Program Overview
The Paperleap Research Mentor Award recognizes the outstanding work of research mentors who guide, inspire, and empower students and scholars. Paperleap celebrates exemplary mentorship practices that foster scientific rigor, ethical research, and inclusive, supportive research environments. Honorees model mentorship that scales: they cultivate curiosity, build supportive lab cultures, and open doors to opportunities, leaving a lasting impact on their mentees and the broader scholarly community.
Every year, Paperleap recognizes a total of 15 research mentors. Honorees are selected across five broad discipline groups to reflect the richness of the research ecosystem and the many ways mentorship advances discovery and learning.
Mentor nomination deadline: March 31st, 2026.
Disciplines and awards
Each year, three mentors per discipline are selected for recognition in the following areas:
- Natural sciences: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Earth Science, Astronomy, and related areas.
- Formal sciences: Mathematics, Computer Science, Statistics, Logic, and related areas.
- Social sciences: Psychology, Sociology, Economics, Political Science, Anthropology, Geography, and related areas.
- Applied sciences: Engineering, Environmental Science, Agricultural Science, Interdisciplinary sciences, and related areas.
- Health sciences: Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacology, Public Health, Veterinary Science, and related areas.
Awardees are celebrated on Paperleap's website and channels, and they receive an official award certificate and letter.
Eligibility
The Research Mentor Award is open to individuals who:
- Currently serve in a formal capacity as a mentor within an academic, clinical, or research institution.
- Have actively supported students, trainees, or early-career researchers in their professional and scholarly development.
- Demonstrate a sustained commitment to fostering inclusive, ethical, and supportive research environments.
- Can show evidence of significant mentorship impact (e.g., publications with mentees, successful thesis completions, career advancement of mentees, or community engagement initiatives).
There are no restrictions based on career stage, seniority, country, or institutional affiliation. Both early-career and senior mentors are eligible, provided they meet the above criteria.
Nomination and selection process
The nomination and selection process is as follows.
- Nomination submission: individuals submit their nominations by the posted deadline.
- Initial review: the Paperleap award committee reviews all complete nominations to ensure eligibility and adherence to guidelines and avoid conflict of interest.
- Evaluation: eligible nominations are assessed based on the evaluation criteria listed below. A panel of reviewers representing each of the five discipline groups evaluates the top nominations and selects the fifteen recipients (three per discipline group).
- Nominations and Awardees notification: nominated mentors and awardees are notified privately.
- Awardees announcement: awardees are publicly announced, featured on Paperleap's channels, and celebrated as exemplars of outstanding research mentorship.
Mentors can be nominated by their students, unit heads, or peers. Self-nominations are also accepted. The Paperleap editorial team reserves the right not to present an award if there are no nominees or if the nominees do not meet the requirements.
What to submit
Each nomination must include a dossier of up to 3 pages detailing why the mentor deserves the award. The dossier must also include at least two letters of reference from students, peers, or supervisors. All submitted material must be in English.
Evaluation criteria
While mentorship styles vary across fields, strong nominations typically highlight sustained, substantive contributions such as:
- Commitment to research excellence and the professional growth of mentees.
- Creation of inclusive, ethical, and supportive research environments.
- Effective guidance on research design, publishing, and career development.
- Demonstrated dedication to and impact on mentees’ success (e.g., co-authored outputs, grants, placements, or community contributions).
Important dates
The next mentor nomination deadline is March 31st, 2026. Awardees will be notified in June.