10th Annual Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation
Internal Indiana University Deadline: Wednesday, February 23, 2022
To apply, submit the application items to Jennifer Barron, Graduate Fellowships and Awards Coordinator at ugsawrd@iu.edu
The University Graduate School is now accepting application for the 10th Annual Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation.
Mission: To recognize and honor Excellence in Biomedical Science conducted by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
Prize details: One (1) graduate student and one (1) postdoctoral fellow are selected to receive the Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation each year. Each winner receives a check for
$50,000, which can be used in any way the winner chooses. Finalists are each awarded $5,000. In addition, the home institution of the winners will each receive a $5,000 donation to support the institution’s seminar series. Approximately 8-10 applicants will be selected for finalist status. Finalists may be invited to visit Regeneron for the onsite competition, travel expenses paid.
Nominations: Each institution may nominate no more than two (2) PhD students and two (2) postdoctoral fellows. Each submission must include a signed institutional endorsement form which will be collected of the final institution nominees. Applicants must prepare a description of their “dream” project and submit their full academic CV along with evidence of scholarly achievement.
The “Dream” Project, see also description attached:
- The research proposed must be within the field of biomedicine, broadly defined.
- The proposal must be no more than two single-spaced pages (no smaller than 10-point font). References do not need to be included within the two-page limit, but any figures, etc. should be. Note that preliminary data is not necessary.
- The proposal should clearly define a specific experiment or series of experiments, and include a rationale, basic methodology/design (citing literature is fine), and discussion of how the experiment's results would advance the field.
Complete internal applications will include the following:
- Full academic CV
- Dream Project (up to 2 pages not including references, no smaller than 10-point font)
- Publications as evidence of scholarly achievement – up to 3 publications may be submitted.
Institutional endorsement form signed by applicant and institutional endorser – we will collect this form from the selected nominees and their mentors.
All applicants will be asked to certify that the “dream” project proposal submitted is their original idea and does not appear in any publication or grant application where they are not the principal investigator. Project proposals found to the contrary may be disqualified. Please also note that joint/team proposals are not eligible to be submitted for the Regeneron Prize.
Regeneron reserves the right to not award a prize if the judges decide that no application meets the requirements or standards.
Guidelines for the “Dream” Project Proposal
Rationale and Overview:
One of Regeneron's primary criteria for selecting Regeneron Prize awardees is research productivity. As such, the CVs and publications of the applicants will be very important components of the selection process. However, Regeneron recognizes that two trainees with similar records of productivity may not be equivalent in scientific caliber. A trainee's mentor plays a big role in the development of a high- profile publication record.
The “dream” project component of the Regeneron Prize application is designed to be a differentiating exercise that allows Regeneron's Selection Committee to distinguish between applicants who have excellent research records because of their mentors and those who have excellent research records because of their own scientific merits. The research that is proposed is not necessarily meant to be conducted, nor is the prize meant as a funding mechanism for research. The prize is a cash prize to the trainee, and the trainee may use the money in any way he or she wishes. It is a personal prize for the personal use of the awardee.
The “dream” project proposal is a mechanism for evaluating a student's scientific clarity, elegance, precision, and creativity. There is no need for preliminary data (although it isn't prohibited), and there is no need for the student to feel limited by time or resources for the research proposed. Novel research ideas and "out of the box” thinking are not only acceptable, but encouraged. The proposal should describe a research project the applicant wishes he/she could conduct (i.e. a "dream" project), and be performable within the fundamental limitations imposed by today's technologies (e.g. don't propose cloning Albert Einstein). Finalists may be invited to Regeneron for the onsite competition as the final step in the selection of the Regeneron Prize winners, and they should be prepared to explain and defend aspects of their proposal at that time. The intent of the proposal isn't to conduct the research, it is to evaluate the applicants' research prowess.
Dream Project Proposal Guidelines:
The only rigid rulesfor the proposal are:
- The research proposed must be within the field of biomedicine, broadly defined
- The proposal must be no more than two single-spaced pages (no smaller than 10-point font)
- References do not need to be included within the two-page limit, but any figures, etc. should Please note that preliminary data is not necessary
- The proposal should clearly define a specific, experiment or series of experiments, and include a rationale, basic methodology/design (citing literature is fine), and discussion of how the experiment's results would advance the field
Other guidelines for the proposal, which are guidelines ONLY, are: The proposal may wish to include a background/rationale section, a specific aims section, an experimental design/methodology section, and a caveats/conclusions section (similar to a research proposal one might prepare for a funding source)
- The proposal can assume that applicants have access to the rich resources and technologies available at cutting edge biotechnology companies such as This includes access to most equipment used in biomedical research, any necessary supplies or reagents, and advanced genetic and/or protein engineering capabilities
Some applicants may be invited to conduct their research, or related research, at Regeneron. There is, however, absolutely no requirement that they accept this invitation – the prizes will be awarded before any such offers would be made.
Note: By submitting your proposal, Regeneron obtains no ownership rights in and to any of your proprietary data, results, or other information contained therein or any intellectual property that you may seek to obtain resulting directly from such information. By submitting your proposal, you acknowledge that its contents are not confidential information of any party and that Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (and its affiliates) will in no way be restricted from pursuing its own research, development and commercial activities, which Regeneron may have previously initiated or may initiate in the future, including, without limitation, activities in areas relating to the subject matter of your proposal.