The Early Career Award of the European Society for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience honors the early achievements of scientists working in the area of Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience and is meant to encourage career development and scientific endeavors in the field.

This year we have two recipients of the ESCAN Early Career Award:

Dr. Paula Celeste Salamone

Dr. Paula Celeste Salamone has made substantial and innovative contributions to the field of cognitive and affective neuroscience, particularly in understanding brain–body communication in emotional and social functioning. Her work, focusing on interoception and affective touch, combines behavioral approaches, electrophysiology, neuroimaging, and pharmacological models to investigate how bodily signals are integrated across multiple levels of the nervous system. By bridging basic and clinical research, her studies provide important insights into the mechanisms underlying emotional regulation and socio-affective processes.

Dr. Rita Pasion

Dr. Rita Pasion has made substantial and innovative contributions to the field of cognitive and affective neuroscience, specifically in the study of psychopathology from a transdiagnostic perspective. Grounded in contemporary frameworks such as the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) and the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC), her research aims to identify multimodal neurobiological mechanisms underlying vulnerability to mental disorders. Her work integrates EEG-based measures to advance the understanding of shared processes across psychopathological conditions.

Congratulations!

With warm wishes,
The ESCAN Board

ESCAN is now a member society of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS), providing new benefits to all ESCAN members.

As a result, individual members of ESCAN automatically benefit from FENS membership. Importantly, no additional fee is required to access these benefits. Please note that the reverse does not apply (FENS membership alone does not grant ESCAN membership).

FENS membership provides access to a range of opportunities, including:

• Reduced registration fees for FENS events
• Eligibility for travel grants and fellowships
• Access to networking and scientific initiatives across Europe

Please note that the integration process is currently ongoing, and FENS membership activation via ESCAN is not expected before June.

In line with this integration, membership data will be shared between societies in accordance with our updated data protection policy:
https://escaneurosci.eu/personal-data

For more information about FENS membership benefits:
https://www.fens.org/membership/your-fens/benefits

This development strengthens ESCAN’s integration within the European neuroscience landscape.

With best regards,
The ESCAN Board