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PNS Laura Feltri Training Grants Program

2027 PNS Training Grant Submission Period:
21 September 2026 – 4 December 2026

Established in memory of the late Laura Feltri, Past President of PNS, this PNS funded grant program is dedicated to advancing the careers of researchers and promoting excellence across all areas of peripheral nerve research—including clinical, translational, and basic science.

Full details of the PNS Training Grants are listed below. Use the quick links to jump to each section to learn more.

New in 2027 the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy (FPN) is funding an additional grant through their Emerging Investigators Program.

Full details of the PNS Training Grants are listed below. Use the quick links to jump to each section to learn more.

Who is Eligible to Apply

Junior clinical investigators
This grant supports junior clinical investigators to acquire or consolidate expertise in clinical observational studies, clinical outcome measures and/or in clinical diagnostic and therapeutic development.

Junior scientists or junior clinician scientists
This grant supports junior scientists or junior clinician scientists to develop expertise and knowledge in peripheral nerve research by answering key questions in Schwann cell/axonal biology and/or by elucidating relevant disease pathomechanisms.

 

Eligibility Requirements

  • All applicants must have a documented interest in and commitment to peripheral neuropathy research.
  • Candidates who hold an MD or PhD or MD, PhD, or equivalent degree (e.g., neurology trainee with a documented interest in peripheral neuropathies)
  • Applicants who intend to defend their doctoral thesis within a year but who have not yet formally been awarded the doctoral degree will also be considered eligible to apply.
  • Applicants must present a proposal that reflects a distinctly new research direction within peripheral nerve research or the pursuit of new methodologies or techniques. This means that, although mobility is not mandatory, the committee will specifically value:
      • Proposals aimed to incorporate candidates from other fields of research (from the same or a different Institution) that add value to the PNS field.
      • Proposals aimed at funding emerging researchers incorporating from other research groups or Institutions.
      • Proposals aimed at funding new research lines, incorporation of new methodologies or techniques or the promotion of a future junior leader within the same research group in which the candidate is currently working.
  • Those awarded a grant will be required to become a PNS member.

 

FPN Emerging Investigators Grant Eligibility Requirements

Applicants who wish to be considered for the FPN Emerging Investigators Grant Award must meet the following additional award criteria:

  • The applicant should be based in a supportive research environment and have a minimum of 50% protected research time dedicated to the project during the grant period.
  • Research should focus on acquired peripheral neuropathies, with priority given to areas of significant unmet need, including idiopathic, diabetic, and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy.
  • Applicants are encouraged, but not required, to leverage data and/or biospecimens available through the Peripheral Neruopathy Research Registry (PNRR), if appropriate.

Mentorship Criteria

Prior to applying for the grant, prospective applicants are required to select a mentor to develop their project with.

Each mentor must meet the following criteria:

  • The mentor must be a peripheral nerve scientist or clinician.
  • The mentor must be an active PNS member, having maintained a membership for a minimum of 6 months and current with dues payments.
  • The mentor must document a publication track record including signing articles as last or corresponding author.
  • The mentor must document experience leading research projects.
  • The mentor must have prior history with mentorship of trainees.
  • The mentor must not have more than $10,000 USD in stock in a company that has provided funding for the project. Furthermore, the project may not be funded exclusively by a company with commercial interests. The PI and host institution will retain the intellectual property rights.

Each mentor’s institution must meet the following criteria for hosting a training grant recipient:

  • The mentor’s institution must have co-funding for the project available
  • (supplies/services and/or supplementing salary to institutionally-mandated levels) available.
  • The mentor’s institution must provide a letter of support for the candidate, including their agreement with the salary conditions for the candidate.
  • The mentor and mentor’s institution is only eligible to host one mentee per annual grants cycle.
  • The mentor must be able to fully employ the mentee at their institution for the full time period of the grant.
  • The mentor’s institution must accept the grant funds directly, for further disbursement to the mentee in support of their salary.

If the proposed project benefits from scientific exchange and training across two different centers, mobility between two mentors is allowed. This must be justified by the two mentors at the time of the application and the travel between the two labs should be covered by the mentors.

