Rising Star Award

Rising Star Award in Sleep Research
Call for Submissions

"The Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences (MINS) at the University of Pennsylvania is pleased to announce an international call for submissions for the annual Rising Star Award in neuroscience research. To highlight the "Year of Sleep Research" on Penn's campus, the award honors a young researcher for outstanding contributions to the understanding of the Neurobiology of Psychedelics with a USD 10,000 personal honorarium at the MINS Annual Retreat and Symposium on April 30, 2025."

"Sleep remains one of the greatest mysteries in biology, conserved across evolution but without a singular function. Work over the past few decades has made major strides in understanding the genetic, molecular, and neural circuit basis of sleep and sleep disorders. Research efforts have spanned phylogeny, from jellyfish to humans, contributing new insights into the purpose of sleep. The 2025 MINS Rising Star Award will honor a researcher who is at the forefront of this field, promoting scientific discovery and/or translating these discoveries to shed light on sleep regulation and function."

Award:
- In addition to the USD 10,000 personal honorarium, the award recipient will present a research seminar at the symposium on April 30, 2025.
- Also at the symposium, Prof. Gina Turrigiano, PhD, Brandeis University, will give the Sprague Lecture, and Prof. Masashi Yanagisawa, MD, PhD, The University of Tsukuba, will give the Adler Lecture.
- The award recipient will be featured in MINS' Annual Symposium newsletter, distributed to the neuroscience community.

Eligibility:
- Researchers who received their first advanced degree, such as a PhD, in 2010 or more recently are invited to submit an entry.
- Extensions to the 2010 eligibility date are granted for family and medical leave.
- The winner must be able to travel to the University of Pennsylvania to receive the award and present the seminar.

Submission Requirements:
Applicants should submit a single PDF file with:
- A one-page description of their contribution to field of Sleep Research
- Full curricula vitae
- Names of three references - references will be requested separately