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Overview

Excellent mentorship and superior training are critical to the development of exceptional future scientists. To recognize the crucial role great mentors play in the development of future leaders in neuroscience, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) created the Landis Award for Outstanding Mentorship in 2017. Historically, the Landis Award has been given as an administrative supplement, but is now being converted to a prize competition to better stimulate innovation around mentoring and to highlight and disseminate these approaches to the community. This prize competition will award $100,000.00 to up to five (5) faculty mentors¹ who have demonstrated dedication to outstanding mentorship and training. This award is intended to help foster the research career development of current or additional students and post-doctorates under the guidance of outstanding mentors. NINDS hopes that this tangible award will impress upon the scientific community as a whole, and faculty and institutional leaders in particular, the high value NINDS places on outstanding training and mentorship and will encourage mentors to adopt innovative approaches of Landis Awardees. Further, NINDS hopes that it encourages institutions to reward individuals not only for outstanding research accomplishments but also for their impact on the lives of others, and the future of neuroscience, through outstanding mentorship and training.

¹Eligible Institutions will accept the cash prize on behalf of the Mentor.

Eligibility and participation in this prize competition is as follows:

1. Nomination to Determine Eligibility:
   • Initial eligibility to participate in this prize competition is based on nomination from those who have first-hand knowledge of a faculty member's outstanding mentorship. Thus, current or former trainees are invited to nominate faculty members who have served as their mentors by filling out (note: these nominations must come directly from trainees and should NOT be solicited by the faculty mentor or institution). This year, NINDS invites nominations of outstanding mentors who are more than 20 years from the start of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position (i.e., the start date of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position was in calendar year 2005 or earlier). 
     • A PDF version of the form can be downloaded and viewed under the resources section.
2. Full Submission and Certification of Institutional Approval:
   • Mentors nominated by two or more mentees will then be invited to submit additional information needed for the selection process (see “How to Enter”), pending additional eligibility criteria (see “Rules”). Note that eligible mentors invited to participate in this Prize competition must obtain approval from their institution to compete for this Award, as any cash prizes will be awarded directly to the institution in recognition of the mentor’s accomplishments. NINDS encourages institutions to apply the cash prize towards fostering the research career development of their trainees under the guidance of the outstanding mentors. 

Statutory Authority to Conduct the Prize Competition:

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) is conducting this prize competition under the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Reauthorization Act of 2010, as amended [15 U.S.C. § 3719].

The mission of the NINDS is to seek fundamental knowledge about the brain and nervous system and to use that knowledge to reduce the burden of neurological disease for all people. This prize competition will help recognize outstanding mentors and identify innovative approaches to mentoring that will be shared with the community.  Mentors shape the biomedical landscape through educating the next generation of neuroscientists in robust experimental design and rigor, training future scientists for careers across biomedical sectors, and advancing neuroscience research. Identifying and disseminating innovative mentoring approaches will accelerate all aspects of biomedicine, including neuroscience. Thus, recognizing and promoting outstanding mentorship is fundamental to the NINDS mission.

Timeline

Eligibility nominations period:  February 27^th, 2026 – April 24^th, 2026

Invitations to enter the prize competition sent to eligible nominees (anticipated): May 1^st, 2026

Prize competition deadline: May 29^th, 2026

Pre-screening and Initial Review: June 1^st - June 26^th, 2026

Judging and Final Selections: June 29^th - July 24^th, 2026

Anticipated winner announcement: August 21^st, 2026

Prizes

Total Cash Prizes: $500,000

Prize winners will be publicized by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and their approaches will be organized and disseminated to the community (e.g., webinar series, blog posts featuring specific topics such as “approaches for supporting trainee transitions into non-academic careers”). Prize winners may be invited to contribute to future events or dissemination efforts hosted by NINDS.

Amount of the Prize: Up to five monetary prizes of $100,000 each

Eligible Institutions will accept the cash prize on behalf of the Mentor (see “Rules”).

Award Approving Official: The Award Approving Official will be the Director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Payment of the Prize: Prizes awarded under this Competition will be paid by electronic funds transfer (EFT) and may be subject to Federal income taxes. Winners will be required to provide financial institution information to NIH in order to receive the award funds. The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)/NIH will comply with the Internal Revenue Service withholding and reporting requirements, where applicable.  

The NIH/NINDS reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to (a) cancel, suspend, and/or modify this prize competition, or any part of it, for any reason, and/or (b) not award any prizes if no Submissions are deemed worthy.

