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 Pre-Congress Teaching Course and/or Congress attendees who submit an abstract with their:

• Pre-Congress Teaching Course and/or Congress registration tickets
• Economy class train/air travel 
• Taxis and trains to and from the airport/train station (if required)
• Parking at the airport/train station (if required)
• Successful VISA application fees (if required)
• Single occupancy accommodation costs. If you are attending the Pre-Congress Teaching Course, only Sunday and Monday nights will be covered. If you are attending the Congress, only the Tuesday to Saturday night will be covered. If you are attending the Pre-Congress Teaching Course and the Congress then only the Sunday to Saturday night will be covered. Any additional nights are the attendees responsibility to cover the cost. Evidence of the single occupancy rate should be provided with the claim if double occupancy is booked. It is not necessary to book the hotel through the WMS booking site to claim. 

Anything that is not specified in the list above, will not be reimbursed as part of the claim, and is therefore the responsbility of the claimant to pay for themselves.

Please note: Mileage to/from the Congress venue/airport/train station will not be reimbursed and it is not possible to claim for Congress social and networking activities for compliance reasons. 

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. Please note that if you submit a claim for more than £1000 then only £1000 will be reimbursed.
Fellowship - Intercontinental up to £2000. Please note that if you submit a claim for more than £2000 then only £2000 will be reimbursed.

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.
• Fellowship applications will reopen temporarily for late-breaking abstract submissions. 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 must be filled in by the successful applicant with their bank details and valid receipts attached as appropriate. The amount reimbursed will be the total value of your eligible submitted receipts, up to the maximum value of your fellowship. Electronic payment will be processed post-Congress, within one month of receiving a valid expense claim form. The form and its attachments should be sent to [email protected] by Monday 21st October 2024 at the latest. Please do not send more than one claim form per awardee and do not submit the claim form before the Congress. 

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 to help with their:

• Pre-Congress Teaching Course and/or Congress registration tickets
• Economy class train/air travel
• Taxis and trains to and from the airport/train station (if required)
• Parking at the airport/train station (if required)
• Successful VISA application fees (if required)
• Single occupancy accommodation costs. If you are attending the Pre-Congress Teaching Course, only Sunday and Monday nights will be covered. If you are attending the Congress, only the Tuesday to Saturday night will be covered. If you are attending the Pre-Congress Teaching Course and the Congress then only the Sunday to Saturday night will be covered. Any additional nights are the attendees responsibility to cover the cost. Evidence of the single occupancy rate should be provided with the claim if double occupancy is booked. It is not necessary to book the hotel through the WMS booking site to claim.

Anything that is not specified in the list above, will not be reimbursed as part of the claim, and is therefore the responsbility of the claimant to pay for themselves.

Please note: Mileage to/from the Congress venue/airport/train station will not be reimbursed and it is not possible to claim for Congress social and networking activities for compliance reasons. 

Senior Fellowship - Continental (Europe and UK) up to £1000. Please note that if you submit a claim for more than £1000 then only £1000 will be reimbursed.
Senior Fellowship - Intercontinental up to £2000. Please note that if you submit a claim for more than £2000 then only £2000 will be reimbursed.

Applicants should email the Congress Secretariat via e-mail [email protected] 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 at the same time. 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 as soon as possible after application.
• 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 must be filled in by the successful applicant with their bank details and valid receipts attached as appropriate. The amount reimbursed will be the total value of your eligible submitted receipts, up to the maximum value of your fellowship. Electronic payment will be processed post-Congress, within one month of receiving a valid expense claim form. The form and its attachments should be sent to [email protected] by Monday 21st October 2024 at the latest. Please do not send more than one claim form per awardee and do not submit the claim form before the Congress.