Notice Number: NOT-NS-17-025

Key Dates
Release Date: July 25, 2017

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. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) will recognize the importance it places on outstanding mentorship and training through a new annual award, the NINDS Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship. Each year, up to five (5) faculty members who are considered to be outstanding mentors and trainers will be awarded $100,000 (direct costs), to be used to foster the advancement of additional students and postdoctorates towards an independent research career. 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 new award will be 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 or P01 with at least one year left on their grant at the time of award.

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 will rotate eligibility requirements each year. In the first 3 years (FY2018, 2019, 2020), NINDS will seek nominations for junior faculty mentors (in the 5th 12th year from the start of their first tenure track or equivalent position), mid-career mentors (in the 13th 20th year from the start of their first tenure-track or equivalent position), and senior faculty mentors (>20 years from their first tenure-track or equivalent position), respectively. NINDS will select awardees from among the nominated individuals who conduct outstanding, rigorous research and have shown a dedication to superior mentorship and training.

With this notice, NINDS invites nominations of outstanding mentors who are 5 to 12 years from the start of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. Although these nominees will not have an extensive track record of mentorship, they will have, at the earliest stage of their independent research careers, demonstrated a dedication to helping trainees towards their goal of becoming exceptional, successful, independent scientists. By making mentorship awards to these individuals, NINDS intends to send a strong message that it recognizes the time and effort they have dedicated to the careers of others and to their active training of individuals to conduct outstanding, rigorous, high-impact research. This award is meant to encourage junior faculty to dedicate themselves to strong mentorship and training of others, in addition to their own research productivity, and to encourage institutional leaders to place a high value on training and mentorship by its faculty.

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 15, 2017. 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, Ph.D.
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS)
Telephone: 301-496-4188
Email: [email protected]