SfN Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Young Investigator Award

Catherine Jensen Peña, PhD (center), of the Princeton Neuroscience Institute and Nicholas Bellono, PhD (right), of Havard University were awarded the SfN Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Young Investigator Award in 2024.

The SfN Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Young Investigator Award recognizes the outstanding achievements and contributions by an early career neuroscientist who has demonstrated scholarly independence. Established by SfN in 1983, the award has highlighted the research achievements of over 60 early career scientists. Beginning in 2024, the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute joined SfN as the co-sponsor of this award and SfN is grateful for their support.

Award recipients receive a $25,000 prize and complimentary registration, transportation (economy air or ground), and two nights hotel accommodations for the SfN annual meeting. The SfN president presents the award at a lecture at the meeting.

For more information, please review the Awards and Prizes FAQs.

Nomination Criteria & Materials

Nomination Criteria:

• Nominations must be made or endorsed by an SfN member.
• Nominees do not need to be SfN members.
• Self-nomination is not permitted.
• No person may nominate more than one candidate.
• Current SfN officers and councilors are ineligible for nomination.
• Due to the potential conflicts of interest, members of the selection committee may not be the nominees and they cannot serve as nominators nor write letters of recommendation. 

Nomination materials include the following:

• One nomination letter and a maximum of two optional letters of recommendation
• One must be from the nominee's current or previous mentor
• Current CV, including date on which the advanced degree was awarded
• A list of up to five of the nominee's most important published papers

Eligibility

• Nominees must be actively engaged in research at the time the award is given.
• Nominees must show evidence of heading an independent research laboratory.
• Nominees must have received a PhD or MD (or equivalent) within the past 12 years.*
• Post-docs are ineligible.

*Time taken off for child-rearing does not count in these totals. Part-time work and other special circumstances are evaluated at the discretion of the committee.

Past Awardees

• 2024: Nicholas Bellono, PhD, and Catherine Jensen Peña, PhD
• 2023: Ishmail Abdus‐Saboor, PhD and Marco Capogrosso, PhD
• 2022: Michael Yartsev, PhD
• 2021: Nuo Li, PhD
• 2020: Viviana Gradinaru, PhD, and Weizhe Hong, PhD
• 2019: Kafui Dzirasa, MD, PhD
• 2018: Lisa Giocomo, PhD; Christopher Harvey, PhD
• 2017: Vivek Jayaraman, PhD
• 2016: Kay M. Tye, PhD
• 2015: Edward Boyden, PhD; Nachum Ulanovsky, PhD
• 2014: Diana Bautista, PhD; Feng Zhang, PhD
• 2013: Randy M. Bruno, PhD
• 2012: Rui M. Costa, DVM, PhD; Guo-li Ming, MD, PhD
• 2011: Loren Frank, PhD; Anatol Kreitzer, PhD
• 2010: Rachel Wilson, PhD
• 2009: Karl Deisseroth, MD, PhD
• 2008: Bernardo Sabatini, MD, PhD; Hongjun Song, PhD
• 2007: Ricardo Dolmetsch, PhD; Michael Ehlers, PhD
• 2006: Ardem Patapoutian, PhD; Kimberly McAllister, PhD
• 2005: Takao Hensch, PhD
• 2004: Karel Svoboda, PhD
• 2003: David Bredt, MD, PhD
• 2002: Liqun Luo, PhD; Rafael Yuste, MD, PhD
• 2001: R. Clay Reid, MD, PhD; Anirvan Ghosh, PhD
• 2000: Earl K. Miller, PhD
• 1999: Morgan H. Sheng, PhD
• 1998: David J. Linden, PhD
• 1997: Marc Tessier-Lavigne, PhD
• 1996: William Zagotta, PhD
• 1995: Jeremy Nathans, MD, PhD; Susan K. McConnell, PhD
• 1994: Larry C. Katz, PhD; Daniel V. Madison, PhD
• 1993: Mark F. Bear, PhD; Robert C. Malenka, MD, PhD
• 1992: Robert M. Sapolsky, PhD; Susan G. Amara, PhD
• 1991: Dennis D. M. O'Leary, PhD; Richard L. Huganir, PhD
• 1990: Stephen E. Petersen, PhD
• 1989: Mark L. Mayer, PhD
• 1988: Richard W. Aldrich, PhD
• 1987: Jeff W. Lichtman, MD, PhD
• 1986: Stephen G. Lisberger, PhD
• 1985: J. Anthony Movshon, PhD; Carla J. Shatz, PhD
• 1984: Eric Knudsen, PhD; R. Scheller, PhD
• 1983: Martha Constantine-Paton, PhD