Dear Colleagues,

The WCPG 2010 will feature a program aimed at researchers in the early phase of their career, the Early Career Investigator Program (ECIP). The ECIP will consist of 4 independent activities. These include Travel Awards to partially cover the financing of a recipient’s trip to Athens, Oral Presentation and Poster Awards, a WCPG Mentoring Program, and a Rapporteur Program.

Students, post-doctoral fellows, or junior researchers less than 5 years out of training may apply. Individuals from middle to low income countries are particularly encouraged. Only individuals who submit an abstract for presentation either as a poster or for an oral will be eligible. Applicants can apply for all of the four ECIP activities or for only some of them. 

Below is a brief summary of the four activities:

1. Travel Award:
   The Travel Award is meant to defray parts of the cost incurred to attend the meeting. The award money is expected to range between 1000 and 2000 US $, depending on the actual costs of the travel involved. Travel Awardees are entitled to register at the student rate. In addition to meeting the above eligibility criteria, applicants should submit a CV and letter from a mentor or Department Chair. A committee of senior scientists will then select individuals who will be eligible for travel awards.

Deadline for application: June 15th, 2010

1. Oral Presentation and Poster Awards:
   From all non-symposia abstracts, the program committee will select 25 abstracts whose authors will have the chance to compete for an Oral Presentation Award or Poster Award. These 25 finalists will present their work within the regular oral and poster sessions. Poster presenters will present their work during a guided poster tour. From the 25 finalists, a panel of referees will select the winners at the 2010 WCPG. A maximum of 3 Oral Presentation Awards and 3 Poster Awards will be presented. The Awards consists of an award certificate and a gift typical of the venue city Athens.
   
   
2. WCPG Mentoring Program
   Both the Travel Awardees and the finalists for the Oral Presentation Award or Poster Award are invited to be part of this program. One senior researcher will serve as mentor to one or two mentees. Mentor and mentees will be able to establish contact already before the meeting if they wish. At the meeting, a mentor-mentee luncheon will be held.
   
   
3. WCPG Rapporteur Program
   Anyone eligible for the ECIP may also assume a rapporteur role for one or more sessions at the meeting. This person will be responsible for summarizing the assigned sessions and their discussion and send their final write-up to a coordinator shortly after the conference. The rapporteur reports will be published in an appropriate journal as one combined manuscript with all rapporteurs as co-authors in a timely fashion once finalized.