Application Instructions

The grant application is accessible via the PNS Submission Portal. Applicants will be asked to prepare the following:

1. Letter of Intent (2-pages maximum)

Please specify your interest and commitment to PNS research; your previous experience and achievements; why you are applying to this program, and what do you expect from this program to further consolidate your career as a scientist or clinician. Summarize how the research plan constitutes a new direction that is differentiated from current research by the applicant.

2. CV

**Follow the NIH Biosketch format. Please use the Non-Fellowship Version

Please detail your previous and current experience and mentors (with institutions/centers).

3. Project Application

Basic Science Applicants: Please provide an outline of the proposal (6 pages maximum) structured as follows:

  • Specific aims and rationale of the proposed project
  • Background and preliminary results
  • Experimental plan
  • Expected results – pitfalls and alternative plans
  • Timeline and milestones (Gantt chart required)
  • References must be included in a separate section with no length limits

Clinical Applicants (for clinical observational studies, clinical outcome measures, natural history studies or novel diagnostic or therapeutic technologies): Please provide an outline of the proposal structured as follows:

  • Background and objectives
  • Study Design, Population of Study (Inclusion and Exclusion criteria) and Methods
  • Expected outcomes/results
  • Relevance for the field and plans for future development of the project
4. Mentor Documents

Additionally, the applicants must obtain from the mentor(s) the following documents:

  1. CV: **Please follow the NIH Biosketch format. Please use the Non-Fellowship Version. Please specify your experience in supervising clinicians/scientists doing research/clinical research training.
  2. Mentor(s) Letter of Support: Mentor(s) should include detailed training program and expected outcomes. Mentor(s) should summarize their contributions to peripheral nerve research and interactions with others in the field.
  3. Host Institution(s) Letter of Support: The host institution(s) must acknowledge they will:
    • Receive the mentee’s salary and living expense funds directly from the PNS (for further disbursement to the mentee).
    • Provide co-funding for the project, if applicable (especially important for those Institutions with official salaries exceeding the awarded amount).
    • Accept the terms of the PNS Grant Agreement.
    • Provide direct support to the mentee if they need to meet specific requirements to work at the host institution.
    • Note in the letter if the incorporation could be delayed, a reasonable alternative timeline for the development of the project and justify that the delay will not significantly alter the development of the project. The PNS expects in all usual circumstances projects to commence within the year following the award of the grant.
    • Provide an accurate gross salary range (converted to USD) for a mentee working at the host institution for a year. The PNS funds will cover salary and contribute towards living and travel expenses.

Questions? Please contact education@PNSociety.com.

Award Information

Funding
The PNS will award up to three training grants per funding year, with one award funded by the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy (FPN)’s Emerging Investigators Program. Please note the specific eligibility criteria for this award. Funding for all awards is designed to cover salary and a contribution to travel and living expense costs for the trainees up to $75,000 USD/year. It is not intended to support the laboratory or mentor. Other funding will need to be available to demonstrate that the project can be accomplished and/or to supplement salary levels to institutionally-mandated levels. Funds will be distributed directly to the host institution for further disbursement to the mentee.

Duration
The duration for each Training Grant is two years. The project must commence within the year following the award of the grant.

Evaluation Procedure

An ad-hoc selection committee including scientists and clinicians of the PNS Society will oversee the selection process. Two FPN-appointed reviewers from the PNS member community will participate in the selection process for the FPN Training Grant. The evaluation will include two stages.

Stage 1: In the first stage, applications will be evaluated by reviewers who are scientists and clinicians, members of the PNS, and, if necessary, by ad hoc appointed reviewers selected from among internationally recognized experts. Applications will be scored considering adherence to the PNS mission, originality, feasibility, and scientific excellence of the proposed project, along with candidate CV and mentor’s CV and host institution.

Stage 2: In the second stage, top scored applicants will be interviewed by the committee to defend their proposal and clarify the committee’s questions and concerns.

The PNS will award three training grants per funding year. Recipients of the PNS training grant program must be active PNS Members (dues paid).

To view the full grant scoring guidelines, please click here.

Monitoring

The grantee and the mentor(s) will work together to submit a mid-point report at the end of the first year, a final report at the completion of the second year of the project, and a post-grant report one year after the completion of the project. Successful programs in basic science are expected to generate sufficient preliminary data to apply for other funding sources such as the NIH K08 programs, EU-individual fellowships or equivalent.

