Terms and conditions for The 3Brain - Massimo Grattarola Award

1. Description

The 3Brain - Massimo Grattarola Award program is intended to support the activities of young researchers from academic, government or non-profit institutions.

2. Eligibility

1. Who may submit an application
   To be eligible, applicants must hold a doctorate (PhD) and be employed in at least a 50% position at an academic institution, government agency, or non-profit organization anywhere in the world. This employment must be guaranteed for a minimum of one year following the application deadline. Additionally, applicants must be under 40 years old on the contest deadline date. Relevant fields of research include: Cell Biology, Neuroscience, Computational Neuroscience, Statistics, Developmental Biology, Microphysiological Systems, Electrophysiology, In Vitro and Ex Vivo Modeling of the Brain, Drug Discovery, Toxicology and related research fields. An extension of 1 year can be applied to those who went through maternity or paternity leave.
2. What may be founded by the award
   Money from The 3Brain - Massimo Grattarola Award must be used primarily to fund research projects planned, executed and authored by the award winner (or winners). All funded research involving animal breeding and/or experiments must be approved by the appropriate authorities and/or following the guidelines for the welfare of experimental animals of the respective country.
   
   Budgeted items can include:
   •   supplies, consumables, and small pieces of equipment,
   •   costs for publication in peer-reviewed journals,
   •   costs for attendance of national and international conferences.
   

3. Application and evaluation procedure

• General
  All applications must be written in English. The application must concern a project idea related to one of the following topics:
  •   In vitro disease modelling: Utilizing brain organoids or neural spheroids for human disease research.
  •   Personalized medicine: Investigating patient-specific response in brain organoids or neural spheroids
  •   Identifying therapeutic targets in brain organoids or neural spheroids
  •   Investigating neural circuits using brain organoids or neural spheroids.
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  Submitted projects will be reviewed in two rounds of evaluation according to the following criteria:
  •   Novelty, creativity and originality of the project
  •   Potential contribution to the field of research
  •   Long-term impact in improving relevant aspects of our society
  •   Clarity and quality of the project description
  
• Evaluation round 1
  For the first round of evaluation, applicants have to fill the application form  and send it to awards@3brain.com until the 1st of November, 2024, 17:00 CET. Besides general information, the applicants have to submit a project abstract (2000 characters max) stating the main purpose and the significance of the expected results, following criteria of section a). A team of neuroscientists from 3Brain will then review all the projects. The most inspiring 5 projects will be chosen to advance to the second round of evaluation.
• Evaluation round 2
  Applicants with projects accepted for the second round of evaluation will be asked to give a 15 minutes live talk at the beginning of December, to introduce their project idea in more detail. The talks will be evaluated by a reviewing committee, consisting of notable neuroscientists who are not affiliated to 3Brain AG.
  
• Post-application procedure & Award Process
  To ensure a fair evaluation process, 3Brain reserves the right to decline applications if any of the aforementioned eligibility rules are not met. The winner (or their team) will be awarded €15,000 after the final decision in the second round of evaluation. Before the prize is disbursed, both 3Brain and the winner's affiliated institution or organization will need to sign the necessary paperwork regarding the donation or funding.
  

4. Regulation for provided information

Applicants should refrain from submitting any information considered proprietary or that could infringe upon the rights of others. By submitting the application and acknowledging the terms and conditions, the applicant signifies their agreement with all Terms and Conditions for The 3Brain - Massimo Grattarola Award outlined here. Additionally, applicants grant 3Brain AG a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, and irrevocable right to store, utilize, and publish the submitted information.