Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award

The Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award is given biennially to recognize a young neuroscience investigator for significant contributions to the scientific community through collaboration, creativity, and curiosity-driven research.

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PGYIA: Important Dates

Nominations for the PGYIA are now closed

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Award Details

In addition to recognizing outstanding achievements, the PGYIA serves to support research, inspire young scientists, promote collaboration, and acknowledge the outstanding legacy that Dr. Peter Gruss built throughout his honorable career at the Max Planck Society.

The Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award Winner will receive a $5,000 cash prize and will be provided travel and lodging to the award ceremony at Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience’s biennial Sunposium Conference in West Palm Beach, Florida, March, 2026. The winner will also deliver a keynote address at Sunposium, following their award acceptance.

The Peter Gruss Young Investigator Award is sponsored by Ms. Raquel Rodriguez, a lawyer and the Chair of the Florida Offices of the law firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. Ms. Rodriguez is a long-time supporter of MPFI’s work and the life science industry and supports the award in honor of Dr. Peter Gruss’s legacy.

Eligibility

  • Actively engaged in neuroscience research at the time the award is given.
  • Has assumed an independent research position in or after 2018. (Other special circumstances may be evaluated at the discretion of the selection committee.)
  • Postdoctoral fellows, or those dependent upon a Principle Investigator, are ineligible.
  • Current and former Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience scientists are ineligible.

Nomination Criteria

  • Self-nomination is not permitted.
  • No person may nominate more than one candidate.
  • Members of the selection committee cannot be the nominees, and they cannot serve as nominators nor write letters of recommendation for this prize

Nomination Materials

Include the following materials in the application package, which should be uploaded in PDF format:

  • Nomination letter (a single nomination letter per candidate is preferred, maximum of 2 pages)
  • Current nominee CV indicating date when independent faculty position began
  • A list of up to five of the nominee’s most important publications
  • After the initial nomination period, the nominators of the top five candidates will be contacted and asked to provide two additional reference letters.
  • In the case of highly collaborative work. joint nominees will be considered based on their joint work. Please submit a single letter.

About Dr. Peter Gruss

Dr. Peter Gruss is a development biologist and former president of the Max Planck Society from 2002 to 2014. During his presidency, the Max Planck Society established the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, the Society’s first and only North American Institute. This award is named after Dr. Gruss in honor of his visionary leadership and commitment to the expansion of international collaboration.

Selection Committee

David Fitzpatrick, Ph.D.
CEO and Scientific Director
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Ryohei Yasuda, Ph.D.
Scientific Director
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Lin Tian, Ph.D.
Scientific Director
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Salil Bidaye, Ph.D.
Research Group Leader
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

McLean Bolton, Ph.D.
Research Group Leader
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Hidehiko Inagaki, Ph.D.
Research Group Leader
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Vidhya Rangaraju, Ph.D.
Research Group Leader
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Sarah Stern, Ph.D.
Research Group Leader
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Yingxue Wang, Ph.D.
Research Group Leader
Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience

Contact

Lesley Colgan, Ph.D.
Scientific Communication Specialist
lesley.colgan@mpfi.org