እንዴት ማመልከት ይቻላል

Changes to Application for 2026

1. Applicants can no longer apply for both a Scholar Award and the Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award in the same funding cycle. 
2. The 2026 Scholar Award will start on June 1, 2026. 
3. Please submit a CV of no more than five pages, rather than a Biosketch. 

ብቁነት

Applicants for the McKnight Scholar Award must be independent investigators at not-for-profit research institutions in the United States; must hold a faculty position at the rank of Assistant Professor (or equivalent, see below) and must have served at that rank for less than five years at the time of the application deadline (exceptions may be made for family leave). For this year’s round, that means that the applicant must not have started serving in the rank of Assistant Professor any earlier than December 1, 2020. The five year limit is cumulative, so if the applicant has served as assistant professor at more than one institution, the clock begins at the time of the first position even if that is not where the applicant is currently serving. The applicant must hold an official appointment as Assistant Professor (or equivalent) on the date of application submission to be eligible.

Individuals holding other titles in non-tenure track positions such as Instructor, Research Assistant Professor, Adjunct Assistant Professor, or Instructor are not eligible. If the host institution does not use professorial titles, a letter from a senior institutional official (e.g. Dean or Director of Research) must confirm that the applicant controls their own dedicated institutional resources, laboratory space, and/or facilities. We seek to enhance geographic, gender, and racial diversity in neuroscience, and we encourage women, members of communities of color, and faculty at institutions that have never previously received a McKnight award to apply.  

Applicants to the Scholar Award may not apply in more than two rounds of competition, have already been granted tenure, or hold another award from the McKnight Endowment Fund. A new update to the 2026 Awards is that a candidate may not apply for both Scholar and Neurobiology of Brain Disorders Award during the same funding cycle.  

There is no limit to how many applications we can receive from the same institution in the same funding round, and while we strive for institutional diversity, multiple Scholar Awardees from the same institution can be awarded in the same grant period. 

Application

The application process is completely online, and the portal will open for submission on August 1, 2025.    

All application components are due by no later than Monday, December 1, 2025, at 5 PM Central. 

To apply, the principal investigator will need to follow these steps once the portal opens: 

• በቀኝ የጎን አሞሌ ላይ የሚገኘውን “ጀምር ማመልከቻ” አገናኙን በመጠቀም የተጠቃሚ ስም እና የይለፍ ቃል ያዘጋጁ ፡፡ (Please retain your username and password for future use.) 

• Upon login, download the template for our face sheet. You may also download the Face Sheet እዚህ. 

• Upload the entire application as a SINGLE PDF, in the following order, including: 

1. 1. Completed face sheet. Download the Face Sheet template እዚህ. 
   2. Description of the proposed research project. The proposal should be introduced with an abstract of 200 words or less, followed by a detailed statement of plans for the three-year research program. The proposed research need not present a totally new line of research but should represent one of your lab’s most innovative and impactful directions. The proposal (abstract, narrative and figures, but not referenced literature) must not exceed four numbered single-spaced pages in 12-point font with 1-inch margins. 
   3. Diversity & Inclusion Statement. A defining principle of the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience is to foster community and support mentorship. A one-page narrative describing how you are: 1) working to create an inclusive lab environment; and 2) addressing diversity, equity, and inclusion in science outside your lab. Keep the focus on personal experience and specific actions you have taken, and not just philosophy or planned activities. 
   4. CV. Please ensure it includes the following: header with applicant’s name, current position title, current institution/department, ORCID ID (if available), website (if available); listing of education and training (degree, institution, dates, advisor/mentor); Professional Experience and Scientific Appointments (title, institution, dates); Honors and Awards; Teaching Mentoring and Service; and a full bibliography. The CV should not exceed five pages. 
   5. List of other support including all resources (both start-up support and external funding) available in support of their research. List start-up funding at the beginning of the document and then follow NIH guidelines for external funding. 
   6. Titles and links to 5 recent publicly accessible publications (can include pre-prints e.g. on BioRxiv). 

We also require three references from former teachers, mentors, or senior colleagues familiar with the applicant’s work. Letters of reference must be sent separately and in confidence by the three individuals listed as references on the face sheet of the application. Please forward the following instructions to your three referees:  

The McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience Scholar Awards support young applicants embarking on an independent research career in neuroscience. We would appreciate your candid comments on the applicant’s training and research accomplishments, and on the applicant’s potential as an independent investigator in neuroscience. We also welcome comments on the applicant’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion in neuroscience. There is no specific format for the letter. Please email a PDF of your reference letter by Monday, December 1, 2025 at 5 PM Central to neuro@mcknight.org, indicating in the subject line who you are recommending. Your comments will be seen by the McKnight Scholar Awards Review Committee and will otherwise be held in confidence. 

የምርጫ ሂደት

የ የ McKnight Scholar Awards የተግባር ኮሚቴ will evaluate the applications and invite approximately 20 finalists to interview with the committee. Applicants invited to interview will be notified in March 2026. The interviews will be scheduled soon after and will be conducted remotely. The committee will then recommend candidates to the Board of Directors of the Endowment Fund for final decision. Awards will be announced in May 2026, and awards start June 1, 2026. 

ጥያቄዎች?

Email: Joel Krogstad, Program Manager, McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience