The Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists 2023

Award Details

·  About

· How to Enter

· Current Winners

· Past Winners

· Latest Press Release

About the Prize

Science/AAAS and SciLifeLab, a coordinated effort of four universities, have joined forces in creating the Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists. Both Science/AAAS and SciLifeLab recognize that global economic health is dependent upon a vibrant research community and we need to incent our best and brightest to continue in their chosen fields of research. Considering the difficult economic environment, we feel it is important to provide extra encouragement to young scientists as they begin their scientific careers. Each year, the grand prize winner will receive a prize of US$30,000; each of the three category winners will receive US$10,000. The grand prize winning essay will be published in Science and essays from the three category winners will be published online. Science/AAAS and SciLifeLab look forward to reviewing the research findings from future entrants.

Read more about the prize here.

Watch this video to hear from the Grand Prize Winner and Category Winners and see why you should apply for the 2023 prize!

About Science/AAAS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world's largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journals, Science, Science Translational Medicine, Science Signaling, Science Advances, Science Immunology, and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 254 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science, founded by Thomas Edison, has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 570,400.

The non-profit AAAS—www.aaas.org—is open to all and fulfills its mission to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, and more. Science further participates in various efforts to provide free access for scientists in the world's poorest countries.

About SciLifeLab

Science for Life Laboratory (SciLifeLab) is a Swedish national center for molecular biosciences with focus on health and environmental research. The center combines frontline technical expertise with advanced knowledge of translational medicine and molecular bioscience. SciLifeLab is a joint effort between four Swedish universities (Karolinska Institutet, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm University and Uppsala University).

SciLifeLab was established in 2010 and appointed a national center in 2013 by the Swedish government. More than 200 research groups are associated with SciLifeLab, which is situated at two nodes in Stockholm and Uppsala. 

Questions/Inquiries

SciLifeLabPrize@aaas.org

How to enter the Science & SciLifeLab Prize for Young Scientists

· About

· How to Enter

· Current Winners

· Past Winners

· Latest Press Release

The prize is awarded annually to one young scientist for outstanding life science research for which they were awarded a doctoral degree in the previous two years. The topic of the entrant's thesis research must be in one of the following categories: Cell and Molecular Biology; Genomics, Proteomics, and Systems Biology approaches; Ecology and​ Environment; Molecular Medicine. Eligible entrants must have been awarded their doctoral degree in 2021 or 2022, and the subject of their thesis should match one of the Subject Tracks below. The winners from each category will compete for the grand prize.

Prize money: USD 30,000 for the grand prize winner, USD 10,000 for each of the category winners.

All federal, state and local taxes, and any other costs and expenses associated with the receipt or use of the prize are the sole responsibility of the winner.

Publication: The grand prize winning essay will be published in Science, and essays from the each of the category winners will be published online.

Application deadline: 15 July 2023

Rules of Eligibility

· The research described in the entrant’s thesis must fall within one of the following categories (Subject Tracks):

o Cell and Molecular Biology: Research in this category includes cellular and molecular processes at levels ranging from single molecule to single cell to tissue and organ systems.

o Genomics, Proteomics and Systems Biology approaches: Research in this category focuses on genomics, proteomics, integrative omics and systems biology approaches, including computational, to facilitate comprehensive understanding of living cells, organisms and species.

o Ecology and Environment: Research in this category encompasses interactions between organisms and their environment, and how these processes are influenced by human activity.

o Molecular Medicine: Research in this category aims at building on the molecular understanding of disease in humans to develop preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic approaches, including individualized medicine.

· The prize will only recognize work that was performed while the entrant was a graduate student.

· The prize will be awarded without regard to sex, race, or nationality.

· While the research may be part of a larger team effort, for the purposes of this Prize, an eligble entrant must be a single individual and the essay must focus on their contribution.

· Employees of Science/AAAS, collaborators in the management or sponsorship of this prize and their relatives, as well as the following are not eligible to enter:

o Scientists who were Ph.D. students in the groups of any past or present member of the SciLifeLab management group (SciLifeLab Director, Co-Director, Infrastructure Director and Scientific Directors), the Integration Directors, or any member of the SciLifeLab Board.

· Entrants for the 2023 prize must have been awarded their Ph.D. between 1 January 2021 and 31 December 2022. As a rule, we will only accept submissions once within this time period.

Procedures for Entry

The entrant must submit the following items:

· A completed Entry Form.

· An essay, written by the entrant, describing the thesis work and its implications for research in the selected Subject Track. The essay must not exceed 1,000 words in length and may include one figure or table. Text generated from AI, machine learning, or similar algorithmic tools cannot be used to generate or edit the submission nor its accompanying figures, images, or graphics, without explicit permission from the Science editors. Furthermore, prior to publication of the winning entries, winners will be required to sign Science’s License to Publish, wherein the entrant must warrant that they have followed this requirement.

· A one-page reference letter from your advisor or a member of your thesis committee. The letter should include an assessment of the applicant and comment on the significance of the applicant’s research.

· The abstract of the thesis (not to exceed four double-spaced typed pages).

· A list of the following:

o Full citations of all published or in-press papers on the research described in the essay;

o Academic and professional awards and honors that the entrant has received; and

o Relevant professional experience.

The Entry Form and additional submission materials must be submitted electronically through our prize-management system.

Below is a timeline for the prize-selection process. You will be contacted only if there are additional materials or information needed.

August/September: Compilation and Review of Submissions
October/November: Selection of Prize Winner
December: Announcement of Prize Winner & Awards Ceremony in Stockholm

Deadline for Entries

15 July 2023.

Judging Procedures

First, Science editors will screen the essays and select three finalists from each Subject Track. Next, a committee of scientists chaired by the Editor-in-Chief of Science will select a winner for each Subject Track. The four winners will then compete for the grand prize. The grand prize winner and three category winners will be decided by October. Science will control both the evaluation process and the announcement of the winners.

Questions/Inquiries

SciLifeLabPrize@aaas.org