Next Generation Investigator Awards

Meet last year's 2023 Symposium NGI Award Winners:

Image of three males and one female with text 'HOS 2023 Award Winners Elias Akoury Lebanese American University Daniel Benjamin Immuto Scientific Mengqi Chai Washington University in St. Louis Wesley Wagner Washington University in St. Louis'

Attention all graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, early career professionals, and underrepresented minorities! Are you looking for a chance to share your work at a scientific meeting? Next Generation Investigator Awards are an excellent opportunity for graduate students, post-doctoral researchers, early career industrial scientists, and underrepresented minorities to meet, network, and participate in exchanging knowledge with industry peers from across the world with waived registration and grants to offset travel expenses.

CASSS is pleased to provide Next Generation Investigator* (NGI) travel awards for PhD students, post-docs, early career professionals, and underrepresented minorities from around the world for HOS 2024. Selected award winners will be required to give an oral or poster presentation at the Symposium (selected and decided by the Scientific Organizing Committee) or to write a synopsis of the HOS Symposium that will be posted on the website for general information. PhD students, post-doctoral fellows, early career professionals, and underrepresented minorities** conducting research in academia or industry throughout the world are eligible to apply.

Why should you apply?

As an award winner, your registration fees will be waived, and you will receive a travel reimbursement disseminated in local currency to offset the cost of travel to the Symposium. Stipend amount is determined by distance traveled. This is an excellent opportunity to meet, network, and participate in exchanging knowledge for mutual education with other members. Underrepresented minorities** are highly encouraged to apply.

How do you apply?

Click the link below to complete the application. Please be prepared to submit a letter requesting consideration for the grant, proof of studentship or post-doc status, and letter of recommendation from your supervisor all in PDF form. If you have any questions, please contact the Symposium Manager, Carolyn Slade.

If you are submitting an abstract for oral or poster consideration, it must be a scientific paper or case study specific to the topics put forth by the Higher Order Structure Scientific Organizing Committee. In lieu of a single, separate NGI session, awardees will present their abstract during the plenary session for the selected submission category. The submission topics are:

  • HOS in Antibody-based Therapeutics
  • HOS in Cell & Gene Therapy
  • HOS Technologies
  • Joint HOS/Mass Spec Plenary Session: Comprehensive Toolboxes for Complex Problems
  • Regulatory Trends in HOS Characterization

Apply Now

Application for a travel grant or selection as an awardee does not release you from the obligation to register. If you are selected as an awardee, you are still required to register. Information on how to register will be sent with the outcome notification.

What are the requirements to apply?

All applicants must provide the following with their application:

  • Proof of NGI* status .
  • Recommendation from your advisor and/or supervisor on organizational or institutional letterhead.
  • Attestation of your selection by the Scientific Organizing Committee of your abstract for oral presentation in a plenary session or as part of the NGI segment (if selected)
  • Attestation of your submission of an abstract for oral or poster presentation during HOS.
  • Attestation of writing and submitting a written synopsis of your experience at HOS (in lieu of presenting an oral abstract or poster)

The deadline to submit applications is May 24, 2024.

For more information on CASSS Next Generation Investigator Awards,click here.

*CASSS defines NGIs as individuals that are either currently in full or nearly full-time study for a formal academic qualification (e.g. degree, PhD), or have less than 4 years from the commencement of their first postdoctoral or first professional industrial or governmental position. NGIs can be in academia, government, industry, or any other organization that participates in the field of biopharmaceutical development, and may be based anywhere in the world. Career breaks will be recognized.
** “Underrepresented minorities” are several groups based on national or ethnic, cultural, religious, and linguistic identity, who have been denied basic access to an array of services and fundamental rights to those services such as equal healthcare, pay, representation in research and human studies, disease population, community, education opportunities in various disciplines and fields of study, and other basic fundamental rights to those services such as equal healthcare, pay, representation in research and human studies, disease population, community, education opportunities in various disciplines and STEM fields of study. This list is not exhaustive.  This group includes Latinos (including Puerto Ricans), African Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, Arab and other Middle Eastern Americans, Native Americans, Native Hawai'ians and other Pacific Islanders, Inuit, and Alaskan Natives, the disabled (mentally and physically), etc.

"It is a valuable conference to interact with key players in the field. The presentations are extremely helpful for my current work." 
Mingyue Li, Higher Order Structure 2023 Attendee

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