Newswise — BETHESDA, MD—APRIL 17, 2014—The Kaluza Prizes to honor the best in graduate student bioscience research are growing. In announcing the opening of the 2014 Kaluza Prize competition, the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB), in collaboration with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, said that the awards will increase to $5,000, $3,000, and $1,000 in ranked order for the top three winners.

• Seven other Kaluza finalists will receive travel awards to attend the ASCB/IFCB Meeting in Philadelphia, PA, December 6-10. • Six of the top 10 finalists will give an invited talk at a special Kaluza minisymposium, supported by Beckman Coulter at the ASCB Annual Meeting. • The first place Kaluza winner will be invited to speak at Beckman Coulter in 2015 at an annual technical summit featuring the top leadership of Beckman Coulter and innovative scientists from across the Danaher scientific companies.

In announcing the new 2014 prizes, ASCB Executive Director Stefano Bertuzzi, PhD and MPH, said, “Beckman Coulter’s willingness to continue supporting the Kaluza prize and significantly increase its involvement is terrific. This increased support shows that Beckman Coulter, a global leader in the bioscience technology industry, recognizes how all scientific innovation is driven by basic biological research.”

All entrants in the competition must be ASCB members who are current graduate students or researchers who received their PhD within two years of this year’s application deadline. Both U.S. and international scientists are welcome to apply. 2013 applicants who are still within the time window of eligibility may enter again. Not an ASCB member? Graduate students can join ASCB for $42 and postdocs for $66.

A selection committee of senior scientists, chaired by ASCB President Jennifer Lippincott-Schwartz, will evaluate applications based on the significance and originality of scientific achievements in the broadly defined field of cell biology and basic biological sciences.

In keeping with guidelines from the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA), candidates will be evaluated on the significance of discoveries they have made, not on the impact factor of the journals where results have been published. In one page or less, candidates must describe the scientific outcome of which they are most proud and explain their specific role in reaching those results. Only finalists will be asked to supply a recommendation letter in mid-August.

The application deadline is July 31, 2014. To enter, you must submit a one-page essay describing what you have accomplished (maximum 600 words) and your CV in a single PDF at http://ar.ascb.org/kaluza/kaluza.cfm. The awards will be presented at the 2014 ASCB Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, December 6-10. Questions? Contact Thea Clarke at ASCB.For more information on Beckman Coulter, Inc., visit www.beckmancoulter.com

*Prizes are subject to federal and state tax.