Our BNA Credibility Prizes champion efforts in neuroscience that aim to ensure research is as robust, reliable, replicable, and reproducible as possible. 

These form part of our continuing work to create an exciting and sustainable future for 21st century neuroscience through driving credibility initiatives in neuroscience research. 

The winners for the 2024 prizes have now been announced.

Check out our past winners.

What are the BNA Credibility Prizes?

The Credibility Prizes aim to recognise work within the field of neuroscience that reflect outstanding efforts to make neuroscience research as credible as possible – either directly through leading by example in the course of their own research, or through efforts aimed at aiding neuroscientists to do this more widely.  

The scope of this is deliberately broad, in recognition of the variety of activities that contribute to improving credibility in neuroscience. However, as a general guide this can include, but is not limited to, any of the following:

• Published studies or preprints for neuroscience research that demonstrate steps that have been taken to strengthen credibility of the study – e.g. making a technique used more reproducible, or materials used openly available.
• Demonstrable engagement in credible practices or the development of tools that have had an impact on strengthening credibility in neuroscience – e.g. developing reporting guidance for neuroscience research.
• Teaching/mentoring or other activities aimed at improving research culture within neuroscience that strengthen credibility – e.g. involvement with new practices such as peer review of registered reports. 

There are three prizes in total for which applications are open: Student Researcher Prize, Individual Researcher Prize, Team Prize. 

Who is eligible?

 We will be awarding prizes in three categories:

• Student Researcher Prize – open to undergraduate and postgraduate students. Undergraduate students should be current students or have graduated within 12 months preceding 1 February 2024. Postgraduates must be current postgraduates or have recently completed their PhD viva (e.g. within the 12 months preceding 1 February 2024).
• Individual Researcher Prize – open to researchers following completion of their highest degree
• Team Prize – open to research teams where the team lead is based in the UK

For each prize, any BNA member can make a nomination: 

• Must be for work in neuroscience research
• Nominee does not have to be a BNA member
• BNA members can self-nominate, if submitted with a letter of recommendation (the letter would not need to be from a BNA member)
• Applications for the Team Prize must have one individual in the team identified as the key point of contact.
• There is an expectation that activities for which the nomination relates to are current or ongoing. 
• Nominees for the student or individual researcher prize, or nominated team leads for the team prize, cannot be a member of the BNA’s Council, Committee, or the Credibility Advisory Board.
  

What's included in the prizes?

In addition to receiving recognition of their outstanding contribution to Credibility in Neuroscience, the 2024 prize winners will be invited to talk about their work at a future BNA event, and will also have the opportunity to highlight their work within the BNA’s Journal, Brain and Neuroscience Advances.

For the Student Researcher Prize, the winner will also receive a cash prize of £500. 

How to apply

Nominations for the 2024 prizes are now closed. Check back in December 2024 for details on how to nominate for next year's prizes.

2024 Judging panel

• Professor Malcolm Macleod (University of Edinburgh)
• Leah Mursaleen (Alzheimer's Research UK)
• Gustav Nilsonne (Karolinska Institutet)



Timeline

Other prizes

There are a number of organisations that also run prizes for activities aimed at improving credibility in neuroscience. These include:

• Best Negative Data Prize in Clinical Neuroscience: Cohen Veterans Bioscience & the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
• Replication Award: Organization for Human Brain Mapping
• Open Science Award: Organization for Human Brain Mapping
• Open Science in Action Prize: The Neuro

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