The RNA Society Mid-Career and Early-Career Awards

The RNA Society’s Mid-Career and Early-Career Awards were established in 2016 to recognize outstanding scientific achievements for scientists in the early or middle parts of their careers.
The awardee will be given the opportunity to give a talk at the RNA Society Annual Meeting, with complimentary registration, hotel and travel and to write a minireview article in RNA. The winner will receive a cash prize of $1,000, an engraved commemorative plaque, a complementary RNA Society membership for one year (including a personal subscription to RNA), and a waiver of all Author Page and Open Access Publication charges associated with publication of a review in RNA.
  • Eligible Early-Career recipients will be within their first 7 years as an independent investigator as of July 1, 2025.
  • Eligible Mid-Career recipients will be within their first 15 years as an independent investigator as of July 1, 2025.
  • The award can be for a single important discovery or for an extended portfolio of work. The basis for the award must be from independent research conducted in the recipient’s laboratory.
  • The winner must be a member of the RNA Society and contributions to the RNA Society can factor into the award decision.
  • Applications for this award will be considered until the 7 or 10 year eligibility expires. If eligibility remains in subsequent years, the applicant will be given the opportunity to update the application, but an update will not be required.

Application Process
Both self-nominations and nominations of others are welcome and encouraged. Nominations must include a complete CV of the candidate, and a letter of nomination that clearly and briefly states the single important discovery or summarizes the extended portfolio of work to provide an overview of the qualifications of the candidate. Additional letters of support are welcome but not required.

The award will be granted without regard to race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender expression, gender identity, or presence of disabilities.

 Click here to Apply Online

Application Deadline

Only completed applications submitted by October 15, 2025 will be considered.

Previous Winners:

The RNA Society Mid-Career Award
Karla Neugebauer (2017), Nils Walter (2017), Erik Sontheimer (2018), Ailong Ke (2019), Jernej Ule (2020), Ling-Ling Chen (2021), Julius Brennecke (2022), Nicholas Ingolia (2023), Chase Beisel (2024), Yanli Wang (2025), Sebastian Leidel (2026).

The RNA Society Early-Career Award
Wendy Gilbert (2017), Gene Yeo (2017), Andrei Korostelev (2018) and Maria Barna (2019), Igor Ulitsky (2020), Schraga Schwartz (2021), Nicholas Guydosh (2022), Jinwei Zhang (2023), Chun Kit Kwok (2024), Samuel Sternberg (2025), Ryan Flynn (2026).

RNA 2026