Awards & competitions

HUPO Awards

The Human Proteome Organization presents HUPO awards annually at the World Congress. These awards recognize the outstanding efforts and achievements of individuals (or groups) in the field of proteomics. HUPO gratefully acknowledges the support of Journal of Proteome Research (ACS Publications) and the Industrial Advisory Board (IAB) as sponsors of the annual HUPO awards. 

A description of all HUPO awards can be viewed here.   The 2024 Call for Award Nominations is closed.

Early Career Researcher (ECR) Manuscript Competition


We are excited to announce the 11th ECR Manuscript Competition at HUPO 2024 taking place October 20-24, 2024 in Dresden, Germany, to select the “Proteomics Highlight of the Year”. The manuscript competition is a unique opportunity for early career researchers to gain visibility in the proteomics community, as it serves as a platform to highlight the important contributions that postdoctoral fellows, young clinicians, and junior faculty members make to the proteomics field

HUPO encourages early career proteomics researchers to participate in this competition with an already published or accepted manuscript during the 2023 and 2024 calendar years. Three finalists will be selected to present their publications in a dedicated plenary session at HUPO 2024, where an expert committee will evaluate the oral presentations to determine the “Proteomics Highlight of the Year”. Awards along with cash prizes ($1000 to winner, $500/each to two runners up) will be presented during the Closing Ceremony & Awards Session at HUPO 2024. In addition, the three finalists will receive complimentary registration for HUPO 2024 (registration will be refunded post congress). 

  • Eligibility criteria: The competition is intended for postdoctoral fellows (Ph.D. degree awarded post January 2018), junior faculty members (appointment post January 2020 and PhD awarded post January 2012) and young clinicians (M.D. degree awarded post January 2017). Applicants must be HUPO and/or EuPA members. Leave of absence (e.g. parental, or medical) will extend the eligibility period by twice the amount of time of the leave.
  • Publication Criteria: The applicant must have significantly contributed to the publication as a first or last (or shared first/last) author. The publication must be an original research article. Review articles will not be considered for this competition. The publication must have been accepted or printed for publication at the time of submission for the competition, but must not have been published before January 1, 2023. Manuscripts that were posted on bioRxiv and other preprint servers prior to submission will be considered.
  • How to Apply: A complete application needs to include the documents listed below. Send completed applications by email to ecr@hupo.org before April 29, 2024.
    • Single publication file as a pdf (including the supplementary information, if it applies):
      • The manuscript must be an original research article and the applicant must have contributed significantly to the concept and/or experimental work and/or data analysis (first, co-first, corresponding or co-corresponding author).
      • The publication must have been accepted and/or printed for publication at the time of submission to the competition, but not earlier than January 1, 2023.
      • The publication must be in English.
    • A short statement (300 words maximum) in which the applicant describes the novelty and impact of the publication on the field of proteomics.
    • (Optional) A declaration regarding any leave of absence along with the exact dates and duration.
  • Selection Process: The HUPO ECR Committee and a panel of ad-hoc expert scientists will score the publications and select three finalists based on the following criteria:
    • The scientific content and novelty of the work.
    • The impact of the work and its applications in the field of proteomics.
  • The three finalists will be selected and notified by June 30, 2024. The finalists will be asked to provide a short biosketch and headshot picture within five business days of receiving their notifications.

ECR Poster Competition

Supported by Molecular Omics

The HUPO Early Career Researcher (ECR) Committee invites all graduate students (Master’s and PhD) and postdocs to participate in the poster competition at HUPO 2024, taking place October 20 - 24 in Dresden, Germany, to win awards and cash prizes. To participate, graduate students and postdocs only need to indicate during the abstract submission whether they would like to participate in the competition.

More details found here

ECR 3-Minute Thesis Competition

The HUPO Early Career Researcher (ECR) Committee in collaboration with the Human Proteome Project is organizing a 3-minute thesis competition. 12 candidates will be pre-selected for the final competition, to be held in a parallel session at HUPO 2024 in Dresden, Germany from October 20 -24.......and you are invited to participate! Click here for more details.

Join the adventure and win the prize!

Travel Awards

HUPO, as well as regional and national proteomics societies, consider the support of early career researchers as one of their major tasks and thus offer travel grants for participation at the Annual HUPO World Congress in Dresden. The congress will provide a unique opportunity for trainees and early career investigators to discuss their research with leaders in their fields and receive encouragement to continue their work.

Participants can apply either for travel grants provided by national/ regional societies or HUPO.

The following travel awards can be applied for:

2024 Travel awards by national societies for Master’s or PhD Students or Postdoctoral Fellows

2024 HUPO Travel Awards