Early-Career Neuroscientists Resource Center

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News, perspectives and resources to help navigate the early stages of your neuroscience career

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Nominate rising stars in neuroscience for our 2025 report.
Recognize early-career researchers who have made outstanding contributions to the field. Selected nominees will be featured on our website and in our annual book.
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Visit The Transmitter’s mentorship directory.
Discover neuroscience mentorship opportunities through this living directory, connecting mentors and mentees at all stages of their careers.
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RESOURCES

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Liftoff: New lab alerts
Learn about early-career scientists starting their own labs.
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Navigate uncharted waters in the early stages of your neuroscience career.

Early-career researcher action potentials

JOB OPPORTUNITY
The Lieber Institute for Brain Development seeks a research assistant to generate transciptome-scale maps to understand spatial gene expression.
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UPCOMING WORKSHOP
September
11
2025
11 September - 30 October
Online workshop on theoretical modeling for Ph.D. candidates and master’s students in cognitive science and psychology.
Register by 1 July
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COMMUNITY ASK

My established scientists, two incredibly "new PI" questions: 1. How do you figure out how many people to hire/can hire? What's the math based on $ in account and when those $ expire? 2. How do you figure out your ratio of techs, grad students, and post-docs? Is it project or budget based?

— David J. Herzfeld (@dherzneuro.bsky.social) June 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
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Upcoming online seminars

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Upcoming Seminar
Jun
13
2025
Antoine Adamantidis | University of Bern
Neural circuits underlying sleep structure and functions
05:00 A.M. EDT
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Upcoming Seminar
Jun
19
2025
David J. Anderson | California Institute of Technology, Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience, California, USA
Neural control of internal affective states”
06:15 A.M. EDT
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Upcoming Seminar
Jun
20
2025
Politis Panagiotis | Center for Basic Research, Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens
Gene regulation networks in nervous system cancers: identification of novel drug targets
06:00 A.M. EDT
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A student in a cap and gown sits alone in a row of folding chairs in front of a large brick building.

Neuroscience Ph.D. programs adjust admissions in response to U.S. funding uncertainty

Some departments plan to shrink class sizes by 25 to 40 percent, and others may inadvertently accept more students than they can afford, according to the leaders of 21 top U.S. programs.

By Claudia López Lloreda, Calli McMurray
3 March 2025 | 7 min read
A man stands in front of a ladder; a woman to his right stands in front of an identical ladder missing every rung except the top and bottom rungs.

Adapt or die: Safeguarding the future of diversity and inclusion funding in neuroscience

As diversity and inclusion funding initiatives crumble, we as neuroscientists need to change how we write grants, better communicate the economic benefits of our work and engage in constructive conflict when necessary.

By David Barker
25 February 2025 | 6 min read
Against a background of American dollar bills, two hands gesture at a whiteboard that shows liquid flowing from one beacon into another.

How to teach students about science funding

As researchers reel over the uncertain state of U.S. federal funding, educating students on the business of science is more important than ever.

By Ashley Juavinett
19 February 2025 | 8 min read
Grid of black-and-white headshots of neuroscience trainees.

‘A gut punch’: How U.S. neuroscience trainees are grappling with diversity-based funding flux

Ten trainees spoke with The Transmitter about how the precarious state of U.S. federal funding is affecting their research and career plans.

By Calli McMurray, Angie Voyles Askham, Claudia López Lloreda
14 February 2025 | 2 min read
Image of a disintegrating dollar bill.

About-faces in U.S. federal science funding put neuroscientists on edge

“It’s hard to know what’s real,” says neuroscientist Josh Dubnau after a dizzying week in which diversity-related grant applications were pulled from study sections only to be reinstated five days later, among other reversals.

By Angie Voyles Askham
12 February 2025 | 6 min listen

Explore more from The Transmitter

An opaque cube is repeated multiple times to create the appearance of overlapping cubes.

Sounding the alarm on pseudoreplication: Q&A with Constantinos Eleftheriou and Peter Kind

Most studies of neurological disorders in mice erroneously treat multiple samples from a single animal as independent replicates, according to a new analysis. But scientists and journals can take steps to curb this practice.

By Lauren Schenkman
12 June 2025 | 6 min read
Crumpled pieces of paper form an X.

Psychedelics meta-analysis retracted after authors request ‘significant changes’

While working on a similar analysis last year, an independent researcher spotted inconsistencies in the now-retracted paper.

By Marta Hill
11 June 2025 | 2 min read
Research image of mouse brain slices.

Some dopamine neurons signal default behaviors to reinforce habits

Movement-sensing neurons that target the striatum influence a mouse’s choice of action by favoring routine.

By Holly Barker
11 June 2025 | 5 min listen