The objective of the ASPET Travel Award Program is to encourage the career development of young scientists through their participation in the ASPET Annual Meeting. Attendance provides the opportunity for young scientists to learn about recent advances in pharmacology, network with peers and international experts in the field of pharmacology, and to contribute their own work to the scientific dialogue.

The award consists of paid registration and up to 4 hotel nights at the St. Louis Union Station Hotel. International travel awards for those residing in developing countries also include US$500 for airfare. You must be an ASPET 2023 member and the presenting author on an abstract submitted by December 8.

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Poster awards are offered for outstanding poster presentations by undergraduates, graduate and post-baccalaureate students, and postdoctoral scientists attending ASPET 2023. The goal of the Student-Postdoc Poster Competition is to showcase and recognize the highest quality scientific work submitted by ASPET’s young scientist members.

Awards include cash prizes whose value varies by category. You must be an ASPET 2023 member and the presenting author on an abstract submitted by December 8.

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Divisions will select finalists for their oral presentation awards from eligible abstracts submitted by young scientists to their applicable abstract topic categories by December 8th. No separate application is necessary. To be considered, you must be an ASPET 2023 member and the presenting author.

Session chairs will be reviewing abstracts submitted by December 8th and looking for relevant research that complements their session topics. Applicable presenting authors will be invited to join the session as a speaker.

Featured session

The Null Hypothesis: The Importance of Showcasing Non-Significant Data

This session will be made up entirely of abstract-based young scientist presentations selected from abstracts submitted by December 8^th.  The chairs invite young scientists to submit abstracts for consideration to the topic area called 11.3 Showing the Null Hypothesis. 

Scientific publications today are biased towards reporting positive results with the goal of telling a good story, while negative data reporting studies that test hypotheses are largely ignored. This creates a publication bias which severely impacts the ability to accurately synthesize data and limits an appropriate description of complex research problems. On this basis, it is critical to share negative data. Having negative data means you cannot reject the null hypothesis, but if your science is rigorous and your experiments are well-designed, we believe your research is worth sharing!

Who can participate?

Any graduate/postdoctoral researcher working on a translational scientific project. A translational project can be based on data generated from in vitro, ex vivo tissue or in vivo experiments or incorporating AI/computational/in silico/data sciences. This research identifies a therapeutic target or platform likely to, or with the potential to, translate to human physiology and prevent, reverse, or treat disease pathology.

Why participate?

Participate to be one of the 4 finalists and:

1. Receive a discounted registration rate to the ASPET 2023 Annual Meeting ($100 for postdocs, $25 for grad students).
2. Receive up to 2 nights complimentary hotel accommodation in the official ASPET hotel block.
3. Receive one-on-one coaching from industry-level experts to build your final pitch.
4. Present your innovation to a live audience at ASPET meeting and receive constructive feedback from an elite panel of judges.
5. Connect with the industry network and increase your visibility!
6. Engage in a one-on-one post-conference advisory meeting with a senior scientific leader to get career development advice and feedback on the technology pitched at the competition.
7. Be recognized as the best pitch award winner and brand your research in a special article published in The Pharmacologist quarterly magazine.

How can you participate?

Please use the link below to fill out the application by January 6.

The application deadline is January 6, 2023. For more information and to apply, click this link: 2023 Guppy Tank.

Are you a trainee looking for mentoring and networking experiences during ASPET 2023? On behalf of the ASPET Young Scientists Committee, we invite you to participate in the peer mentoring program “Partnering for Success” at ASPET 2023.

The goals of this mentoring program are to:

1. Support, encourage, and motivate younger ASPET members and first-time attendees.
2. Provide a mentoring experience for ASPET’s more senior trainees.
3. Increase interaction of trainees across and within ASPET divisions.

If you choose to participate in this program as either a mentor or a mentee, you’ll be matched up with another ASPET trainee member based on your scientific interests and goals for participating. We suggest that pairs meet for at least 30 minutes during the meeting at a time that is mutually convenient. Mentors should endeavor to visit the mentee’s poster session and/or oral presentation during the meeting. We anticipate that mentors will provide some guidance for navigating the meeting as well as insights into preparing for career transitions. We would like to highlight that this mentoring will be limited to the conference; no future commitment is required from volunteers (unless mutually agreed upon).

Whether you’re a new ASPET member looking for guidance, or a more established trainee who wants to help show off all a scientific meeting can offer, we encourage you to participate!

Sign up for this program when you register.

Below are two opportunities for young scientists that feature programs that occur year-round and who typically also gather while everyone is attending the Annual Meeting.

Mentoring Network – apply by December 12

The ASPET Mentoring Network: Coaching for Career Development is a program designed to supplement the training that graduate students and postdoctoral trainees receive through their university programs. The ASPET Mentoring Network focuses on developing skills needed to succeed scientifically, professionally, and psychologically, including discussions about experiences and pressures faced by groups that are underrepresented in the sciences. As a professional development experience, the program uses a coaching model to help participants develop success skills for a variety of careers, including but not limited to academia, industry, government, and policy.

Graduate students and postdoctoral scientists accepted into the 2023-2024 program will attend several events in association with ASPET 2023 in St. Louis, MO. Learn More

Washington Fellows – applications for 2023 closed