Rules

The Eligibility Requirements and Participation Rules are outlined separately for both the outstanding Mentors, which this prize competition seeks to recognize, and the Institutions that currently employ the Mentors and will accept the cash prize on behalf of Mentors selected as winners. To be awarded a cash prize, both Mentors and Institutions must meet the Requirements and Rules stipulated below. Cash prizes will be awarded directly to the eligible Institutions that currently employ the Mentors selected as winners of the Landis Award, and not to the Mentors themselves. 

Eligibility Requirements

For Mentors:

To be eligible to compete in and be selected as a winner under this prize competition, a Mentor —

1. Shall have received at least two trainee-submitted nominations to warrant invitation to participate in this prize competition.
2. Shall be an established faculty member in a tenure-track or equivalent position who is more than 20 years from the start of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position (i.e., the start date of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position was in calendar year 2005 or earlier). Of note, the Landis Award cycles through early-career, mid-career, and established faculty to better evaluate faculty relative to their years of mentoring experience.
3. Shall be listed as a PI or mPI on an active* (FY26) NINDS R01, R35, U01, U54, P01, DP1, DP2 or equivalent 4-5 year duration NINDS award. *i.e., active as of 10/1/2025.
4. Shall not be a prior Landis Award recipient;
5. Shall have registered to participate in the prize competition under the rules promulgated by the 2023 ��ѿ��ý (NIH) as published in this announcement;
6. Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement;
7. Shall not be a federal employee acting within the scope of their employment;
8. Shall not be an employee of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS, or any other component of HHS) acting in their personal capacity;
9. Who is employed by a federal agency or entity other than HHS (or any component of HHS), should consult with an agency ethics official to determine whether the federal ethics rules will limit or prohibit the acceptance of a prize under this prize competition;
10. Shall not be a reviewer or judge of the prize competition, or any other party involved with the design, production, execution, or distribution of the prize competition or the immediate family of such a party (i.e., spouse, parent, step-parent, child, or step-child);

For Institutions:

To be eligible to receive a cash prize under this Prize competition, an Institution —

1. Shall currently employ the nominated Mentor;
2. Shall have given their approval to the Mentor to participate in the Prize competition under the rules promulgated by the 2023 ��ѿ��ý (NIH) as published in this announcement;
3. Shall have complied with all the requirements set forth in this announcement;
4. Shall be incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States;
5. Shall not be a federal entity.

Participation Rules

For Both Mentors and Institutions:

1. By participating in this prize competition, each participating Mentor and Institution agrees to assume any and all risks and waive claims against the federal government and its related entities, except in the case of willful misconduct, for any injury, death, damage, or loss of property, revenue, or profits, whether direct, indirect, or consequential, arising from participation in this prize competition, whether the injury, death, damage, or loss arises through negligence or otherwise.
2. Based on the subject matter of the prize competition, the type of work that it will possibly require, as well as an analysis of the likelihood of any claims for death, bodily injury, property damage, or loss potentially resulting from prize competition participation, no Mentor or Institution participating in the prize competition is required to obtain liability insurance, or demonstrate financial responsibility, or agree to indemnify the federal government against third party claims for damages arising from or related to prize competition activities in order to participate in this prize competition.
3. Each participating Mentor and Institution shall not be deemed ineligible because the Participant used federal facilities or consulted with federal employees during the prize competition if the facilities and employees are made available to all Mentors and Institutions participating in the prize competition on an equitable basis.
4. By participating in this prize competition, each Mentor and Institution warrants that they are sole author or owner of, or has the right to use, any copyrightable works that the submission comprises, that the works are wholly original with the Mentor or Institution (or is an improved version of an existing work that the Participant has sufficient rights to use and improve), and that the submission does not infringe any copyright or any other rights of any third party of which the Mentor or Institution is aware.
5. By participating in this prize competition, each Mentor and Institution grants to the NIH an irrevocable, paid-up, royalty-free nonexclusive worldwide license to reproduce, publish, post, link to, share, and display publicly the submission on the web or elsewhere, and a nonexclusive, nontransferable, irrevocable, paid-up license to practice, or have practiced for or on its behalf, the solution throughout the world. Each Mentor and Institution will retain all other intellectual property rights in their submissions, as applicable. To participate in the prize competition, each Mentor and Institution must warrant that there are no legal obstacles to providing the above-referenced nonexclusive licenses of the Mentor’s or Institution’s rights to the federal government. To receive an award, Mentors and Institutions will not be required to transfer their intellectual property rights to NIH, but they must grant to the federal government the nonexclusive licenses recited herein. Further, each Mentor that has been selected as a winner agrees to allow their submission, along with their name and affiliation, to be posted on this prize competition website and/or other NINDS-affiliated websites.
6. Each participating Mentor and Institution agrees to follow all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and policies.
7. Each Mentor and Institution participating in this prize competition must comply with all terms and conditions of these rules, and participation in this prize competition constitutes each such Mentor’s and Institution’s full and unconditional agreement to abide by these rules. Winning is contingent upon fulfilling all requirements herein.
8. As a condition for winning a cash prize in this prize competition, each Mentor and Institution that has been selected as a winner must complete and submit all requested winner verification and payment documents to NIH within ten business days of formal notification. Failure to return all required verification documents by the date specified in the notification may be a basis for disqualification of a cash prize winning submission.

