Prizes

• Thesis Prize
• Top Paper Award
• Poster Prizes
• Young Talent Prize
• Master students

• Dutch Neurofederation Ph.D. Thesis Prize 2024

  The Dutch Neurofederation is proud to announce the Ph.D. Thesis Prize 2024. The competition is open to all candidates who successfully obtained a doctorate degree from a Dutch university dating 2023 based on a neuroscience-related Ph.D. thesis. The quality of the thesis will be assessed along the following criteria: scope and depth of the thesis, broader significance of the research, advancement to the neuroscience field, the originality of the approach, the overall presentation of the thesis, and quality of the writing. A selection committee of three members will advise the organising committee who will decide the winner of the Ph.D. prize. The selection procedure is confidential and the results are not open for debate.

  Deadline for submission of the nominations is Friday 26 April 2024, 23.00 CET. Candidates may nominate themselves or be proposed by their (co-) supervisor. Please send to the below address:

  • An electronic PDF version of the thesis with a letter of recommendation by email
  • Three hard-copies of the thesis accompanied with the letter of recommendation

  The winner receives € 1,000 and in addition he/she will have the opportunity to give an oral presentation about the findings in the thesis during the award ceremony at the Dutch Neuroscience Meeting on 13 June 2024.

  Address to send the Ph.D. theses

  Prof. dr. Helmut Kessels
  Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences
  University of Amsterdam
  Postbus 94246
  1090 GE Amsterdam

  Organising committee

  Prof. dr. Helmut Kessels (h.kessels@uva.nl) and Prof. dr. Maarten Kole (m.kole@nin.knaw.nl).

• Dutch Neurofederation Top Paper Award 2024

  The Dutch Neuroscience Meeting will continue its tradition of putting Top Science in the spotlight. The work must have been published in 2023 in a top journal and be of interest to a broad (Dutch neuroscience) audience.

  Important information regarding eligibility of the article and description of importance

  • The paper should be an original research article published in an international peer review journal between 01.01.2023 – 31.12.2023 (no "Epub ahead of print").
  • The first author should have a Dutch affiliation, or the motivation should state clearly what the link is to the Netherlands.
  • Maximum of 1 page summary addressing the significance of the work.
  • PDF of the article.
  • A signed statement by the first and last authors of the article (and the corresponding author if this is not the first or the last) confirming their support for the nomination and that they agree with the selection of the nominee and, in case of multiple first authors, the selection of the recipient at the DNM 24.
  • No more than 1 paper with the same corresponding author (same research group) may be put forward.
  • Members of the selection committee may not be a co-author on the submitted paper.

  Selection procedure

  A small committee will examine all proposals received. Papers will be selected using the provided information describing the importance of the research and the interest for a broad audience.

  Award procedure

  The first author of the best article will be invited to receive the Top Paper Award during a plenary session scheduled on Thursday, 13 June 2024.

  The Prize

  There will be a prize of 250 EUR.

  Time frame

  • Deadline for submission of the nominations is 30 April 2024.
  • The winner will be notified mid May and will be asked to attend the DNM 24.
  • The award ceremony will be held on Thursday 13 June at 20:00h.

  Contact address to submit your nominees

  You are strongly encouraged to submit your nominees to the Chairs of the DNM Top Paper Committee, Marloes Henckens and Ronald Buijsen, at r.a.m.buijsen@lumc.nland marloes.henckens@radboudumc.nl before 30 April 2024.

• DNM Poster Prize Awards 2024

  The DNM Organising Committee always appreciates high-quality and well-designed posters. Therefore, the DNM Organising Committee will hand out two poster prizes per poster session: 1 for Master students and 1 for Ph.D. students, so over the two days 4 poster prizes in total.

  The Prizes

  There will be 4 prizes of 150 EUR each.

  Selection procedure

  Selection committee

  The DNM Poster Award Committee will examine and judge all poster abstracts. During the DNM 24 itself a selected set of posters will be judged on scientific content as well as on their quality of presentation.

