The Minority Travel Award Program is viewed by the ACNP as an effective means for stimulating and encouraging postdoctoral minority professionals to become involved in research careers in the neurosciences. The ACNP Annual Meetings expose an awardee to the excitement of cutting-edge science, the charisma of distinguished teachers and researchers and provides the awardee the opportunity for developing a life-long professional relationship with at least one senior scientist in their field-their mentor at the Annual Meeting. The rich and varied experience provided by the scientific meeting, the opportunity to attend meetings over a five-year period and to present a poster at each and the recognition accorded by the award being funded by the NIMH can play a decisive role in strengthening and finalizing and awardee's decision to enter a career in research and teaching. If the awardee is already committed to a career in neuropsychopharmacology, the experience of attending the ACNP Annual Meeting will expand his/her research horizon and in very real ways further his or her career in this field. As of December 1997, thirty-four (34) minority travel awards have been granted 7 had an M.D. degree, 21 had a Ph.D. degree and 3 had M.D., Ph.D. degrees. 17 were male and 17 were female. Awardees were given the opportunity to attending four additional Annual Meetings beyond the award year at their expense with only the registration fee waived. Of the 22 awardees who were able to exercise this opportunity, 7 attended only one additional meeting while 4 attended two additional meetings. Travel awardees also took advantage of the privilege to present posters at the scientific meetings. Of the 34 awardees, 22 have presented one poster, 11 presented posters at two meetings, and 4 awardees presented posters at three Annual Meetings. The rate at which the awardees exercised their option to attend additional meetings and the number of posters presented attests to the high caliber of the awardees and the positive impact of the Award Program on them. The awardees also took advantage of the mentoring program. More than half of the awardees and mentors had contact with each other at subsequent annual meetings and between meetings. In the opinion of the ACNP, continuation of the Minority Award Travel Program would be in the public interest. The College does not anticipate any difficulty in filling five Travel Award stipends for 1998, six for 1999, seven for 2000, eight for 2001, and ten Travel Award stipends for 2002.