For Mentors:

1. Each participating Mentor is required to provide, as part of their submission, a letter signed by an authorized institutional official on official letterhead stating that the Institution has reviewed and agrees to the rules, terms, and conditions of the Prize competition and agrees to accept the cash prize on behalf of the Mentor if the Mentor is selected as a winner. In the event of winning a cash prize, the prize will be paid directly and in full to the Institution. In the event that a dispute regarding the Institution’s approval of the Mentor’s entry cannot be resolved to NIH’s satisfaction, the affected submission will be deemed ineligible
2. Submissions must include a Participant Registration and Consent form that is signed by the Mentor certifying that they have institutional approval to compete for this prize.
3. Mentors may not use federal funds from a grant award or cooperative agreement to develop their prize competition submissions or to fund efforts in support of their prize competition submissions.
4. Federal contractors may not use federal funds from a contract to develop their prize competition submissions or to fund efforts in support of their Prize competition submissions.

For Institutions:

1. The Institution that employs the nominated Mentor must provide a letter signed by an authorized institutional official on official letterhead stating that they have reviewed and agree to the rules, terms, and conditions of the prize competition and agree to accept the cash prize on behalf of the Mentor if the Mentor is selected as a winner. In the event of winning a cash prize, the prize will be paid directly and in full to the Institution.
2. The institution will provide approval for the Mentor to compete in this prize competition (as indicated on the Participant Registration and Consent form).

Judging Criteria

Basis Upon Which a Winner Will be Selected (up to five winners).

The Submissions will be evaluated and rated on a scale of 1-3 based on each of the following four (4) criteria:

1. Demonstration of Scientific Excellence and Rigor (25%):
   • As evidenced by actively cultivating in mentees the pursuit of scientific excellence, whether in basic, translational, or clinical research, and careful attention to rigor in experimental design, analysis, and interpretation;
     • Examples could include: hosting formal or informal discussions surrounding experimental design, providing input and feedback on experimental design and analysis to trainees, focusing journal club reviews on methodologies and validity, etc.
2. Facilitation of Mentee Career Progression (25%):
   • As evidenced by investing in their mentee’s scientific and professional development and career progress, regardless of their ultimate career interest;
     • Examples could include: supporting mentees in their desires to 1) attend professional meetings in the academic and/or private sector; 2) participate in alternative academic career programs; 3) acquire skills or experience that would advance their professional goals, etc.
3. Facilitation of Mentee Contributions to Science (25%):
   • As evidenced by challenging mentees to achieve their full scientific potential, which includes the completion of significant research projects and meaningful contributions to the biomedical research community;
     • Examples could include: helping mentees go over manuscript reviews and address reviewer concerns, providing feedback to mentees on professional presentations or chalk talks, fostering collaborations or establishing connections to accelerate their mentee’s research, etc.
4. Contribution to Excellence in Research Training (25%):
   • As evidenced by contributing to excellence in research training environments and strengthening the research enterprise by inclusion of people from wide-ranging backgrounds both in their own research environment and more broadly (such as at the institutional, scientific society, and/or national level).
     • Examples could include: serving on institutional training awards (e.g., T32s, R25s, K12s), steering graduate programming through leadership positions, working with science societies to provide training or foster inclusion of trainees from wide-ranging backgrounds, etc.

Examples of each criterion have been provided, but these examples are illustrative only, and we highly encourage the inclusion of innovative and effective approaches beyond the provided examples.

