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Three types of young investigator awards are available to help support travel of students, fellows and junior investigators (i.e. those at or below the level of Assistant Professor).

Students, fellows and young investigators up to and including Assistant Professors who receive this award will have the honor of presenting a poster at the Sun Valley Workshop poster session. Some of the Jee awardees may have the opportunity to present their work from the podium if the work is closely related to one of the session topics. 

The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) established the Harold M. Frost Young Investigator Awards in 2004 to support the Sun Valley Workshop, in which Dr. Frost was an active participant, and to honor his scientific accomplishments in skeletal biology.  These awards of $1500 each will be given to nine young investigators and award winners will present their work from the podium during one of the Sun Valley sessions.  Each will be awarded based on competitive application and review by a committee. Those young investigators who are given an award will present their work from the podium during the Monday evening session.

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Under-Represented Minority Travel Grant 

Any minority candidate (as defined in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commissions Regulations, 29 C.F.R. Part 1602, i.e. Native American or Alaska native, Asian or Pacific Islander, African-American or Black and Hispanic) with a terminal graduate degree (PhD, MD, DVM) is eligible. Candidates may be in academia, industry, or government as long as their work is related in some manner to scientific research in the broad field of musculoskeletal biology. Candidates of any age or experience level are encouraged to apply.

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Participation of Junior Faculty and Students

The Sun Valley Skeletal Tissue Workshop grew out of a training program for students. At recent conferences (since 1998), nearly half (44-48%) of the participants have been students, fellows or junior faculty members. This exceeds earlier conferences in which about one-third of participants were students or junior faculty. As many as 10 travel awards averaging $800 each are provided to students and fellows from the Alice L. Jee Memorial Fund, the Orthopaedic Research Society and the National Institutes of Health (NIAMS). The emphasis on student and junior faculty training has continued to develop over the years.

Besides training, a primary focus of the workshop has been on the interaction of younger and more senior investigators. This is accomplished through several means. First, each year, the Workshop sponsors a volleyball game (and provides refreshments) to generate informal interaction between junior and senior scientists. These games have been highly effective in allowing time for informal exchange in a relaxed and nonthreatening atmosphere. Additional informal opportunities for discussion occur at the welcoming and closing receptions and a mid-week banquet. For the latter, a Children's Party (for age 11 and under) is provided to make it easier for young investigators and their spouses to develop relationships with established investigators.

Contrary to some opinion, the Workshop is not a closed meeting, nor is it by invitation only. The only restriction is in the number of participants, because of the venue. If there are more than 150 applications for attendance, the members of the Advisory Committee (i.e., the chairs of the scientific sessions), based on productivity and currency in the field, will decide in a Gordon Conference style who should attend. Graduate students and fellows will be given preference. The Workshop has never turned down a student, fellow or junior investigator, and especially young clinical investigators, who expressed a desire to attend the Workshop.