Programme Thesis
The IBRO Neuroscience Training Grants 2026 provide up to $5,000 for early-career neuroscientists from under-resourced regions to attend specialized hands-on training courses (not conferences or lab exchanges) between July and December 2026. The programme exists to remove financial barriers and build research capacity in underrepresented areas, with priority for LMIC applicants and those contributing to gender/regional diversity.
Selection Criteria
- Eligibility: PhD student or early-career postdoc (within 5 years of first postdoc); Eniola is not yet a PhD student or postdoc, which is a potential issue.
- Course relevance: Training must be a neuroscience course (not conference, not lab exchange, not IBRO School) scheduled July–Dec 2026.
- Impact statement: Clear explanation of how the training directly advances the applicant's research and career.
- Reference letter: At least one, including from supervisor (Eniola has no formal supervisor as independent researcher; must secure a strong letter from a collaborator like Berridge or Gershman).
- Budget: Detailed breakdown of fees, travel, local costs; co-funding is a plus.
- Regional priority: Africa applicants receive highest funding ($5,000) and are explicitly prioritized.
- Under-resourced background: Eniola's independent LMIC status is a strong fit.
- Diversity: Gender and regional diversity are explicitly valued.
Past Winners / Cohort Profiles
No specific past winners are listed on the page. Typical IBRO training grant winners are PhD students or early postdocs from Africa, Asia, or Latin America attending intensive summer schools or workshops in computational neuroscience, neuroimaging, or molecular neurobiology. Archetype: a researcher with a clear project that requires a specific technique (e.g., optogenetics, fMRI analysis, Bayesian modeling) and a plan to apply it upon return.
Ideal Candidate Fingerprint
A PhD student or early postdoc from a low-income country, with a well-defined neuroscience research question that requires a specific hands-on training course (e.g., advanced computational modeling, electrophysiology, or neuroimaging). The applicant demonstrates strong academic potential, a clear career trajectory, and a plan to disseminate the training to their home institution.
Recommended Framing
Eniola should frame his application around the CCT model as a novel computational neuroscience framework that requires advanced training in Bayesian statistics or dynamical systems modeling (e.g., a course like 'Bayesian Methods for Neuroscience' at the Bernstein Center or 'Computational Psychiatry' at Cold Spring Harbor). Emphasize his independent LMIC status, the endorsements from Berridge, Gershman, Daw, and Mattar, and how the training will enable him to validate the CCT model with clinical trial simulations, strengthening his MSc application and future grant competitiveness. The impact statement should highlight that this training will fill a critical gap in his self-taught skill set and position him as a leading computational neuroscientist from Africa.
Watch Out
Eligibility: The grant is explicitly for PhD students or early postdocs (within 5 years of first postdoc). Eniola is an independent researcher with a B.Pharm, not enrolled in a PhD or postdoc. This could disqualify him unless he can argue he is 'early-career' and the programme's language is interpreted flexibly. He must check with IBRO or find a course that accepts non-PhD attendees. Also, he needs a reference letter from a 'supervisor' – as an independent researcher, he should ask a collaborator (e.g., Kent Berridge) to write a letter framing their mentorship role.