RNA Society
Research Presentation Fellowship Program
The RNA Society Research Presentation Fellowship Program aims to increase inclusion and participation at our annual meeting and provides full waivers of the meeting registration fee for current RNA Society members who would otherwise be unable to attend RNA 2026 due to financial considerations.
RNA Society Research Presentation Fellowships are available to current RNA Society members making either an oral or poster presentation at RNA 2026, as either first or senior author. To renew your RNA Society membership or to become a first-time member, visit the RNA Society website here). Applications for Fellowships will be assessed based on career stage, financial need and expected total meeting costs. The Fellowship Selection Committee may prioritize awards according to geographical location to offset travel-associated expenses or to encourage participation of scientists from emerging locations or research fields. Please note that submission of an application does not guarantee funding and only one Fellowship will be awarded per research group/lab. Applicants who received support through this program previously are not eligible to apply.
Applications must be written in English and include the following (merged into a single PDF document):
- A brief Statement of Benefit (250 words or less) describing your career stage and how attending the 2026 RNA Society Annual Meeting will benefit your training and career goals.
- Your Scientific Abstract for oral or poster presentation (indicating applicant as either first or senior author). Note, abstracts submitted for consideration by the Fellowship Selection Committee will not be automatically entered into the conference registration portal – you will be required to re-submit your abstract after completing your meeting registration for Meeting Organizers to consider it for a presentation slot and for it to be included in the meeting program. Selection for the Fellowship does not guarantee an oral presentation.
- Letter of Recommendation from your current research advisor (for Undergraduate, Graduate Student or Post-doctoral Fellows) addressing the scientific merit of the applicant’s research and justification for financial assistance to attend RNA 2026 (letter must be 1 page or less, on institution letterhead and include the advisor’s signature).
- Abbreviated Curriculum Vitae of the applicant (maximum 2 pages). Please include your RNA Society membership number in this document.
Applications for RNA Society Research Presentation Fellowships must be submitted by February 11th, 2026 in order to be evaluated and awarded prior to the RNA 2026 oral abstract submission deadline of February 28h, 2026. Successful applicants for Fellowships will be notified by e-mail on February 25th, 2026.
Upon notification, RNA Society Research Presentation Fellowship winners will receive a registration waiver code (granting full waiver of RNA 2026 registration fees) to be used at the time of meeting registration. We ask applicants to wait for the notification of award decisions before completing your meeting registration (to prevent the need to refund payment of registration fees – refunds will be subject to a $50 service fee).
Note that upon submission of your Fellowship application, you will not receive a confirmation e-mail. The screen message “Thank you for your message. It has been sent.” indicates a successful submission.