Pauline Ashley Prize 2011/2012
The Pauline Ashley Prize aims to encourage the most promising young scientists to start or continue research in hearing and deafness and awards £5000 to gain experience in a laboratory overseas.
Call for applications: Closing date 21 April 2011
The Pauline Ashley Prize is awarded annually to a scientist near the beginning of their career, working in deafness or a related field and enables them to gain research experience in laboratories overseas, including extended training workshops, so that knowledge gained overseas will be brought back to the UK to the benefit of the British deafness research community.
Each year, £5,000 is awarded to the best and most appropriate project proposal that includes support for a period of foreign travel and research.
The Prize will support travel and subsistence. Additional travel (for example, to a conference or to give seminars) within the destination country will also be encouraged and supported. Full details of the travel are not required at the time of application, but it is expected that a strong case will include a focussed plan to test a clear hypothesis and the reason why a period of research (for example, 2-6 months) in a particular lab or type of lab would benefit the candidate and the project. It will be a requirement of the Prize that normal, full financial support for the candidate is available prior to the award decision date and that support would continue throughout the time that the candidate is away.
This year, applications are being invited from UK laboratories on behalf of their postgraduate students and post-doctoral fellows (up to 2 years post-doctoral experience at application). If the applicant is being submitted directly by a postgraduate student or post-doctoral fellow, a letter of support from his/her research supervisor is required. As an aid to recruitment of outstanding students and fellows, the Prize may be awarded to the institution prior to their enrolment, although graduate students will not be expected to travel until at least one year into their PhD research.
A one-page proposal should be submitted listing:
- Project title
- Name and career stage of candidate. A short CV should be appended
- Short, simple description of the project proposed (up to 300 words)
- Reason why this form of support is particularly relevant to the project and the candidate (up to 100 words)
- Timetable for taking up the award
Letters of support should be provided from the research supervisor (if necessary) and if possible a letter of collaboration or support should be provided from the host laboratory overseas.
The selection of the Prize winner will be made by the research advisers to Deafness Research UK. Further information may be sought from short-listed laboratories.
Enquiries and applications should be directed to: Deafness Research UK (The Hearing Research Trust), 330-332 Gray's Inn Road, London. WC1X 8EE. Tel: 0207 164 2290. Email:
The closing date for applications is Thursday21st April 2011.
Please pass on information about this Prize to staff and colleagues - you can download a flyer from the left-hand navigation to post on noticeboards.
Pauline Ashley
The sudden death in 2003 of Lady (Pauline) Ashley of Stoke, founder of the UK's deafness research charity, Deafness Research UK (The Hearing Research Trust), shocked and saddened everyone connected with the charity. Pauline Ashley was a remarkable person and an inspiration to all who knew her. She was totally committed to improving the quality of life for hearing impaired people through research and she was convinced that the key to this lay in the talent and promise of our young scientists.
The trustees of the charity created this annual award, which reflects this commitment, in Pauline's memory.
