In person applications closed on 6 December 2023

Register to join online

Update 31 January - All applicants have now been informed of the outcome of their application.  If you have not received an email, please check your spam before getting in touch.  

Attendees will receive free registration. Delegates attending from outside of the Raleigh-Durham area will receive three nights of accommodation in student halls of residence at Duke University, as well the option to request a travel grant to support their travel to the symposium.

Some applicants will be informed that they are on a waiting list, and will be contacted should places become available.

While in person attendance is limited, we welcome any interested plant science researcher to join online.  

Most sessions will be streamed online with the option to join in with Q&A's, register to join online .

Sign up to our early career researcher mailing list to be kept up to with future events and programme announcements. 

Attendance at the symposium is by application. Applications will be assessed based on the suitability of the early career researcher’s research interests in plant science, linked to the Aims and Scope of New Phytologist . This should be demonstrated in their personal statement and their letter of support from an established researcher. There are limited places to attend this symposium. We particularly encourage delegates from North and South America to apply to attend.

All attendees will be expected to present a poster unless they are selected for a talk, in which case they would not be expected to also present a poster.

To attend, applicants will need to provide:

• A poster abstract – following the poster abstract guidelines
• A personal statement of 200 words addressing why you want to attend the next generation scientists symposium, and how it will benefit your career development
• A curriculum vitae , which should include your education details, the date that you obtained your PhD, or expect to obtain your PhD, publication history, presentations given, and awards. Please detail any career breaks if relevant
• A letter of recommendation/reference (up to 500 words) from a scientist who has agreed to support your application, usually your group leader or someone who knows your work well

Before applying, applicants should also ensure that they have read:

• The terms and conditions of attendance, including the New Phytologist Foundation code of conduct and cancellation policy
• Information about travel grants for successful applicants
• Entry and visa regulations for the USA
• FAQ s on completing your next generation scientists application.

Please note you can save your application and finish it later.  

• Abstracts should be no more than 200 words
• Single line spacing, Arial font, 12 point
• First line: Title in bold sentence case
• Second line: the author(s)' name(s) in UPPER CASE. Underline the name of the author presenting the work. First and middle names denoted by initials followed by last names in full
• Third line: Full address of the lead author’s institution in italics
• Leave a single line space after the address
• Main text: provide concise details of the background and objective(s) of the investigation, methods used, results and conclusions (200 words max)
• Saved as a Microsoft Word (.docx) document to upload with your submission. 

Example abstract:

The origin of Helianthus deserticola: survival and selection in a desert habitat
B. L. GROSS, N. C. KANE, C. LEXER, L. H. RIESEBERG
Department of Biology, Indiana University, Jordan Hall 142, 1001 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA

The diploid hybrid species Helianthus deserticola inhabits an extreme environment relative to its parental species H. annuus and H. petiolaris. Adaptation to the arid desert floor may have occurred via the acquisition of novel phenotypes resulting from transgressive segregation in early hybrids. We have explored this possibility through a field experiment designed to test the direction and intensity of phenotypic selection, using crosses between the parental species as proxies for the ancestral genotype of the ancient hybrid species. Helianthus deserticola, H. annuus, H. petiolaris, and early-generation hybrids between H. annuus and H. petiolaris were all grown in native H. deserticola habitat, and a selection analysis revealed that several traits were subject to strong selective pressures. Several of the traits under selection were also extreme or transgressive in H. deserticola, and the range of variation present in BC2 hybrids suggests that many aspects of the H. deserticola phenotype are easily recreated. Thus, transgressive segregation may have contributed to the adaptation of H. deserticola to the desert habitat.

The basic travel grant is set by your location:

• North Carolina and neighbouring states - $50

Delegates based in North Carolina and neighbouring states including South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Ohio, Maryland, Delaware, and D.C.

• Rest of USA and Canada - $100
• Outside of USA and Canada - $150

Delegates are encouraged to seek additional funding from their institution to assist with travel costs.

Each delegate can request a basic travel grant to assist in their attendance. Should a delegate have alternative funding for their travel, their unused grant will be added to the extra funds to assist delegates with limited or no funding for travel.

We appreciate that some delegates may have limited funding. The New Phytologist Foundation has additional funds for delegates where funding sources are unavailable to support their travel.  Applicants should indicate if they think they will require additional funding when applying. Further details will be confirmed to successful applicants.  

Additional funds will be prioritised for delegates attending from countries classed as low- middle-income by the World Bank, and where there is no access to additional funding.