Cohen Veterans Bioscience (CVB) and the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) are pleased to announce the opening of submissions for the 2023 Best Negative Data Prize in Clinical Neuroscience. The prize recognizes the researcher or research group whose publication in clinical neuroscience best exemplifies clinical data where the results do not confirm the expected outcomes or original hypotheses, or results that challenge a long-standing clinical precedent.

In clinical research, more attention is often paid to the reporting of positive results than negative results. However, this asymmetry in reporting has major implications for the clinical research ecosystem, including hindering the potential for researchers to learn from both successes and failures, which could delay new therapies from being developed. The Best Negative Data Prize, which was first established in 2018 for preclinical neuroscience and was extended to clinical neuroscience in 2021, aims to celebrate and encourage all research findings—both positive and negative—to be published with equal importance.

According to Magali Haas, MD, PhD, CEO & President, Cohen Veterans Bioscience, “Research results that disprove a hypothesis or challenge existing scientific knowledge should have equal footing as those that confirm the expected outcome. By providing an incentive to those researchers who recognize the value of sharing well-conducted and properly analyzed studies with the greater scientific community, the Best Negative Data Prize has helped to change the conversation around so-called negative data and spearhead a culture shift that recognizes the need for all data to be considered to advance knowledge. CVB is proud to continue our sponsorship of this important initiative through the 2023 Best Negative Data Prize in Clinical Neuroscience as it aligns with our vision of supporting robust, reproducible, and confirmatory science to advance therapeutic development for brain health.” 

Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, MD, PhD, member of the ECNP Executive Committee and chair of the ECNP Award Committee, adds: “As the premier European scientific society for the application of neuroscience to brain disorders, ECNP is strongly invested in advancing knowledge through well-conducted and conclusive negative studies. This improves not only the scientific process but, importantly, the quality of care for brain disorders, which are among the most severe and chronic illnesses across Europe.”  

The call for submissions for the 2023 Best Negative Data Prize in Clinical Neuroscience will open on March 30, 2023, with a closing date of May 21, 2023. The award itself is a monetary prize of $10,000 made available through the generous sponsorship support provided by CVB and will be awarded at the ECNP Congress in Barcelona, Spain, in October 2023.

Full details about the criteria for submission and how to apply for the 2023 Best Negative Data Prize in Clinical Neuroscience can be found here. 

How To Apply

Corresponding authors may submit their papers directly via the submission link. The review committee will select and inform the winner by August 1, 2023. The public announcement and presentation of the prize will take place at the ECNP Congress in Barcelona, Spain on October 7-10, 2023, where the winner will be expected to present a talk about his or her negative data results paper.

About the ECNP

ECNP is a scientific association dedicated to advancing the science of the brain, promoting better treatment and enhancing brain health. It is Europe’s leading independent forum for the science of CNS treatments. The ECNP Congress, Europe’s largest meeting on brain science, showcases the world’s best disease-oriented brain research, annually attracting between 4,000 and 6,000 neuroscientists, psychiatrists, neurologists and psychologists. ECNP’s wide range of scientific and educational activities, programs and events make it the largest non-institutional supporter of applied and translational neuroscience research and education in Europe.

The ECNP Preclinical Data Forum, established by ECNP in 2014, was the founding basis, and now the European branch, of the Global Preclinical Data Forum.

 More information about ECNP, its aims and activities, can be found at https://www.ecnp.eu/

Media Inquiries

Cohen Veterans Bioscience
Email: media@cohenbio.org

ECNP
Email: press@ecnp.eu