Professional Development Award

Aim

The purpose of the ISBF’s Early Career Fellowship for Diversity is to recognize outstanding achievements by members of the International Society for Biofabrication (ISBF) who are in the early stages of a career in the field of Biofabrication, emphasizing recruitment of a diverse applicant pool. The fellowship provides support for the candidate to attend the conference and to further develop their leadership skills in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion beyond the conference.

Award Eligibility

The nominated individual must have received their terminal degree or took their first independent academic or industry position 8 years or less prior to the time of the award and be actively contributing to the field of biofabrication. An individual nominated for the ISBF’s Early Career Investigator Award MUST be an active registered member of the ISBF and MUST physically attend the 2023 Biofabrication Conference in Saskatoon, Canada.

Award Criteria

The Prize will be awarded to one Early Career investigator from a under representative geographical region, that have addressed one or more of the following topics in their research:

• design, synthesis and/or characterization of new printable biomaterials
• design, fabrication and/or validation of novel biomedical devices and/or fabrication processes
• implementation of novel physical. mathematical or informatics models for the prediction, characterization and and/or analysis of biomedical devices
• development of novel tools for biofabrication
• development of novel in vitro biofabricated models
• development of novel applications or the translation of biofabricated constructs to preclinical or clinical practice
• industrial realization of a device, process or materials for applications in Biofabrication

Candidates that demonstarte participation in collaborative projects or initiatives and/or potential for future contributions to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within the field of Biofabrication will be favoured. Candidates who have not previously attended an ISBF conference and/or are from underrepresentative geograpical regions or minory groups will furthermore be prioritized.

Prize

The ISBF Awards Committee will select the Early Career Diveristy Investigator. The award winner receives

• Recognition and presentation of the award at the Awards ceremony at Biofabrication 2023 in Saskatoon, Canada.
• $1000 Cash Award
• Free conference registration
• ISBF Recognition Plaque

The candidate will engage in special events to foster community engagement and leadership development. This includes presenting their conference experience to their home institution, encouraging continued engagement in the field of biofabrication.

Application procedures and deadlines

1. The candidate is nominated by at least one ISBF society member that sends the nominiation via a single e-mail message to the Awards Committee Chair, Dr. Gabriella Lindberg ([email protected]). The candicate can self-nominate. If that is the case, two separate letters of recommendation are needed. However, if that is not the case, the nominator can write one of the required two letters of recommendation.
2. The nominee must be an ISBF member at the time of the award.
3. The nominator should also provide the following as a single *.PDF file:
   1. Affiliation and Contact – no more than one page (form below and available on the Biofabrication Awards webpage)
   2. Curriculum Vitae – no more than 4 pages (11 point font, 0.5 inch margins)
   3. Two (2) Letters of Recommendation (Please note: Recommenders may write a letter for only one 2023 Early Career Investigator nominee.)
   4. One page statement summarizing the nominee’s major accomplishments (0.5 inch margins, 11 point font). Indicate evidence of high productivity.
   5. Accepted Abstract
4. The nomination messages must have a send date and time no later than 9PM (US Pacific time) August 14, 2023. Notification of Award: August 28th, 2023.

Selection Criteria

The candidatures will be examined and evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:

• Outstanding achievements
• Quality and significance of the “accepted” 2023 Biofabrication Conference abstract.
• Innovation of the research reported in the abstract.

Review Committee Decision and Announcement

The Awards Committee consists of 7 members of the International Society of Biofabrication. If one of the candidates is on the Awards Committee, they cannot participate in the review of any candidates or the final decision. If a nominator or recommendation letter writer is on the Awards Committee, they cannot vote on or discuss their nominee but can rank the other nominees.