Mightex Research
& Travel Awards
& Travel Awards
Mightex developed Research Awards to contribute to the scientific community by supporting and acknowledging the work of students and postdoctoral scientists performing research that is advancing the fields of neuroscience, cell biology, and many more. Mightex Research Awards, such as travel grants, are in place to support the development and advancement of cutting-edge scientific research.
In 2021, we received a record number of applications to our annual research excellence competition, demonstrating the exciting and novel research being conducted by our stellar international research community. Explore the research from our winners below.
To learn more about our 2023 competition, click here
Congratulations to our previous winners and best of luck to our 2023 applicants!!
Research Excellence Award
Mightex Student Research Award
Are YOU using Mightex equipment to shape the future of science?
Showcase your research by entering the Mightex Annual Research Excellence Award!
All accepted applications will be published on the Mightex website (including picture of applicant) and all will receive $500 USD.
Three additional prizes will be awarded for the best submissions:
1st Prize: $3000 USD
2nd Prize: $2000 USD
3rd Prize: $1000 USD
Award Details:
Winners must be engaged in scientific research and/or engineering development projects using product/equipment supplied by Mightex, and must submit a novel video, photo, white paper, or application note displaying the unique capabilities of Mightex’s products in their research.
Eligibility
Applicants must be:
- Full-time undergraduate, graduate, or post-doctoral researchers
- Using Mightex equipment in their research at any educational institution worldwide
What you need to do:
Eligible entrants are required to submit a short video or photo with a brief description of how the unique solutions offered by Mightex are helping to shape scientific advances. Please see the application form below.
Step 1: Download the application form through this link and complete all required fields.
Step 2: Complete the submission form on the ‘Submission’ tab and upload your application form along with the supporting material.
Any Questions?
Applicants are encouraged to contact Mightex if they have any questions. To submit your application, please go to the submission tab.
Travel Award
Mightex Travel Award
Applications accepted and awarded on a rolling basis
Award Details
Mightex Travel Awards are awarded to full-time undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral researchers currently studying in educational institutions around the world using Mightex equipment in their research.
The purpose of the award is to facilitate the candidates’ presentation of their research findings at regional, national, and international conferences.
The Mightex Student Travel Award winners will be awarded:
- A one-time cash award of $500 USD following receipt of conference materials and confirmation of attendance
- With his/her name and research report published on Mightex’s website.
Eligibility
The applicant must be:
- A full-time undergraduate or graduate student or post doctoral researcher;
- Studying in an educational institution anywhere in the world;
- Presenting an oral presentation or poster at a select academic conference.
What you need to do:
Eligible entrants are required to submit a written piece outlining the findings of their research using Mightex equipment. This may be accompanied by a PDF copy of their poster presentation or summary slide of their talk.
Step 1: Complete the application form. The form must be signed by the applicant (i.e. the student), and co-signed by the student’s advisor or an authorized official of the educational organization;
Step 2: upload form and the following items:
- Resume, including contact details such as mailing address, email address and telephone number.
- Submitted conference abstract and details of conference (dates, location, symposium name, etc.)
- A 1-2-page report describing the research presented including details of which Mightex equipment was used. Included in the report should be at least one (1) high quality photo that illustrates or helps explain the results obtained. NB. This can be provided via email at a later date (after conference has occurred).
Any Questions?
Applicants are encouraged to contact Mightex if they have any questions. To submit your application, please go to the submission tab.
Previous Winners
Mightex Student Research Award Winners
Misha Rubanov (Schulman Lab), Johns Hopkins University
“Photopatterning of Multi-domain DNA Hydrogels”
Misha is a PhD student in the DNA Nanotechnology and Intelligent Materials Group at Johns Hopkins University. He is supervised by Dr. Rebecca Schulman.
Learn about Misha’s research here.
Kitae Kim (Na Lab), Chungnam National University of Korea
“Pixelated Wrinkles Using Patterned Optical Phase Retardation”
Kitae is a PhD student in the Soft Matter and Device Research Group at the Chungnam National University of Korea. He is supervised by Dr. Jun-Hee Na.
Learn about Kitae’s research here.
Kim Gruver (Watt Lab), McGill University
“Examining functional connectivity within the cerebellar microcircuit”
Kim is a PhD student in the Department of Biology at McGill University. She is supervised by Dr. Alanna Watt.
Learn about Kim’s research here.
Pedro Herrero-Vidal (Rinberg Lab), NYU
“Optogenetic Stimulation of Olfactory Cortex to Mimic Odors”
Pedro is a computational neuroscience PhD student at New York University. He is co-supervised by Dr. Dima Rinberg and Dr. Cristina Savin.
Learn about Pedro’s research here.
Mark Mitmoen (Kedem Lab), Marquette University
“Photopatterning with mercaptopropylsilatrane and the Polygon 1000″
Mark is a PhD student in the Nanomaterials Lab in the Department of Chemistry at Marquette University. He is supervised by Dr. Ofer Kedem.
Learn about Mark’s research here.
Mohini Sengupta (Bagnall Lab), WUSTL
“A Rostro-caudal Map of V1 Inhibition in Axial Motor Circuits”
Mohini is a postdoctoral fellow in the School of Medicine at Washington University in St Louis in Dr. Martha Bagnall’s lab.
Learn about Mohini’s research here.