Judging will be divided into two (2) stages:

1. Pre-screening and Initial Review
   1. All Submissions will be pre-screened for eligibility with respect to compliance with the rules of the prize competition, including the submission guidelines and signed consent form as applicable. Only fully complete Submissions confirmed to meet all eligibility requirements will move forward for review and judging.
   2. Eligible Submissions will be reviewed individually by federal staff with NINDS programmatic expertise based on the evaluation criteria listed above. Each eligible submission will be reviewed individually by a minimum of two reviewers.
2. Judging and Final Selections
   1. At the next stage, high-scoring submissions (typically the top 10 submissions) will be presented to a judging panel of federal staff with NINDS programmatic expertise.
   2. The judges will submit their selection of winners to the Award Approving Official for a final decision on prize payments. Winners are subject to final approval by the Award Approving Official.

How to enter

Nomination to Determine Eligibility:

Eligibility to participate in this prize competition is first determined by nominations from current or former trainees of outstanding faculty mentors at eligible institutions. These nominations must come directly from trainees and should NOT be solicited by the faculty mentor or institution. NINDS invites trainee nominations of outstanding mentors who:

• Are more than 20 years from the start of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position (i.e., the start date of their first tenure-track or equivalent faculty position was in calendar year 2005 or earlier). Of note, the Landis Award cycles through early-career, mid-career, and established faculty to better evaluate faculty relative to their years of mentoring experience.
• Have an active NINDS grant in FY26 (i.e., active as of 10/1/25) to ensure the mentor conducts neuroscience research relevant to the NINDS mission.
• Have a tenure-track position at an eligible Institution that is incorporated in and maintains a primary place of business in the United States.

Trainees can submit their nominations using . Nominations must be received by April 24^th, 2026 at 5 pm ET. A PDF version of the form can be downloaded and viewed under the resources section.

Full Submission and Certification of Institutional Approval:

NINDS-funded investigators who receive 2 or more nominations from former and/or current trainees and meet the eligibility criteria will be invited via email to participate in the prize competition. Note that eligible mentors invited to participate in this prize competition must obtain approval from their institution to compete for this Award, as any cash prizes will be awarded directly to the institution in recognition of the mentor’s accomplishments. NINDS encourages institutions to apply the cash prize towards fostering the research career development of current or additional students and post-doctorates under the guidance of the outstanding mentors. 

The Mentor will be asked to submit the following:

• A signed Participation and Consent form attesting that they have approval from their Institution to compete in this prize competition
• A letter signed by an authorized institutional official on official letterhead stating that the Institution has reviewed and agrees to the rules, terms, and conditions of the prize competition and agrees to accept the cash prize on behalf of the Mentor if the Mentor is selected as a winner
• A statement of their mentoring approach and philosophy (1-3 pages) (see “Judging Criteria” for specific criteria to include)
• An up-to-date CV (please DO NOT send an NIH biosketch, a CV is required)
• Two representative papers published in the past 5 years (pdfs), with different trainees as primary author, that demonstrate the scientific rigor/quality of the work done by these two different trainees (e.g., use of practices to mitigate unconscious bias such as blinding/masking)
• The number of an NINDS grant that is active in Fiscal Year 2026 (i.e., active as of 10/1/25) on which the Mentor is listed as a PI or mPI
• A list of all current and former trainees and a brief description of trainee accomplishments (where each trainee went subsequent to your lab [or environment], fellowships or other grants received by trainees while with you, papers published from work with you, etc.)
• Letters of recommendations for this award from 8-10 current and/or former trainees. The trainees submitting the initial nomination can also provide reference letters. All letters must be from individuals who have first-hand knowledge of your mentoring activities (must have been your research trainees at some point past or present; clinical mentoring isn’t relevant for this award). Each letter should be an original document composed entirely by the referee and submitted directly by the referee to the NIH Box account linked in the email by the due date below. Only one referee may contribute to an individual letter. Once ten letters have been received, no additional letters will be considered.

Please upload all materials to NIH Box provided in the email, no later than 11:59 PM Eastern Time on May 29^th, 2026. While not preferred, materials and reference letters can also be emailed to LandisMentorAward@nih.gov with the mentor's first and last name in the subject line.

Only fully complete Submissions that are confirmed to meet all eligibility requirements will move forward for review and judging. Submitters may be notified of the status of their Submission but may not receive additional details about the progression of their Submission through eligibility, review, judging, and winner selection.

Resources

Landis Trainee Nomination Form

Contact

For further information, please contact LandisMentorAward@nih.gov.

Winners

Winners will be announced following judging of submissions.