Trainee Awards

SRS Trainee Awards are intended to help young investigators offset the cost of attending SLEEP, the Annual Meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies. Each year during SLEEP, the SRS hosts a the SRS Trainee Symposia Series to benefit researchers and scientists as they begin their careers.

First Time Travel Awards

The SRS encourages all trainees who have not previously attended the SLEEP annual meeting to apply for a First Time Travel Award. This award is intended to help trainees enrich their academic development by attending SLEEP. The costs of registration, travel and lodging associated with the annual meeting can add up. The First Time Travel Award helps makes attendance more affordable for scientists who are just beginning their careers. Applications for this award are accepted in January through early February. Recipients will be notified in the spring.

Merit-Based Travel Awards

The SRS recognizes trainee abstracts of exception quality by presenting trainees with Merit-Based Travel Awards. Winners will receive a financial award, intended to alleviate the cost of travel to the annual SLEEP meeting. Trainees may also have the opportunity to gain exposure and experience by giving a short oral presentation of their work in a forum with fellow trainees and senior faculty.

Merit-Based Travel Awards are primarily intended to further the career development of students who are actively pursuing an academic degree, or who are in the early stages of post-graduate training in sleep.

Rules and Eligibility

Trainees have the option to apply for the Trainee Travel Awards during the SLEEP meeting abstract submission process, using the APSS abstract submission system. Award winners will be notified by email or fax, if an email address is not provided, prior to the advanced registration deadline for SLEEP. This timeline is intended so that trainees will know if they received an award prior to registering for SLEEP.

Award applicants must be the primary author of the abstract. During the application process, candidates must indicate their interest in the award, and provide their SRS Membership ID Number. To be eligible for either award, applicants must:

• Be a trainee member of the Sleep Research Society and currently engaged in sleep research. You may become eligible by joining the SRS when you submit your abstract and application.
• Register for and attend the Trainee Symposia Series at the annual meeting and complete your evaluation form at the end of the Symposia Series. Award recipients will only receive their award at the end of the Trainee Symposia Series. Trainees who are not present to collect an award will not be able to receive it later. Trainees MUST register for each part of the Symposia Series separately when registering online for the meeting.
• Only trainees who have never attended SLEEP are eligible for the First Time Travel Award.
• Trainees cannot receive both a First Time Travel Award and an Abstract Award in the same year.

The dollar amount awarded to each recipient depends on the type of award, and may vary year to year. Historically the SRS presents more Merit-Based Awards than First Time Travel Awards.

Career Limits on Awards

The Sleep Research Society limits the number of awards an individual can receive. These limits are separate for each stage of a trainee's career. The stages are defined by membership status. Currently, trainees are considered either Predoctoral or Postdoctoral members.

• Predoctoral members will be limited to four awards regardless of the number of years the individual is a predoctoral member.
• Postdoctoral members will be limited to three awards, which is equivalent to the number of years an individual can be a Postdoctoral member.
• Once a trainee changes membership category from Predoctoral to Postdoctoral, the maximum number of future awards will be three, regardless of how many they received as a Predoctoral member. That is, this is not a lifetime limit of seven, but a separate limit for each stage of a trainee’s career.
• There will be no exceptions to the limitation policy.