Huanhuan Li (Lau Lab), City University of Hong Kong
“In vivo Ca2+ imaging of somatostatin-expressing cell activity in the cingulate cortex during social interaction test in freely moving mice”
Huanhuan is a final year PhD student in the Department of Neuroscience at the City University of Hong Kong. He is supervised by Dr. Geoffrey Lau.
Learn about Huanhuan’s research here.
Emma Moravec (Williams Lab), Marquette University
“Optogenetic Characterization of Muscular Responses in the Tibialis Anterior (TA) muscle”
Emma is a Biomedical Engineering PhD student in the Neural Engineering, Interfacing, Modulation, and Optimization (NEIMO) Lab in the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering at Marquette University and the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is supervised by Dr. Jordan Williams.
Learn about Emma’s research here.
Jayant Rai (Okamoto Lab), University of Toronto
“Elucidating Dynamic Intracellular Signalling Pathways of Hippocampus-Dependent Memory”
Jay is a 4th year PhD student in the Department of Molecule Genetics at the University of Toronto. He is co-supervised by Dr. Kenichi Okamoto and Dr. Mei Zhen.
Learn about Jay’s research here.
Isaac Kauvar (Deisseroth Lab), Stanford University (August 2020)
Isaac was awarded the Mightex Student Research Award for his fascinating research photo showing cortex-wide targeted optogenetic stimulation using Mightex’s Polygon. His research was also recently published in the Neuron.
Click here to see see more details on Isaac’s research using Mightex’s Polygon.
Elliot Dine (Toettcher lab), Princeton University (August 2019)
Elliot was awarded the Mightex Student Research Award for his fascinating research video showing the novel optogenetic system developed called PixELLS. His research was also recently published in the Cell Systems.
Elliot’s research utilizes the Polygon integrated on microscope to deliver defined spatial illumination patterns with gradients to optogenetically excite this novel optogenetic system.
Click here to see see more details on Elliot’s research using Mightex’s Polygon.
James Butler, University of Cambridge (September 2016)
James was awarded the Mightex Student Research Award for his fascinating research report titled “Induction of in vitro CA1 theta-nested gamma oscillations using layer-specific optogenetic stimulation.” His research was also recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience.
James’s research utilizes the Polygon integrated on microscope to deliver defined spatial illumination patterns to optogenetically excite different layers of the CA1 of the Hippocampus in brain slices to understand the origin of gamma oscillations.
Click here to read the research report and learn more!
Edmund Chong, New York University (December 2015)
Edmund was awarded the Mightex Student Reserach Award for his fascinating research report titled “Perceptual Invariance to the Olfactory Spatio-temporal Code.”
Edmund’s research utilizes the Polygon integrated into our OASIS modular microscope platform to deliver coded spatial and temporal illumination patterns to the olfactory bulb of a live and awake mouse to uncover new information and priciples governing the spatio-temporal code
Click here to read the research report and learn more!
Mightex Student Travel Award Winners
Archana Proddutur, University of California Riverside (November 2019)
Archana was awarded a Mightex Student Travel Award for the poster she presented at SFN 2019 in Chicago, Illinois using the Polygon.
Archana’s research utilizes the Polygon integrated on a microscope to identify unique changes in basket versus axo-axonic cell mediated inhibition to develop strategies to target PV neurons for seizure treatment.
Click here to read more about her research using the Polygon!
Shuailong Zhang, University of Toronto (October 2019)
Shuailong was awarded a Mightex Student Travel Award for the great talk he presented at µTAS 2019 in Basel, Switzerland using the Polygon.
Shuailong’s research utilizes the Polygon integrated on a microscope to manipulate micro-robotics using optoelectronic tweezers.
Click here to read more about his research using the Polygon!
Kim Gruver, McGill University (May 2019)
Kim was awarded a Mightex Student Travel Award for the great research poster she presented at CAN 2019 in Toronto, Canada using the Polygon.
Kim’s research utilizes the Polygon integrated on upright microscope to optogenetically stimulate Purkinje cell axons in the cerebellum during electrophysiological recordings in order to elicit precisely-time action potentials.
Click here to read more about her research using the Polygon!
Azam Asgarihafshejani, Universite de Montreal (May 2019)
Azam was awarded a Mightex Student Travel Award for the great research poster she presented at CAN 2019 in Toronto, Canada using the Polygon.
Azam’s research utilizes the Polygon integrated on upright microscope to optogenetically stimulate individual cells during electrophysiological recordings in hippocampal slices to investigate long-term potentiation.
Click here to read more about her research using the Polygon!
Jeffrey van Haren, UCSF (December 2018)
Jeffrey was awarded a Mightex Student Travel Award for the great research poster he presented at ASCB-EMBO 2018 in San Diego, California using the Polygon.
Jeffrey research utilizes the Polygon integrated on inverted microscope to deliver patterns to spatially control microtubule dynamics at a subcellular scale.
Click here to read more about his research or click here to read the recent paper he published in Nature Cell Biology using the Polygon!
Matthew Tran, University of Toronto (July 2018)
Matthew was awarded a Mightex Student Travel Award for the great research poster he presented at FENS 2018 in Berlin Germany using the Polygon.
Matthew’s research utilizes the Polygon integrated on microscope to deliver patterns to specific neurons in slice that are defined by temporal or spatial code to understand the how these neurons communicate.
Click here to read more about his research!
Submission