Our awards and prizes

BNA Award for Outstanding Contribution to Neuroscience

This is the most prestigious of the BNA's awards.

Any member of the BNA can make a nomination for the BNA Outstanding Contribution to Neuroscience Award.  Candidates need not be members of the BNA, but nominations must be made and supported by BNA members.

Please submit nominations for this prize by completing the online application form. The deadline for nominations is 31st October. These should make a case for why the nominee should be recognised for their work in neuroscience.  If you have any questions please contact the BNA office. 

Past Winners

BNA Award for Public Engagement of Neuroscience

Any member of the BNA can make a nomination for the BNA award for public engagement.  Candidates need not be members of the BNA, but nominations must be made and supported by BNA members.

Please submit nominations for this prize by completing the online application form. The deadline for nominations is 31st October.  These should make a case for why the nominee should be recognised for their work, in any capacity, in the field of public engagement in neuroscience. 

Past prize winners

BNA Undergraduate and Postgraduate Prizes

Each year, the BNA awards an undergraduate (£250) and a postgraduate (£500) prize to student BNA members. Our prize winners often, if not always, go on to be highly successful in their chosen fields, playing a leading role in neuroscience. 

Applicants for both postgraduate and undergraduate prizes must be current BNA members. All nominations should be sent by email to office@bna.org.uk by 31st October each year. We encourage you to nominate your students! 

The specific requirements for applicants can be found under the 'For members' section of the website. Please get in touch with any questions. 

BNA Undergraduate and Postgraduate Prize Winners

BNA Scholars Programme

The BNA is excited to announce the launch for the second cohort of the BNA Scholars programme.

The purpose of the BNA Scholars programme is to support students from underrepresented ethnic groups to thrive in neuroscience, and build a supportive community through networking opportunities, bursaries and mentorship.

Annual award cycle: 

• Autumn: Scholar and mentor applications open
• Late December: Scholar applications close
• Spring: Mentor applications close
• Spring: Scholars announced
• Spring: Mentors matched with Scholars

About the programme

What is offered

There are seven places on the BNA Scholars programme in this first year (a pilot year). Successful BNA Scholars will remain on the programme for three years* and the programme confers the following benefits for the full three years*:

• Free membership to the BNA
• Free membership of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS)
• Access to a BNA Scholars’ mentoring scheme administered through the BNA
• Networking opportunities through the BNA and BNA events
• Opportunities to connect with key individuals within the BNA, for instance members of the BNA Council and Committee, and the Editorial Board of the BNA Journal
• Funding towards BNA Festival of Neuroscience attendance
• Funding towards FENS Forum attendance
• £300 career development grant from HelloBio**

*If the Scholar completes their neuroscience degree and does not remain in the neuroscience sector (where ‘the neuroscience sector’ includes any neuroscience-related role in the public, charity or commercial sector, including both academia and industry) before the three years are completed, they will receive free BNA Associate membership for the remainder of the three years but no other benefits. If the scholar is still in process of completing their neuroscience degree after the three years have finished, then ongoing inclusion on the scholarship will be reviewed on a year by year basis. We will take into consideration any required career breaks (e.g for caring responsibilities) on a case by case basis.

**Only available to the second cohort of Scholars

Expectations of BNA Scholars

Expectations of BNA Scholars are as follows:

• Commitment to engage with the programme and attend mentoring meetings with your mentor
• To feedback to the BNA (both formally and informally) based on your experiences for evaluation purposes
• To engage with the BNA and participate in related activities e.g. to contribute to an article in the BNA Bulletin
• To attend the biennial BNA Festival of Neuroscience and present a poster at the Festival if possible
• To attend the biennial FENS Forums
• Recipients of the £300 career development grant from HelloBio to complete an interview for their blog

There is an expectation of 4-6 meetings between the Scholar and mentor per year. The format of meeting can be decided between the Scholar and mentor, whether they take place online, over the phone or in person (when permitted).

Eligibility of Scholars

Scholar applicants must be:

• A Final Year Undergraduate, Masters (including integrated Masters) or PhD student. Or an early career research technician/assistant (positions must be held after an undergraduate or master’s degree). 
• Affiliated with UK Higher Education Institution (and planning to remain affiliated for at least the next year)
• Self-identify as Black, Asian, or minority ethnic
• Interested in pursuing a future career and have research interests in neuroscience and/or the wider neuroscience sector

Expectations of mentors

Expectations of mentors are as follows:

• Commitment to engage with the programme and attend mentoring meetings with your BNA Scholar
• To feedback to the BNA based on your experiences for evaluation purposes

There is an expectation of 4-6 meetings between the Scholar and mentor per year. The format of meeting can be decided between the Scholar and mentor, whether they take place online, over the phone or in person (when permitted).

Eligibility of mentors

We are welcoming mentor applications from all ethnicities and all career stages.

BNA Scholar candidates will be asked of their mentor preferences during their application stage and successful candidates will be matched with a mentor through a review panel.

Selection process

To ensure fairness in the selecting process, all application form data will be anonymised. A review panel, chaired by the BNA National Committee member for equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), has been set up to assist in the initial Scholar selection process and the mentor matching process.

If there are a greater number of applicants who meet all criteria than there are scholarships available, then factors including the following will be considered when selecting the successful applicants:

• Geographical spread across the UK
• Ethnic group
• Commitment to the BNA scheme and to mentoring future cohorts
• Likelihood of and commitment to pursuing a career in neuroscience or related to neuroscience
• Overall balanced representation

BNA Scholar and mentor matching process

After the announcement of successful BNA Scholars, the mentor matching process will take place. 

