The Eclipse Award for Innovation in High Throughput Biology

The Eclipse Award for Innovation in High Throughput Biology was established in 2021 to recognize research achievements by junior researchers in the growing areas of high throughput experimentation and analysis. This award, sponsored by Eclipse BioInnovations Inc., is open to all graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who are current members of the RNA Society. Two prizes will be awarded – one each to a current graduate student and current post-doctoral fellow – based on research accomplishments to date in the broad area of high throughput RNA biology. Unique to this award is the opportunity to interview with Eclipse BioInnovations Inc. leadership and perform an internship at their worksite in San Diego, California. A requisite for this award is that applicants must have peer-reviewed, published work describing innovative, robust and reproducible experimental and/or computational methods that enable new insights into the biology of RNA processing and/or RNA-protein interactions. Importantly, published work must provide sufficient detail to be easily reproduced with evidence that the development/technology has been made widely accessible to the greater scientific community. 

Applicants must be a current Student or Post-doctoral Fellow member of the RNA Society (click here to become a member).

Applications for The Eclipse Award for Innovation in High Throughput Biology must include the following material:

  • Applicant’s current CV
  • A 7,000-character Summary of your research contributions and accomplishments to date in the area of high throughput RNA biology (~1500 words)
  • A 2,500-character Abstract that would form the basis of a mini-review in RNA that examines an important concept in your field of research (~500 words)
  • A Letter of Support from the current research advisor summarizing the applicant’s cumulative contributions to the area of high throughput RNA biology. Letters of Support must be submitted electronically to the link provided on the online application site by the application deadline. Letters must include the applicant’s last name and award type in the file name.

Click here to apply online

Judging Procedures:
Applications will be evaluated by the RNA Society Awards Committee and judged on the applicant’s cumulative contribution to advancing RNA research and discovery as detailed in the application material. One award will be presented each to a current graduate student and one to a current post-doctoral fellow (for a total of two awards per year). 

Prize:
The winners each year will be awarded a prize with an estimated value of $5,000 that includes complementary registration to the RNA Society Annual Meeting and reimbursement for travel and accommodations to attend this meeting. Winners will also receive a cash prize of $500, an engraved commemorative plaque, a complementary RNA Society membership in the year proceeding of their award (including a personal subscription to RNA), and a waiver of all Author Page and Open Access publication charges associated with publication of a mini-review article in RNA (*winners, by accepting the The Eclipse Award for Innovation in High Throughput Biology, agree to contribute a mini-review article to RNA within the calendar year of the award). Winners will be presented the opportunity to meet and interview with leadership from Eclipse BioInnovations Inc. and perform an internship at their San Diego worksite. Winners will be announced and recognized on the RNA Society website, through social media channels, and during the RNA Society Annual Meeting. 

Deadline:
Completed applications (including Letter of Support) must be received by October 1, 2024 in order to be considered (please note that it is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure the Letter of Support is submitted by the deadline date). Incomplete or late applications will not be evaluated.

Further information 
Email [email protected] for any questions about this award

Previous Winners:

Graduate Student:
Oguzhan Begik (2022), Han Altae-Tran (2023), Morghan Lucas (2024) 

Postdoctoral Fellow:
Aldema Sas-Chen (2022), Shira Weingarten-Gabbay (2023), Giulia Biancon (2024)