The MDRS was founded by the late Laird Cermak, and held its first meeting in Boston in 1989. Starting in 2001, a travel award for postdoctoral fellows was established in Cermak’s name, with generous support from Trends in Cognitive Sciences, Nature Neuroscience, and F1000. In 2017, the travel award was extended to additionally honor the legacy of Sue Corkin in championing women in science. Each year, 1-3 outstanding postdoctoral researchers receive the Cermak-Corkin award and are invited to attend the MDRS annual meeting and give a talk.