Young Investigator Award

The Young Investigator Award, supported by Sunovion, recognizes the outstanding achievements and contributions by a young neuroscientist who has demonstrated scholarly independence.

Recipients receive a $15,000 award and complimentary registration, transportation (economy air or ground), and two nights hotel accommodations for the SfN annual meeting. The SfN president presents the prize at a lecture at the meeting.

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

Nomination Criteria & Materials

Nomination Criteria:

• Self-nomination is not permitted.
• Nominees do not need to be SfN members.
• Nominations must be made or endorsed by an SfN member.
• No person may nominate more than one candidate.
• Current SfN officers and councilors are ineligible for nomination.
• Due to 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 for this prize.

Nomination materials include the following:

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

Eligibility

• Actively engaged in research at the time the award is given.
• Show evidence of heading an independent research laboratory.
• Received a PhD or MD (or equivalent) within the past 10 years. (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.)
• Post-docs are ineligible.

Past Awardees

• 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