Trainee Professional Development Award

Thank you for your interest in the TPDA program. The 2020 application is now closed. Applicants will be notified of their award status in late December. Contact tpda@sfn.org with questions.

The Trainee Professional Development Award (TPDA) recognizes undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who demonstrate scientific merit and excellence in research. TPDA recipients are reimbursed for their registration to attend SfN Global Connectome: A Virtual Event, where they present an abstract and network with other scientists.

Additionally, recipients receive access to professional development opportunities on Neuronline in the year following their award. Through curated email messaging and live chat opportunities, recipients engage in specialized learning opportunities focused on a variety of career development topics.

The aim of these awards is to promote the advancement of career training to neuroscientists from a wide range of institutions. SfN seeks to promote gender equality and increase diversity in all forms throughout its programs. Awards are distributed based on the merit of the trainee’s application.

Application

• Draft of the applicant's abstract submission for the upcoming SfN virtual event.
• While TPDA applications will be accepted in advance of abstract submission, receipt of the award is contingent on submission of an accepted abstract for SfN Global Connectome: A Virtual Event.
• Applicant’s CV, including education, honors/awards, and publications (abstracts and manuscripts).
• Short essay (no more than 500 words) on how attendance at SfN Global Connectome A Virtual Event will impact your career goals (or, for undergraduates, why you chose the path of neuroscience). Additionally, the essay should speak to a personal experience that has had a broader impact on your career in science. Examples of topics could include:
  • A woman scientist who has inspired the applicant.
  • The importance of local advocacy and outreach efforts in neuroscience.
  • The importance of conducting rigorous science.
• One-page letter of recommendation from the applicant's mentor, advisor, chapter representative or program/department chair.
  • Reference letters over one page will void the application.

Applications that are missing one or more of the application components will not be considered. Applications with materials not requested will not be reviewed.

Should you have any questions or concerns, review our TPDA FAQs  or contact tpda@sfn.org. Applicants should not contact selection committee members for inquiries.

Eligibility

• Applicant must be the presenting author of an abstract at SfN Global Connectome: A Virtual Event.
  • Only one application per abstract is permitted. Multiple submissions with the same abstract will be ineligible.
  • While TPDA applications will be accepted in advance of abstract submission, receipt of the award will be contingent on submission of an accepted abstract for SfN Global Connectome: A Virtual Event.
• Applicant must be a current member of SfN.
• Applicant must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, a postdoctoral fellowship, or have completed one of these programs in the same calendar year the award is given.
• Nominee is not a recipient of another SfN travel award in the same or previous year.*
  • *Considering the impacts and challenges caused by COVID-19, SfN has lifted the eligibility restriction that would make 2020 TPDA recipients ineligible for TPDA in 2021. SfN plans to revert to normal eligibility requirements in 2021, which would again make TPDA recipients in eligible to receive the award in consecutive years.

Any application which does not adhere to all parameters will be voided.