Solicitation of Nominations for the 2019 National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship

Notice Number: NOT-NS-18-089

Key Dates
Release Date: August 10, 2018

Related Announcements
None

Issued by
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)

Purpose

Excellent mentorship and superior training are critical to the development of exceptional future scientists. To recognize the crucial role great mentors play in the development of future leaders in neuroscience, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) created the Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship. This award provides $100,000 (direct costs) to up to five (5) faculty members who are considered to be outstanding mentors and trainers to help foster the research career development of additional students and postdoctorates. NINDS hopes that this tangible award will impress upon the scientific community as a whole, and faculty and institutional leaders in particular, the high value NINDS places on outstanding training and mentorship and the need for faculty and institutions to emphasize dedication to mentorship in addition to outstanding research accomplishments.

Selection for this award is based on nomination from those who have first-hand knowledge of an individual’s outstanding mentorship. Current or former trainees can nominate faculty members who have served as their mentors. Faculty members nominated by two or more mentees will then be invited to submit additional information needed for the selection process. Eligible individuals for this award must be in a tenure-track or equivalent faculty position and hold an active NINDS R01, R35, U01, U54, P01 or DP1 with at least one year left at the time of the award (June 2019).

The full details of the award, and the selection process, can be found at Landis Mentor Award. Because outstanding mentors exist at each career stage, and have different levels of mentorship accomplishments, NINDS rotates eligibility requirements each year. In 2018, NINDS made awards to junior faculty mentors (in the 5th 12th year from the start of their first tenure track or equivalent position). The FY2018 Landis Awardees can be found at Landis Mentor Award.

With this notice, NINDS invites nominations of outstanding mentors who are 13 to 20 years from the start of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions (i.e., the start date of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position was in calendar year 1999 to 2006).

Nomination

Nominations for the NINDS Landis Mentor Award will be accepted ONLY from current and former trainees of the nominated individual. To nominate a current or former mentor, individuals should click on Landis Mentor Award and complete a nomination form by December 1, 2018. The following information will be requested:

  • Nominator's name and current position
  • Name of individual being nominated (the nominee)
  • Current institution and email address of nominee
  • Start date of nominee’s first tenure-track or equivalent position
  • Relationship of nominator to nominee (dates of mentorship, position of nominator when mentored by nominee [e.g. Former or Current Graduate Student, Postdoctoral Fellow, etc.])
  • Statement describing the basis for the nomination. This description should include: what made/makes the nominated individual an exceptional mentor/trainer; what are specific examples of extraordinary dedication to mentorship personally experienced or witnessed; what does the individual do to ensure that trainees conduct the highest quality research with respect to scientific premise, experimental design and analysis; what were the specific nominee activities that influenced the nominator’s growth as a neuroscientist.

For a nomination to be considered, all of the above information must be provided via the nomination form found at Landis Mentor Award.

Inquiries

Please direct all inquiries to:

Stephen Korn
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-496-4188
Email: korns@ninds.nih.gov