Applications due Sept. 28

This is a joint competition for VU and VUMC investigators. All investigators should follow these instructions.

Vanderbilt (VU and VUMC, collaboratively) may submit one nomination per category for the 2024 Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists. These awards recognize the United State’s most promising faculty-rank researchers in life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, and chemical sciences. One Blavatnik National Awards laureate in each disciplinary category will receive $250,000 in unrestricted funds. Indirect costs are not applied to the award.

The eligibility criteria, guidelines for selection, and application materials are consistent across these three award categories. The deadline for all three internal competitions is Sept. 28, 2023.

Eligibility criteria

The nominee must:

• Have been born in or after 1982*

• Hold a doctorate-level degree (Ph.D., D.Phil., M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., etc.)

• Currently hold a tenured or tenure-track faculty position
• Currently conduct research as a principal investigator in one of the disciplinary categories in life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, or chemical sciences
• Previously nominated individuals who were not selected as laureates in past awards cycles may be nominated again, if they remain eligible.
• If previously selected as a finalist, you must proceed through the internal nomination process.
• The Blavatnik Awards strongly encourages the nomination of underrepresented populations in STEM: women, persons with disabilities, and individuals identifying as Black, American Indian or Hispanic/Latinx.

*Age limit exceptions will be considered by the academy in exceptional circumstances upon a detailed written submission from the nominating institution.

Guidelines for selection

Each nominee and their body of work will be evaluated based on the quality of their research, the impact on their respective field and potential benefit to society, the novelty of their ideas and methods, and the potential they show for future scientific contributions and discoveries.

Please see the program page and FAQs for more information.

Application materials

Anyone interested in being considered as a nominee must submit the following materials by 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 28, 2023.

1. Brief description of your research (1,000 words max., excluding references and figure caption). Recommended topics (from instructions):

• • Summarize up to five of your most significant scientific contributions and research accomplishments from your independent career.
  • Key results, their impact on your field of study, and your specific role in the described work should be included.
  • Information about your positions, awards and service activities should be excluded.
  • One figure illustrating the most significant results is allowed.

Note: Summary should be written to be accessible to another scientist working in the same overarching disciplinary category (e.g., life sciences) but not necessarily in the specific field of study (e.g., neuroscience);

1. Professional service and diversity, equity and inclusion statement (1 page max.) Recommended topics (from instructions):
   • Outreach activities and/or professional service, with particular focus on activities and service related to increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in the scientific community
2. Letter of support from department chair/center director
   • Letters must acknowledge that this grant does not allow indirect costs. This statement can be used/modified within the letter: “The department recognizes that this grant does not allow indirect costs and will commit to covering any associated indirect costs per applicable institutional/school policy.”
3. NIH Biosketch or Brief CV (5 page max.) 

Application process

Please note that the application process differs across the three award competitions.

• Faculty interested in the Chemical Sciences award category should submit an application via InfoReady by 9/28/2023: https://vanderbilt.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1915282    
• Faculty interested in the Physical Sciences and Engineering award category should submit an application via InfoReady by 9/28/2023:

https://vanderbilt.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1915301

• Faculty interested in the Life Sciences award category should apply by emailing the above-listed application materials as a single PDF to LSO@Vanderbilt.edu by 9/28/2023.

Any questions about this opportunity or the LSO process can be directed to LSO@vanderbilt.edu.