September 12, 2019

Vanderbilt-wide Limited Submission Opportunity: 2020 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists - Life Sciences Category

Vanderbilt-wide Limited Submission Opportunity

2020 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists – Life Sciences Category

Applications due Sept. 18

Vanderbilt (VU + VUMC): This is a joint competition for VU and VUMC investigators. All investigators should follow these instructions.

We anticipate the opportunity to nominate one candidate for the FY 2020 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists in the Life Sciences award category. The Blavatnik awards honor exceptional young scientists by celebrating their extraordinary achievements, recognizing their inspiring promise, and accelerating their innovations. Awardees will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds. 

Each nominee and their body of work will be evaluated based on the quality of their research, the impact on their respective field, the novelty of their ideas and methods, and the potential they show for future contributions to science.

Eligibility Criteria:

The nominee must:

  • Have been born in or after 1978

·       Hold a doctorate level degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc.)

  • Currently hold a faculty position at an invited institution in the US
  • Currently conduct research as a principal investigator in the award category

Internal Review Process:

Anyone interested in being considered as Vanderbilt’s nominee for the Life Sciences award category must submit the following (in PDF format) to LSO@vanderbilt.edu by 5 p.m. on Sept. 18, 2019:

  1. Brief (2 page maximum) description of your research. Here are some recommended guidelines (See guidelines):
    • Summarize up to five of your most significant scientific contributions and research accomplishments.
    • Key results, their impact on your field of study, and your specific role in the described work should be included.
    • Information about your positions, awards, and service activities should be excluded.
    • One figure illustrating the most significant results is allowed.
  2. Letter of support from department chair/center director
  3. NIH Biosketch or Brief CV (5 page max)

Submissions should reference the program name in the subject line of the email.

Please note:

·       The FY 2020 competition is anticipated, but the solicitation has not been released yet. Please refer to the FY 2019 solicitation until the new solicitation is posted. Note that the birth year cut-off is anticipated to change to 1978.

·       Faculty interested in the Chemistry or Physical Science & Engineering award categories should email LSO@vanderbilt.edu for further instruction.