Travel Awards and Travel Award Pre-Review Program

General information: The deadline to apply for a Travel Award is December 15, 2023 at 11:59PM EST.  Student and Postdoctoral Travel Awards will be available for the 2024 IBNS Annual Meeting, to be held from June 11-16, 2024, in Panama City, Panama. Undergraduate, graduate (including students enrolled in Doctoral and Master’s programs), and postdoctoral members are eligible to apply. Postdocs must be within 7 years of receiving their Ph.D. and have not yet had a faculty, instructor, or staff scientist position. IBNS limits Travel Awards to one award per level of training (i.e., undergraduate, graduate, and postdoc). Those who have previously received awards are only eligible again at the next career stage.

Applications must be submitted through the IBNS member portal. If you are not currently a member of IBNS, please allow 4-6 business days for your membership application to be approved. Members from underrepresented populations and from institutions in underrepresented countries within the IBNS membership are highly encouraged to apply. Travel Award recipients are required to present a poster as well as participate in an oral Travel Award Blitz session. Travel Award recipients are required to attend the entire meeting in person. 

Evaluation Process: Travel Award applicants are evaluated according to their level of training (undergraduate, graduate (MA or PhD), postdoctoral). A rubric will be used to evaluate materials to standardize assessment of all applications. To assist applicants in effectively addressing the evaluation criteria in this rubric, the IBNS Education and Training Committee has compiled a guide to help applicants prepare competitive Travel Award applications. Applicants are strongly encouraged to use this guide.

Click here to view previous Travel Award winners.

The Diversity Committee Liaisons for the Education and Training Committee, in coordination with the Chair and Co-Chair, will use the results of the diversity survey to identify applicants from underrepresented backgrounds and to ensure that diverse backgrounds are represented among Travel Awardees. Award recipients will be notified of their award before the abstract submission deadline in February 2024.

Before starting the online application, please have the following items prepared:

1. Diversity survey (optional, questions included on application form)
2. Individual (not symposium) abstract for the meeting (No longer than 2500 characters including title, authors, and spaces), with the applicant listed as the first author (required)
3. CV (Curriculum vitae, required)
4. Research Productivity Considerations (optional, no longer than 1000 characters with spaces) describing any factors that may have affected your research productivity or educational development. For example, family care responsibilities, illness, disability, military service, and other personal issues
5. Personal Statement describing the benefit of award to the applicant and how the applicant’s career goals align with the mission of IBNS (required, please refer to the rubric and guide); no longer than 1000 characters with spaces
6. Diversity and Inclusion Statement describing applicant’s efforts to promote diversity and inclusion in behavioral neuroscience with regard to culture, ethnicity, gender identity or expression, nationality, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. (required); no longer than 1000 characters with spaces
7. Letter of Recommendation (required)

Applicants must attach these materials as a SINGLE pdf file, with the title of the pdf being your last name followed by your first name (e.g., Doe_Jane.pdf). Be sure that you have your pdf file prepared as one document before starting the online application.

All qualified applicants will be eligible to receive a Travel Award for the 2024 Annual Meeting held in Panama City, Panama. Award winners will receive an award certificate, free registration to the meeting, participation in the mentorship program, participation in the Travel Award Blitz presentations, and the opportunity to attend all other trainee events held during the meeting. Travel Award winners must be able to commit to attending the entire meeting.

All Travel Award funds are intended as reimbursement. Travel Award winners must be able to commit to attending the entire meeting. Please be aware that only a portion of travel, determined by estimated travel costs from country of application to the current meeting destination, will be reimbursed. Travel Awardees must have supplemental funds to attend the meeting. 

IBNS Travel Awards are one of the many benefits of an IBNS membership.  If you receive the error message "You are ineligible to take this form", you will need to wait for your membership application to be approved.  Approval time is typically within 24 - 48 hours.