Early-Career Investigator Travel Awards

Early-Career Investigator Travel Awards (ECITA)

 

Note:  Several conferences are converted to a virtual meeting format. For virtual meetings, which require no travel or lodging, ECITAs provide a free registration.  The number of awards will depend on available funding, and will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis to qualified applicants. If you are applying for an award, do not register for the virtual meeting until you receive notice of the status of your application.


October 5, 2020 - Application Deadline for the following eSymposia:
   Optimizing Nutrition for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health

October 27, 2020 - Application Deadline for the following eSymposia:
   Asthma: New Discoveries and Therapies in the Age of COVID
   Tuberculosis:  Science Aimed at Ending the Epidemic

December 1, 2020  - Application Deadline for the following eSymposia:
   The Microbiome: From Mother to Child
   Harnessing the Microbiome for Disease Prevention and Therapy
   Tumor Metabolism and the Microenvironment
   Emerging Cell Therapies: Realizing the Vision of NextGen Cell Therapeutics

December 15, 2020 - Application Deadline for the following eSymposia:
   Frontiers in Cryo-Electron Microscopy

January 15, 2021 - Application Deadline for the following eSymposia:
   Precision Engineering of the Genome, Epigenome and Transcriptome
   Plant Genome Engineering: From Lab to Field
   Single Cell Biology
   Metabolic Decisions in Development and Disease
   Fatty Liver Disease and Multi-System Complications
   Hepatobiliary Cancers: Pathobiology and Translational Advances
   Lipidomics of Health and Disease


The ECITA initiative aims to increase the success of early-career investigators from underrepresented (see eligibility below) backgrounds at the assistant professor or government, non-profit, etc., scientist equivalent level. Attendance at top tier scientific conferences is critical at this career stage, enabling the emerging researcher to:
  • establish new collaborations
  • gain exposure for their research
  • network informally with colleagues
  • meet with prospective postdoctoral candidates
  • invaluable career-advancement opportunities

In an effort to expand these opportunities for early-career investigators, Keystone Symposia, in partnership with the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, will provide ECITAs to support conference registration to eSymposia events held within the upcoming conference season.

Apply Here

Eligibility Requirements

Applicant must meet ALL of the following eligibility requirements.

  • Must be a US Citizen or US Permanent Resident
  • Applications must be from populations that have been shown to be underrepresented in biomedical research, such as:
    • Underrepresented racial and ethnic groups: African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Alaska Native, or Hawaiian Native/Natives of the U.S. Pacific Islands, or;
    • Individuals with disabilities: defined as those with a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, as described in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, or;
    • Individuals from disadvantaged/underserved backgrounds: defined as individuals from an economically disadvantaged background, first generation college graduates, or individuals from challenging social, cultural or educational background, or;
    • Women in the biological workforce, or;
    • Individuals with a demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion efforts in the scientific community.
  • Applicant must be an assistant professor or equivalent level from government, non-profit, academic sector, no greater than six (6) years into appointment and engaged in full-time laboratory research. 

Review Criteria

  1. Abstract and research is of relevance to meeting topic and reflects significant scientific contribution to the field.
  2. Applicant's participation will have a significant impact on the applicant and his or her career/institution, e.g. initiation of new collaborations, etc.
  3. Applicant expresses dedication to mentorship and leadership of underrepresented scientists.
  4. Applications should be received prior to the abstract deadline for the selected meeting (deadlines can be found on the conference meeting page), so the applicant can be considered for a short talk presentation. Applications received after this deadline may only be considered for a poster presentation.

Apply Here

Please contact DLSP@keystonesymposia.org with any questions.