• A call for mentors will go out to previous applicants, alongside a new advertisement drive each year. The mentors complete an online application form in which they describe their expertise and why they want to be a mentor.
• Each Scholar will be provided with a copy of the mentors’ answers and asked to indicate their top four choices.
• The BNA Scholars programme coordinator will then review the matches.  

There will be a no-commitment introduction meeting between the BNA Scholar and mentor before a final decision is made. We want to reassure applicants that the BNA is committed to ensuring the BNA Scholar feels well-matched with their mentor.

BNA Scholar attendance at BNA Festivals of Neuroscience and FENS Forums

We expect the successful BNA Scholar candidates to attend the biennial BNA Festivals of Neuroscience and, in the intervening years, the biennial FENS Forums. These events will be a thoroughly enjoyable experience, whilst offering the opportunity to present a poster and network.

If a successful BNA Scholar has already registered and submitted a poster abstract for BNA Festival of Neuroscience, then the BNA will issue a refund. In the case of successful BNA Scholar candidates who have not registered or submitted a poster abstract, we will offer a special abstract submission window in which they can do so. The poster abstract will be subject to peer-review prior to acceptance.

How to apply

Please ensure you fill in the correct application form for either the BNA Scholar or mentor position. 

BNA Scholar application form: You will be asked to provide general applicant details and information regarding your current degree programme/course. You will also be asked to provide 200 words on your research interests and plans for the future, as well as 200 words on why you want to be part of the programme and how you think it might benefit you.

BNA Scholar applications are now closed. 

Mentor application form: You will be asked to provide general applicant details and information regarding your current career stage. You will also be asked to describe your expertise (research area, techniques you use, experience to date etc) and to provide 200 words on why you want to be a mentor on the programme and how you think you are well-suited to be a mentor.

BNA Scholar applications are now closed.

Founding Supporters

The BNA Scholars programme is proudly supported by our eight Founding Supporters: Bristol Neuroscience (University of Bristol), COMPASS Pathways, DeepMind, Gatsby Foundation, Guarantors of Brain, International Brain Research Organization (IBRO), MSD and the UK Dementia Research Institute (UK DRI), as well as new supporters HelloBio. We are incredibly grateful for their cohesive commitment to the BNA Scholars programme and associated EDI activities.

BNA Credibility Prizes

The Credibility Prizes aim to recognise work within the field of neuroscience that reflect outstanding efforts to make neuroscience research as credible as possible – either directly through leading by example in the course of their own research, or through efforts aimed at aiding neuroscientists to do this more widely.  

We piloted these in 2021, with further prizes in 2022 – find out about the winners by visiting our BNA Credibility website here and check back for our next nominations later this year.

The Gatsby Foundation

We are very grateful to the Gatsby Foundation for their ongoing support of the BNA, including our BNA Scholars programme and Credibility in Neuroscience campaign. 

BNA-Brain Carer grants

We are delighted to announce that, thanks to the support of the Guarantors of Brain, the BNA is awarding Carer Grants of up to £300 to help cover expenses associated with caring responsibilities and thereby enable participation in either BNA-hosted or external neuroscience events.

These BNA-Brain Carer Grants are inclusive of different circumstances and varied caring responsibilities, and can be used to support the attendance of in-person or online events.  They are simply intended to enable participation of neuroscientists in a conference, workshop, training or other activity that is of benefit to their research, teaching or career, which would otherwise be difficult or impossible due to their caring responsibilities.

Who are the BNA-Brain Carer Grants for?

We appreciate that there are multiple ways in which people manage caring responsibilities and we welcome applications from a broad range of family systems.

It might be that parents of school age children apply for a grant to access a paid-for online learning programme for older children. Carers of younger children might want to access professional childcare. People may be caring for older relatives or neighbours, and need a professional carer to allow them time to participate in events.

BNA-Brain Carer grants can be used to support participation of any delegate attending either a BNA-hosted or external neuroscience event, whether or not they are presenting any work. This includes in-person or online events.

You can apply for a BNA-Brain Carer grant at any career stage, from student to professor.

Preference will be given to those with younger children and/or extenuating circumstances.

What will BNA-Brain Carer grants support?

We recognise that everyone's circumstances will be different, and we want these grants to meet as many different and varied needs as possible.  So long as you can provide a good case for why you need a grant to cover costs, it will be considered for funding.  Such costs could include but are not limited to:

• Costs of a childcare provider, either in your home or in an external setting
• Cost of an in-home carer for dependent, or cost of an external care setting
• Access to teaching or other activities for older children
• Any other activity/purpose for helping delegates to meet caring responsibilities

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for a BNA-Brain Carer grant you must meet the following criteria:

• You must be a member of the BNA at the time of application. You can join here straight away: https://www.bna.org.uk/about/membership.
• Awards are open to anyone at any career stage (students, postdocs, ECRs, clinicians, PIs or others) with dependents or caring responsibilities.
• Awards are to enable participation in meetings or activities that further your research, teaching or career, or otherwise support the neuroscience sector.
• Preference is given to more junior attendees, those with younger children, presenters, and those with extenuating circumstances.

What information do I need to provide?

To apply for a grant just fill in the form below.  You will be asked to provide:

• Contact details and basic demographics
• Information about the event or activity you wish to attend, and how you will benefit from participating (max 200 words)
• Basic information about your caring responsibilities (for children or others)
• How much you're applying for, up to a maximum of £300
• Outline how you will use the funding (max 200 words)
• Any special considerations we should take into account e.g. single parenthood (max 200 words)

Please complete the form below or click here to open in a new window.

We are very grateful to the Guarantors of Brain for their continued commitment to the BNA-Brain Carer grants and are proud that we can continue to support our neuroscience community through this important initiative.