Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists

Pitt Nomination Limit: 3
Website: https://blavatnikawards.org/awards/national-awards/nomination-guidelines/
Sponsor: Blavatnik Family Foundation
Pitt Internal Deadline: TBD
Sponsor Deadline: December 2 (nominations) & December 16 (Letters of Support)
Award Amount: Laureate: $250,000 unrestricted (one per category); Finalist: $15,000
Pitt Select Funder: No.

About the Program

The Blavatnik National Awards recognize the most promising early-career, faculty-rank scientists and engineers in the U.S. — described by peer institutions as comparable in prestige to a Nobel Prize for early-career researchers. One Laureate is named per disciplinary category each year, with additional nominees recognized as Finalists.

Funding Information

$250,000 unrestricted funds for the Laureate in each category; $15,000 unrestricted for Finalists. Funds are unrestricted — no indirect cost or use restrictions specified.

Eligibility

• Born in or after 1984 (age-limit exceptions may be requested for documented circumstances such as parental leave or severe illness — request must come from Pitt's official nominator, in letter form, with the candidate's full birthdate, submitted by November 11, 2026)
• Holds a doctorate (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, or equivalent)
• Currently holds a tenured or tenure-track faculty position (or equivalent) at Pitt
• Currently serves as PI on research within one of the three disciplinary categories
• Dual/joint appointments: candidate must hold at least 50% effort at Pitt to be nominated by Pitt
• Non-winning past nominees may be re-nominated, and count toward the 3-nomination limit
• Past Finalists may be re-nominated with Academy pre-approval, a letter describing significant new achievements since their last recognition, and an updated CV — also counts toward the 3-nomination limit

What the Sponsor Will Not Fund

• This is a recognition award with unrestricted funds, not a research grant with spending exclusions

Internal Selection Process

Pitt must nominate faculty for this opportunity. If you are interested in being considered as a nominee, please see the limited submission guidelines before submitting a pre-application to InfoReady. 

Interested investigators should submit the following materials via InfoReady by: TBD

1. An abbreviated biosketch (five pages max)
2. Pre-application (two pages max), to include:
   • Research narrative: A description of the proposed project. Should be written for a non-specialist scientific reviewer. Should describe: (1) What are you trying to do? Articulate your objectives without jargon. (2) What are your aims and approach? (3) What is new in your approach and why do you think it will be successful? (4) What are the risks of this research and what will the impact be?
   • Differentiation from other funded work: A statement on how this research relates or diverges from your existing research.
   • Current and pending support: A brief statement listing current and pending funding.

Internal applicants will be peer-reviewed on the following criteria:

1. Quality — Is the work reliable, valid, credible, and scientifically rigorous?
2. Impact — Does it address an important problem, advance the field, and/or have broader societal benefit?
3. Novelty — Does it challenge existing paradigms, open or expand a field, or pursue an original question?
4. Promise — Does the nominee show strong potential for continued impactful, novel contributions?

Key Dates