Fellowships

Every year the WMS awards fellowships, funded by an annual royalty from Neuromuscular Disorders by Elsevier. For the WMS 2024 Congress WMS will support up to 100 fellowships awarded to help in-person congress attendees who submit an abstract with their travel and accommodation costs.

The Programme Committee selects the recipients based on the quality of the abstracts submitted and the analysis of a brief bio provided during the registration process (including relevant special interest and expertise, details of their current position and the importance of the work to be presented).

The World Muscle Society expanded our existing fellowship opportunity in 2023 to support equitable access to in-person attendance at the annual Congress.  We encourage WMS members to apply if costs associated with travel to the Congress impact their ability to attend and benefit from in-person Congress attendance.

Expanded Fellowship Categories:

• First time WMS Congress Attendee (will be verified)
• Early Career Researcher/Clinician: Applicants should be in an early career phase, training or not yet in a definite established position. The maximum age for applicants is 40 years old (at the time of submission), indicated during abstract submission.
• Travel fellowship for WMS members: WMS members interested in attending the annual Congress but find the registration fee and associated costs a barrier to in-person attendance.

Fellowship - Continental (Europe and UK) up to £1000 
Fellowship - Intercontinental up to £2000 

Application instructions & considerations:

• All applicants must be current WMS members (during the registration process, at the time of abstract submission and during the Congress dates) and provide a paragraph (100 words maximum) to explain how the WMS Fellowship and attending the WMS Congress this year would benefit and develop their career in the field of neuromuscular disorders and engage with the broader WMS community. 
• All applicants should register, apply for a fellowship (during the registration process) and submit an abstract for the congress (deadline 17th April Midnight BST). Applications will be reviewed by the Programme Committee with priority given to those demonstrating a commitment to advancing research and clinical care in neuromuscular disorders and in alignment with the WMS mission and priority initiatives.  The outcome of the application will be communicated at the time of abstract notification.
• WMS will only pay the fellowship to the awardee personally and not to an institution/ organisation or in kind for hotel accommodation etc. If the applicant is unable to accept the payment due to their organisation’s rules, then an application should not be made to begin with.
• Only one fellowship per person will be paid, even if several applications are received.
• An expense claim form will be required to be filled in by the successful applicant with bank details and valid receipts attached. Electronic payment for the amount claimed (total of attached verified receipts with claim form), up to the maximum amount payable will be made post-congress, within one month of receiving a valid expense claim form.

Responsibilities:

WMS members receiving the fellowship award are expected to:

• Write a post-congress report (maximum of 500 words) or record a video (either on own device or with the official videographer onsite) on your experiences within 2 months of the congress to describe the impact the WMS fellowship had on their learnings and experiences at the Congress and how these have and will influence their ongoing career development.
• Follow and engage with the WMS on our social media channels.
• Contribute to and engage with any of the WMS Committees (e.g. prepare a Featured Case, Publication Highlight or a Myology Developments Around the World interview) 

Poster presenters who are eligible for the young presenter and/or first-time presenter awards will have a label on the Poster/E-Poster accordingly. Applicants should be in training or not yet in a definite established position. The maximum age for applicants is 40 years old, indicated during abstract submission.

Senior Fellowships

Additional fellowships will be provided for senior myologists who have been active in WMS in the past but are now retired and have constraints on their available funds.

Fellowship - Continental (Europe and UK) £1000 
Fellowship - Intercontinental £2000 

Applicants should select Senior Fellowship in their registration form and provide a paragraph (100 words maximum) of their activities in the neuromuscular field and their contributions to the WMS. 

Application instructions & considerations:

• All applicants must be current WMS members (during the registration process and during the Congress dates)
• All applicants will need to register for the congress and apply for a fellowship in the same process (deadline 17th April Midnight BST). Applications will be reviewed by the Programme Committee with priority given to those demonstrating a commitment to advancing research and clinical care in neuromuscular disorders and in alignment with the WMS mission and priority initiatives.  The outcome of the application will be communicated at the time of abstract notification.
• WMS will only pay the fellowship to the awardee personally and not to an institution/ organisation or in kind for hotel accommodation etc. If the applicant is unable to accept the payment due to their organisation’s rules, then an application should not be made to begin with.
• Only one fellowship per person will be paid, even if several applications are received.
• An expense claim form will be required to be filled in by the successful applicant with bank details and valid receipts attached. Electronic payment for the amount claimed (total of attached verified receipts with claim form), up to the maximum amount payable will be made post-congress, within one month of receiving a valid expense claim form.