All grantees are expected to submit abstracts to present their work at the PNS Annual Meeting and to report the progress of their training activities. Grantees are also invited to serve on the PNS Junior Committee as an ex-officio (non-voting member) for the duration of their project. Following the completion of their project, grantees must verify publications that have resulted from the grant for posting on the PNS training grants wepage

All reporting for the FPN Emerging Investigators Grant will be shared with the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy (FPN).

Grants Committee & Past Grant Recipients

Chair
Albena Jordanova, PhD
VIB,
Antwerpen, Belgium

Vice Chair
Karissa Gable, MD
Duke University,
Durham, NC, USA

Members-at-Large
  • Michael Coleman, PhD, John van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, Cambridge, UK
  • David Herrmann, MBBCh, FAAN, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA (CMTR Board Liaison)
  • Yannick Poitelon, PhD, Albany Medical College, Albany, NY, USA
  • Theodore Price, PhD, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, USA (TTNC Board Liaison)
  • James Russell, MSc, Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston, WV, USA (IDNC Board Liaison)
  • James Sleigh, PhD, University College London, London, UK
  • Jordi Serra, MD, King’s College Hospital, London UK (NPC Board Liaison)
  • Luis Querol, MD, PhD, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain (INC Board Liaison)
Past Training Grant Recipients

2026 Recipients

  • Ailin Stephanie Ventura, MD, Hospital Británico de Buenos Aires and FLENI, Argentina
    • Mentor: Luis Querol, PhD, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain
    • Project: Clinical, immunological and biomarker characterization of Sjögren Syndrome-Associated Neuropathies
  • Elkhan Yusifov, PhD, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland
    • Mentor: Yannick Poitelon, PhD, MSc, Albany medical College, Albany, NY, US
    • Project: Metabolic Mechanisms of Sensory Neuron Dysfunction in Hereditary Sensory and Autonomic Neuropathy Type 1
  • Paola Pacifico, PhD, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
    • Mentor: Daniela Menichella, PhD & Amy S. Paller, MD, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
    • Project: PAIN-3D: High-Resolution 3D Mapping of Skin-Nerve Crosstalk in Patients with Painful Diabetic Neuropathy

2025 Recipients

  • Erva Bayraktar, PhD, Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
    • Mentor: Thorsten Hornemann, PhD, Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Zürich, Switzerland
    • Project: Testing for Connexin-Mediated Communication in SARM1-Dependent Axon Degeneration: Implications for Peripheral Neuropathies
  • Katherine Lewis, BBMed (Hons), The Florey Institute, Glenroy, Australia
    • Mentor: Yannick Poitelon, PhD, MSc, Albany medical College, Albany, NY, US
    • Project: Studying the Axo-Glial Interface During Peripheral Nerve Remyelination

2024 Recipients

  • Gustavo Alves, MD, HC FMRP USP, Ribeirão Preta, Brazil
    • Mentor: Andrea Cortese, MD, PhD, University College London, London, UK
    • Project: Genetic modifiers of hereditary and acquired ATTR amyloidosis
  • Liedewei Van de Vondel, PhD, MSc, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
    • Mentor: Stephan Zuchner, MD, PhD, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA
    • Project:Long-read genomic technologies to revolutionize peripheral neuropathy research

2023 Recipients

  • Nicolas Dubuisson, MD, PhD, University Hospital Saint-Luc, Brussels, Belgium
    • Mentor: Simon Rinaldi, PhD, MBChB, MRCP, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
    • Project:  GM1 neuropathies, from antibodies to phenotype
  • Valentine Perrain, MD, Henro-Mondor Hostpidal, Créteil, France
      • Mentor: Mary Reilly, MD, University College London, London, UK
      • Project: Personalized Next Generation Sequencing of undiagnosed or misdiagnosed peripheral neuropathies

Training Grant Recipient Publications

Gustavo Alves, MD (2024 Recipient)

Valentine Perrain, MD (2023 Recipient)

    Additional Resources

    PNS & Moroccan Society of Neurophysiology (SNMPH) Training Grant & Global Outreach Information Session

    PNS Grants Committee and International Outreach & Membership Committee Chairs discuss Training Grants and resources the PNS offers to colleagues from under-resourced areas.