Mentoring > FKNE-mentoring-prize_test

FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence
Mentoring Prize

FKNE
Mentoring
Prize

  • The Calls for the FKNE Mentoring and PhD Prizes 2020 open on 1st December 2019

    ***

    Awardees of the Mentoring and PhD Prizes 2018

    Congratulations to the awardees!

    > download the press release

    Professor Fotini Stylianopoulou (University of Athens) has been awarded the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence Mentoring Prize for her outstanding contributions in facilitating the careers of neuroscientists in Europe.  FENS-Kavli Scholars recognise the essential of role mentoring in facilitating both careers of neuroscientists and also in scientific progress and founded this prize to recognise and promote outstanding mentoring. 30 nominations came in from across Europe, all demonstrating an inspiring commitment to mentoring. Prof. Stylianopoulou was nominated by current and former colleagues for going above and beyond in her efforts to teach and champion researchers, showing them that “the sky is the limit” and that “a true scientist never stops inquiring, combining information, seeing beyond the obvious and the dogma, but most importantly listening to what others have to say no matter if they are colleagues or undergraduate students.” Along with the stellar support of direct trainees, Prof Stylianopoulou has made an enormous difference to the European Neuroscience community. She was a pioneer of neuroscience research and teaching in Greece being one of the first people to teach neuroscience to graduate students in Greece and a founding member and former president of the Hellenic Society for Neurosicence. Prof. Stylianopoulou has also served as Secretary General of FENS, demonstrating her commitment to fostering neuroscience careers both in her own laboratory and throughout the world community.

     

    Dr. Arseny Finkelstein has been awarded the inaugural FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence PhD Thesis Prize. Dr. Finkelstein conducted his PhD project in the lab of Dr. Nachum Ulanovsky at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot, Israel. With meticulous work, he discovered and quantitatively characterized 3D head direction cells in the freely moving bats using his own custom developed tracking device. This system can be considered a 3D compass in the brain. Dr. Finkelstein and colleagues published these results in Nature in 2015. Then, he went on to show that certain neurons of the bat hippocampus encode the directions and the proximity of spatial goals, potentially forming the basis of goal-directed navigation, which work resulted in a shared first author publication in Science. These results are groundbreaking, because navigation is traditionally studied only in two dimensions and extending it to the full space required the development of novel technology applied to an uncommon model organism. This convinced the jury to select Dr. Finkelstein as the winner of 54 entries, which were often also of outstanding quality. Dr. Finkelstein continues his work at Janelia Research Campus, HHMI, USA with Dr. Karel Svoboda.

     

    The prizes, which consist of a special plaque and €2,000 Euros each, have been awarded at the FENS Forum 2018 on the 9th July.

The 2020 Mentoring Prize Selection Committee*

* The Selection Committee members are ineligible for nomination for the Mentoring Prize in the year(s) they sit on the Committee.

The Call for the FKNE Mentoring Prize 2020 opens on 1st December 2019

The FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence Mentoring Prize is awarded every second year and honors a scientist who has demonstrated leadership in fostering the careers of neuroscientists.

Personal prize money: 2.000 €

Eligibility

  • the nominee must be a neuroscientist with a PhD, MD or equivalent;
  • the nominee must currently be a head of a research laboratory in a FENS member country with responsibility for mentoring (for example supervising students, postdoctoral researchers or technicians);
  • the nominee has to be available to attend the FENS Forum 2020 (Glasgow, 11-15 July).

The nomination must include:

  • contact information of the proposer and the nominee;
  • a letter of recommendation from mentee(s) highlighting the mentoring activities of the nominee. More than one letter of recommendation is welcome. These can be combined into a single pdf and uploaded together;
  • contact details of two referees that the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence Office could contact for further references.

Nominations Deadline: 1st March 2020 (midnight, Brussels time).

Note: The results of the submitted nominations will be communicated to the proposers and nominees on 23rd April. The recipient of the Mentoring Prize will be publicly announced at the FENS Forum 2020.

 
For enquiries, please contact: excellence_network@fens.org

The FENS-Kavli Scholars aim to promote neuroscience and support early-career neuroscientists in Europe. We recognize that mentoring plays an essential role in fostering scientists, but mentoring efforts are often not recognized or rewarded in a scientific career. This award will honor an individual who has demonstrated leadership in fostering the careers of neuroscientists.

Commitment to mentoring may be demonstrated for example by

  • recommendations from current and former students and postdocs;
  • evidence of support and encouragement of trainees experiencing personal or professional difficulties;
  • trainees career path and successes (both academic and non-academic);
  • evidence of assistance to junior colleagues outside of the immediate supervision (e.g. comments on grant proposals and manuscripts, experimental assistance, career advice).

The Call for the FKNE Mentoring Prize 2020 opens on 1st December 2019

 

The FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence Mentoring Prize is awarded every second year and honors a scientist who has demonstrated leadership in fostering the careers of neuroscientists.

Personal prize money: 2.000 €

The FENS-Kavli Scholars aim to promote neuroscience and support early-career neuroscientists in Europe. We recognize that mentoring plays an essential role in fostering scientists, but mentoring efforts are often not recognized or rewarded in a scientific career. This award will honor an individual who has demonstrated leadership in fostering the careers of neuroscientists.

Commitment to mentoring may be demonstrated for example by

  • recommendations from current and former students and postdocs;
  • evidence of support and encouragement of trainees experiencing personal or professional difficulties;
  • trainees career path and successes (both academic and non-academic);
  • evidence of assistance to junior colleagues outside of the immediate supervision (e.g. comments on grant proposals and manuscripts, experimental assistance, career advice).

Eligibility

  • the nominee must be a neuroscientist with a Ph.D., MD or equivalent;
  • the nominee must currently be a head of a research laboratory in a FENS member country with responsibility for mentoring (for example supervising students, postdoctoral researchers or technicians);
  • the nominee has to be available to attend the FENS Forum 2020 (Glasgow, 11-15 July).

The nomination must include:

  • contact information of the proposer and the nominee;
  • a letter of recommendation from mentee(s) highlighting the mentoring activities of the nominee. More than one letter of recommendation is welcome. These can be combined into a single pdf and uploaded together;
  • contact details of two referees that the FENS-Kavli Network of Excellence Office could contact for further references.

Nominations Deadline: 1st March 2020 (midnight, Brussels time).

Note: The results of the submitted nominations will be communicated to the proposers and nominees on 23rd April. The recipient of the Mentoring Prize will be publicly announced at the FENS Forum 2020.

For enquiries, please contact: 
excellence_network@fens.org

The 2020 Mentoring Prize Selection Committee*

* The Selection Committee members are ineligible for nomination for the Mentoring Prize in the year(s) they sit on the Committee.