Imagine More Dinner

Award Information
The awardee(s) may receive a maximum of $50,000 and is expected to spend this money in one year. Multiple awards may be given based on factors like but not limited to application and research strength or needs.

Eligibility
To be considered for the 2026 Imagine More Award, individuals applying must meet the following requirements:

1. Applicant must be an NRC member to be considered for the award. (Details on how to become a member, or to check your membership status, can be found here.)
2. Applicant must be of early-stage faculty status (Assistant or Associate Professor) OR an MCW Fellow (having either a PhD or MD degree and 75% of time is dedicated to research).
3. Applicant must be available to attend the Imagine More Dinner on June 23, 2026.
4. Applicant’s project must be a research project within the field of neuroscience.
5. The awarded individual will need approval from the appropriate safety committee (e.g., IBC, IRB, IACUC) before award funds are released.
6. Previous winners can apply, but we prefer to fund different individuals yearly.

Other Application Information

• Joint PI (i.e., co-PI) applications will be accepted. If submitting a co-PI application, please select “yes” when prompted, and enter the information for the additional PI in the information for co-investigator 1.
• Faculty are not allowed to receive salary support from this award. Faculty serving as PI, co-investigators, mentors, or collaborators can have effort on the project, but their effort must be cost-shared.

Application Materials

1. Budget and budget justification form (DOCX)
2. NIH biographical sketch (for each investigator on the project) (DOCX)
3. Project Description: A single PDF document containing the following:

• Specific aims of your project (max. one page)
• Background and approach (max. three pages)
• Bibliography

4. Project Goals & Outcomes: Another PDF document containing the following:

• Provide a lay description of the project goals (max. half page)
• Explain how this award will enhance your ability to garner extramural, peer-reviewed funding (max. half page).

Award Overview
This is a career-development award for an experienced postdoctoral researcher who will be a competitive candidate for an independent position in approximately 18-30 months from time of application. The award is designed to provide flexible funding in support of your own project that will enhance your future research program and/or support mentorship/training opportunities that provide skills critical for your career goals.

The awardee(s) may receive a maximum of $50,000 and is expected to spend this money in one year. Multiple awards may be given based on factors like but not limited to application and research strength or needs.

Applicant Eligibility
To be considered for the 2026 Post-Doctoral Imagine More Award, individuals applying must meet the following requirements:

1. Applicant must be an NRC member to have their application considered.
   Details on how to become a member, or to check your membership status, can be found here.
   Applicants must hold a title of “Postdoctoral Researcher” and have earned either a PhD or MD degree and, at the time of application, commit at least 75% of their professional time to research.
2. If selected, the applicant must be available to attend the Imagine More Dinner on June 23, 2026.
3. Applicant’s project or mentorship/training experience must be in the field of neuroscience.
4. Applicants who receive support from NIH via either an F32 or T32 are eligible to apply but may not use any funds from this award to support their own salary.

• Applicant may request funds to cover their own salary and fringe benefits, up to 50% of the total award amount (this does not hold for those supported by F32 or T32 grants).
  It is anticipated that the applicants will spend at least 20% of their effort on this project, regardless of the amount of salary coverage.
• Applicants requesting funding for training and/or mentoring purposes should detail their project effort, specifying the percentage allocated to research and training activities.
  For example, if an applicant commits 20% effort to the project, they should provide a breakdown (out of 100%) of how that effort is distributed between research, mentorship, and/or training in their budget justification.
• Before awarded funds are released, the awarded individual will need approval from the appropriate safety committee (e.g., IBC, IRB, IACUC) as required.
• Faculty supervisor must be a co-investigator on the application and have cost-shared effort on the award. Faculty are not allowed to receive salary support from this award so this effort must be cost-shared.
• Faculty serving as mentors or collaborators can have effort on the project, but their effort must be cost-shared.

1. Budget and budget justification form (DOCX)
   
2. NIH biographical sketch (for each investigator on the project, including your faculty supervisor) (DOCX)
3. Project Description: A single PDF document containing the following:

• Specific aims (max. one page)
• Background and approach (max. three pages)
• Bibliography
• Letter of support from applicant’s faculty supervisor describing how their supervisor will support their research and, if applicable, training and mentorship plans. The faculty supervisor must also discuss how this project differs from their research program and provide assurance that the fellow can use the results from this project as they wish. This letter must also address why they believe the postdoc applicant will be competitive for an independent position within approximately 18-30 months from time of application.

4. Project Goals & Outcomes: Another PDF document containing the following:

• Provide a lay description of the project goals (max. one page).
• What is your career plan? (max. half page)
• How will this award help create a pathway to your next career? (max. half page)
• How will this award help create a pathway to your next career? (max. half page)
• How will the results of this project enhance your likelihood of success as an independent neuroscientist? (max. half page).

Applications and materials must be submitted via the Qualtrics Application Survey, and projects should not be set up in eBridge unless selected to receive the award.

Deadlines
Submission deadline is April 3, 2026 at 11:59PM. Awardees will be notified in May and funding can begin as soon as all approvals are in place, but not before July 1, 2026.

For questions or more information, please contact Anna at Douangphachanh@NRC.edu.