• DNM Young Talent Prize 2024

  The DNM Organising Committee recognizes the importance of early career researchers having the opportunity to be invited as a plenary speaker to share their research with all the DNM participants. Therefore, one talented early career researcher who already made outstanding contributions to the neuroscience field and who is thought to benefit from an opportunity will be invited to give an overview of their scientific work in a plenary session of the DNM 24. The selected talent for this plenary lecture will be additionally honored with the DNM Young Talent Prize 2024.

  N.B.: As of 2022, we have installed a new selection procedure. Candidates who wish to be considered for the Prize can be actively nominated. Please see the eligibility criteria and selection procedure below.

  Deadline for nominations: 10 May 2024 (23:59).

  Nominations should be sent as a single pdf file via email to DNM24@azuleon.org.

  The Prize

  The 2024 Young Talent Prize winner will be granted the opportunity to present their work in a plenary lecture during the Young Talent session of the DNM 24. This session will be followed by an award ceremony.

  The winner additionally receives 500 EUR.

  Eligibility

  Candidates can be nominated by a senior colleague. Self-nominations are accepted if accompanied by a supporting statement from a senior colleague. Members of the Young Talent Prize Committee and the Dutch Neuroscience meeting chair cannot serve as nominators.

  Researchers are eligible if they:

  • Have conducted original neuroscientific research.
  • Currently work at, or are demonstrably returning to, a Dutch research institution. Eligible institutions are Dutch universities and the KNAW and NWO research institutes.
  • Obtained their PhD maximally four years ago at the submission deadline. Here, the NWO VENI rules for extension are followed, meaning that the maximum career deadline can be extended if the candidate has taken extended sick, parental, maternity or care leave within the relevant period. The maximum extension that may be granted to any particular applicant is four years.

  Extension for parents:

  • Biological mothers who have given birth to one or more children are granted a standard extension of eighteen months per child. This extension is a compensation for the duration of the pregnancy, including the child- birth and the parental care and is irrespective of any parental leave taken and/or a reduction in the formal working hours. Please make sure to mention this extension in the letter confirming eligibility of the nomination.
  • Other parents (fathers and non-biological mothers) are granted a standard extension of six months per child that is part of the applicant’s household. This period is a compensation for the duration of child care required and is irrespective of parental leave taken and/or a reduction in the formal working hours. This request for extension can be made in the letter confirming eligibility for the nomination, in which the applicant needs to declare that the child or children are part of his or her household.

  Selection procedure

  The Young Talent Prize winner is selected by the Young Talent Prize committee of the DNM Organising Committee, appointed by the DNM chair. The award committee will assess the nominations and recommend the Young Talent Prize winner to the DNM Chair. After the chair has approved the recommendation by the committee, the winner will be announced. The decision is final and cannot be disputed.

  Rankings of nominated candidates are based on the following criteria:

  • The internationally recognized scientific quality.
  • The unique contribution of the nominee to the neuroscience field.
  • Scientific rigor and integrity.
  • Expected impact of the Young Talent Prize.

  The application (a single pdf file) must contain:

  • A narrative description (max 1000 words) of the nominee’s career, contributions to the neuroscience field and future directions.
  • An overview of the nominee’s 5 most important contributions to the neuroscience field, each with 2-3 sentences explaining its relevance (max 1 page). Contributions can be publications, particularly valuable data sets, toolboxes, clinical/societal/commercial/open science applications, etcetera.
  • A nomination letter by the nominator, explaining why the nominee deserves this award (max 1 page) OR a nomination letter by the candidate themselves (max 1 page) with separate signed support statement from a senior colleague. This should include a statement on how the DNM Young Talent Prize would especially benefit the nominee at this stage of their career.
  • A letter signed by the nominee confirming eligibility, and if necessary, with a request for extension and elaboration thereof.

  Young Talent Prize committee

  Dr. Mirjam van Zuiden, Utrecht University
  Dr. Natasha Mason, Maastricht University

  Committee members cannot evaluate nominations from candidates from their own university or that concern a conflict of interest. Members from the DNM 24 organising committee will be asked to partake in evaluating these applications, should this occur.

• Master students

  The Dutch Neuroscience Meeting provides free participation to Master students who present a poster. Please check the Information page for details.