

Award nominations typically close about six weeks after they open.

SfN awards are for scientists at all stages of their careers and for a variety of activities, such as research, mentoring, and outreach efforts. Specific eligibility requirements are listed on the individual award pages.

The Society represents scientists from around the world, and we encourage nominations from and of people from underrepresented backgrounds that reflect SfN's wide and diverse membership.

Yes, but your nomination must be endorsed by an SfN member. This endorsement must be entered on the award nomination submission site.

You can follow the link on the nomination site login page to create a user account as a nonmember.

With the exception of the Bernice Grafstein Award, the nominee does not need to be an SfN member to be eligible.

Yes, although a person can only win one award per year.

Yes, assuming that they continue to meet the eligibility requirements for that particular award. 

Yes. Once an application has been started and saved, the nominator will receive an email with a control number and a link that are unique to that nomination. This number and link can be shared and used by others to access and upload additional documents. Once the application is complete, one person must click the submit button to officially release the information.

SfN will contact nominators to notify them that a decision has been made. SfN will only contact nominees if they have been selected to receive an award.

All award nominators should be notified no later than two months before the annual meeting.

Most awards receive travel benefits to the SfN annual meeting. The Janett Rosenberg Trubatch Career Development Award recipient does not receive travel benefits but receives complimentary registration. The Next Generation Award recipients receive a $750 travel stipend and complimentary registration. Please see the individual award pages for details.

SfN administers two types of travel awards: Trainee Professional Development Awards (to SfN’s annual meeting) and international travel awards (to meetings organized by other societies). Not every award is available every year; the FENS Forum Award is available every other year and the IBRO World Congress Award is available every four years.

Travel stipends can be used for anything related to attending the meeting, such as transportation or lodging.

Applications for CNS, JNS, FENS, and IBRO meetings open in the spring at least four months before their respective meeting.

Applications for TPDA open shortly after SfN annual meeting abstracts application period closes. 

Please refer to the awards webpages for specific dates and times.

Applications for CNS, JNS, FENS, and IBRO travel awards typically close after three weeks.

Applications for TPDA typically close after two weeks.

Please refer to the awards webpages for specific dates and times.

TPDA applicants should use the address that they will be traveling from at the time of the meeting.

Verify that you are an active member and that your abstract has been submitted, keeping in mind that for the TPDA award you must be the primary presenter of the abstract. If you have verified the above, contact travelawards@sfn.org for international travel award assistance or tpda@sfn.org for TPDA application assistance.

No, travel award applicants do not need to be nominated by someone else for consideration, but TPDA applicants will need a letter of recommendation. Please see the award webpage for details.

TPDA applicants should prepare a one-page letter of recommendation and 500-word essay along with their CV. See the TPDA page for specifics. Applications that are submitted with unrequested materials may be voided.

Yes, applicants are considered eligible if they will be continuing their education after their current program. For TPDA applicants, this includes undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral, or post-baccalaureate programs. The application should mention their educational plans.

Awardees should ensure that any travel arrangements made ahead of award notification are refundable in the event that they do not receive the award or need to transition to virtual attendance.

TPDA applicants will be notified of their status by the end of August.

International travel award applicants will be notified of their status by late spring.

No, the awards review process is closed, and we do not provide feedback to applicants. Committee selection deliberations are confidential.

Verify with your department head and email tpda@sfn.org for assistance. Even if you are not able to accept the monetary portion of the award, you may still be able to accept the other benefits.

In most cases the institution will accept your notification email as proof of award receipt. If this does not suffice, please email tpda@sfn.org.

Once you receive your acceptance email, you can provide your institution with the instructions for our secure document transfer platform.

In order to receive a travel stipend, travel award recipients must attend the meeting in person. However, awardees will also have the option of attending the virtual component of the meeting.

No, only in-person meeting attendees may receive a travel stipend.

Email tpda@sfn.org as soon as possible to check whether it is possible to change the type of attendance. It is easier to accommodate awardees moving from in-person to virtual attendance than from virtual to in-person attendance. 

Award recipients will receive a link to register for the meeting once they have submitted their required documents. If they have already registered they will be refunded to the card they used to register.

TPDA recipients will be required to check in with attendee services during the annual meeting to verify their attendance, from there they should expect to receive the funds by the end of the annual meeting or in the month following the meeting. International travel award recipients will receive their travel stipend after submitting proof of attendance.

TPDA recipients will be asked to complete a post-event survey.

International Travel Awards (CNS, JNS, FENS, IBRO) recipients will be required to submit their certificate of attendance.

Certificates of attendance can be obtained on-site at the annual meeting, typically at Attendee Services. Please see the annual meeting’s Program and Exhibit Guide for instructions and exact location.

While expense receipts do not need to be submitted at any time for TPDA or international travel awards, proof of attendance is still required to receive travel funds.

Contact awards@sfn.org. Tax forms are mailed to awardees in the early months of the year following the annual meeting. Please note, SfN does not provide any tax advice and suggests you consult your institution or a tax professional.

Throughout the year after the meeting award recipients will have access to curated professional development opportunities on Neuronline, SfN’s home for learning and discussion. If you have any difficulty accessing these online resources, please reach out totpda@sfn.org.

Please confirm that you have entered the same email and password associated with your SfN membership account. If you have forgotten your password, click the link at the bottom of the page to reset it. If you still experience problems with logging in, send an email to awards@sfn.org.

Check that you are still an active member at https://my.sfn.org/My-Account/My-Membership. If you paid your membership fee within the last year and aren’t listed as a member, contact memb@sfn.org for assistance.

Yes. Once an application has been started, it can be saved and edited as many times as needed. Once it is complete, simply click on the submit button to submit the application.

Email awards@sfn.org and a staff member will re-open the application for you to finish. All application materials are due by the award deadline, applications missing required materials after the deadline will not be considered.

Award recipients will receive a unique registration link to their complimentary registration following notification of receipt of the award.

Yes, anyone who registers before receiving an award will receive a reimbursement.