Blavatnik Regional Awards for Young Scientists

WCM is limited to submitting 15 nominees. Due to this limitation an internal selection process will be coordinated. Chairpersons/Division Heads & Institute Directors may submit no more than two nominations from their department/division or institute.

Chairs/Division Heads & Institute Directors submitting more than one nomination must send a statement commenting on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the two nominees to researchdean@med.cornell.edu. 

Margins should be at least one inch and font size no less than 11 point.

1. A 30-lines scientific abstract explaining the quantification of the applicant and fit of the project for this funding mechanism.
2. Nomination statement co-signed by the Department Chair/Division Head and candidate's Mentor detailing the nominee’s strong record of significant scientific contributions and their promise of sustained or accelerated progress in the future (200-word maximum). Please address the awards evaluation criteria of Quality, Impact, Novelty, and Promise described above 
3. Biosketch (4-page maximum, PDF).
4. Research Summary (1,000-word maximum, PDF). A summary of the candidate’s most significant scientific contributions and research accomplishments. One figure illustrating the nominee’s most significant results is allowed. Citations and figure caption do not count toward the word limit. The summary must:
1. Be written in the first person by the nominee;
2. Describe up to five of the nominee’s most significant scientific contributions and research accomplishments from their postdoctoral career; doctoral work should be mentioned only if highly notable or relevant to the nominee’s accomplishments as a postdoctoral researcher.
3. Include key results, their impact on the nominee’s field of study, and the nominee’s specific role in the described work (especially where the nominee is involved in large collaborations);
4. Be written to be accessible to another scientist working in their overarching disciplinary category (e.g. Life Sciences) but not in their specific field of study (e.g. Neuroscience);
5. Exclude information about the nominee’s positions, awards, and service activities, or other information contained in the CV.
6. Include a brief description of how the nominee sees the current project progressing in the future.
7. What are the next steps for the project, and how will the key discoveries made during their postdoctoral career propel their research field forward? (NOTE: A statement of the nominee’s future career plans is not required.)
5. One paragraph statement describing the nominee's outreach activities (teaching & mentoring, collaboration & leadership, service, research activities relevant to address DEI issues) and/or professional service.  Where possible, the nominee should focus on activities and service related to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in the scientific community.
6. List of up to 4 publications and/or patents

Submit the items listed above here no later than October 7, 2025, at 11:59 PM in the order listed as one PDF document using the naming convention PI last name-first initial_BlavatnikRegional2026.pdf (see example below). 

Example: Smith-J_ BlavatnikRegional2026.pdf