The ESCAN Early Career Award honours outstanding contributions by scientists working in the area of Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience early in their careers.

The award includes an honorarium in the amount of 1000 Euro. The award recipient is expected to deliver an award talk in person at the ESCAN meeting. The honorarium can be used to cover registration and travel costs to the conference, if no other funds are available.

Eligibility

• Eligible are researchers with a PhD awarded not longer than 6 years ago on the basis of their exact PhD viva (oral examination) date (plus one year per child). Special health, caring or other circumstances and career breaks will be taken into account on a case-by-case basis.
• Applicant main research needs to fall within the scope of the society’s key focus (Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, including social cognitive neuroscience and embodied cognitive Neuroscience; see ESCAN SIGS: https://escaneurosci.eu/sig).
• Candidates must be active members of ESCAN at the time of application.
• Candidate must be available to attend the Society conference in person, in the year of their award.

Female applicants, applicants with disabilities, and applicants from underrepresented groups and countries in the sciences covered by the ESCAN remit  (cognitive, affective and social neuroscience) are particularly invited to apply.

Evaluation of Nominations

Nominations will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

Primary:

• Excellence of research (primary criterion)
• Significance and impact of research (primary criterion)

Secondary:

• Wider contributions to the research community (e.g. Commitment to open science and metascience; Engagement in science communication and outreach; Advocacy for diversity and inclusion; mentorship and team science)

Application process

• Self-nomination is possible, or alternatively, an ESCAN full member can nominate a candidate. The nominator needs to be a full ESCAN member.
• Special health, caring or other circumstances and career breaks will be taken into account in considering both eligibility and evaluation of research output, so applicants are asked to describe any special circumstances they wish the committee to consider.

Documents to be submitted

1. A maximum 2-page document explaining the key scientific achievements of the candidate (self-written or, nominator written). This document should explicitly address how the nominee meets the above eligibility and evaluation criteria.
2. CV in a format of their choice (max 5 pages), that MUST include (elected) publication list and list of grants, awards, scholarships, mentorships and collaborations.
3. Copies of the candidate’s three most important peer-reviewed papers.

Please submit all documents in the aforementioned order, as ONE single PDF file named after the surname of the candidate (e.g., “SURNAME.pdf”) to escan@escaneurosci.eu, and mention the award in the title.

The deadline for submitting a request is February 16th 2026. We aim to inform applicants who will receive the waiver by March 6th (which is well before the Early Bird deadline March 20th).

The ESCAN Board is offering 10 “Conference Fee and Travel Costs” waivers for ESCAN members (pre-doctoral and PhD students) who have financial difficulties to afford the registration fee and the travel costs to attend the ESCAN conference. Applicants must be presenting at the conference (oral or poster presentation). The waiver consists of:

1. A waiver of the Early Bird registration fee for ESCAN
2. Up to 500 Euros reimbursement for travel costs

Please send a request for financial support to attend the annual ESCAN conference  to escan@escaneurosci.eu and include the following:

1. Your name, affiliation, position and contact information
2. A brief statement (half a page) to explain your motivation to attend the annual ESCAN conference and your financial circumstances
3. A formal letter from your University or supervisor in which it is stated that the conference fee and travel costs cannot be reimbursed

Please submit all documents in the aforementioned order, as ONE single pdf file named after the surname of the candidate (e.g., “SURNAME.pdf”) to escan@escaneurosci.eu, and mention the travel award in the title.

If you receive the waiver, please note that ESCAN will reimburse the costs that you will make to travel to the annual ESCAN conference for up to 500 Euros. In order to receive the reimbursement, you will need to submit documentation supporting your travel costs (e.g., copies of tickets and receipts). Only ESCAN members will be eligible for this waiver.

The deadline for submitting a request is February 16th 2026. We aim to inform applicants who will receive the waiver by March 6th (which is well before the Early Bird deadline March 20th ). If we receive a large number of requests, the ESCAN Board will allocate the waiver through a lottery.

ESCAN is pleased to introduce the ESCAN Family Care Grant (up to 300 Euro), aimed at supporting conference attendees who are primary caregivers for children or family members with special or health needs. This grant is designed to alleviate the financial burden of caregiving responsibilities during the conference, allowing caregivers to fully participate in the event.

Eligibility:

• Grant recipients must be current members of ESCAN
• Applicants must be present at the conference (oral or poster presentation).
• Only one parent/caregiver for a single-family unit may apply.

Grant Criteria:

• Caregiving Responsibility: The applicant must be the primary caregiver.
• Financial Need: Applicants must demonstrate the financial need for family care assistance.
• Career Impact: A statement of no more than 350 words outlining how attending the conference will benefit their professional development.

Application Materials:

1. A statement detailing the caregiving financial need (e.g., childcare or eldercare services).
2. A personal statement on how attending the conference will benefit the applicant’s career.

Award Coverage:

• Reimbursement for childcare or caregiving services during the conference
• Examples of Allowable Expenses: [this is not an exhaustive list]
  • Care during the Annual Meeting.
  • Increased expenses at home incurred because the primary caregiver attended the meeting (for example, overtime at a daycare center, cost of a sitter, etc.)
  • Travel for a babysitter/caregiver to come to your home.
  • Transportation of a child/children to the caregiver.
  • Care during the virtual meeting if applicable.
  • Increased expenses at home incurred because the primary caregiver attended the meeting (for example, overtime at a daycare center, cost of a sitter, etc.)

Please submit all documents in the aforementioned order, as ONE single pdf file named after the surname of the candidate (e.g., “SURNAME.pdf”) to escan@escaneurosci.eu, and mention the family care award in the title.

The deadline for submitting a request for the Family Care Grant is February 16th 2026. We aim to inform applicants who will receive the Grant by March 6th (which is well before the Early Bird deadline March 20th). If we receive a large number of requests, the ESCAN Board will allocate the grant through a lottery.