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Title: Do You Know An Inspiring Epidemiologist?

Author:

Section/SPIG: Epidemiology

Issue Date:

Stanley H. Weiss, MD (Epidemiology Section Chair-Elect and Awards Committee Chair)
Sarah L. Patrick, MPH, PhD (Epidemiology Section Chair)

The APHA Epidemiology Section is soliciting nominations for its Section awards. These honor epidemiologists making significant contributions to the methods, application and teaching of epidemiology, as described in detail below -- the Wade Hampton Frost Lectureship, the John Snow Award (which is officially sanctioned by the John Snow Society) and the Lilienfeld Award.

In addition, the Section will again be offering Student Travel Awards to facilitate student attendance at the APHA Annual Meeting.
The Epidemiology Section of APHA invites nominations for the Wade Hampton Frost Lectureship, John Snow Award and Lilienfeld Award. Awards will be given at the 2004 APHA Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. These are also described at <http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/apha/epiaward.htm>, where we also have lists of past winners. (Please check all three lists to see if your potential nominee has received any past Epidemiology Section awards; it is permissible over time to win more than one award. Please alert us to any past awards received, including any from our Section.)

A formal letter of nomination, accompanied by a brief resume/cv, should describe:

  • How the nominee meets the criteria below, and

  • Provide sufficient specific information for the Awards Committee to assess the nominee's contributions or achievements.

Please submit these electronically to the Awards Committee chair: Stanley H. Weiss, MD, <weiss@umdnj.edu>, and feel free to contact him for additional details.

Award winners are generally expected to attend the Section Award meeting, typically held late in the afternoon on the Monday of the Annual Meeting. They are also honored at the Section Reception that immediately follows, and this Reception is open to all meeting attendees. The Section Leadership completes the series of awards events with a dinner in honor of the awardees.

The Wade Hampton Frost Lectureship
This award recognizes a person who has made a significant contribution to addressing a public health issue of major importance by applying epidemiologic methods.

Criteria: intellectual innovation in epidemiology or in the application of epidemiology to public health problems; substantial use of epidemiology to address important public health problems' impact through scientific publications or other means; recognized influence in the recipient's field; leadership in public health as indicated by leadership roles in professional organizations, government agencies, academic institutions or in the private sector; engaging and substantive speaker, able to speak on topics of interest to epidemiologists and other public health scientists.

Annotations: A nominee need not be an epidemiologist, but his/her contributions should reflect the application of epidemiologic concepts and methods or close collaboration in epidemiologic research. Nominees are not required to be members of the Epidemiology Section, APHA or citizens of the United States. Current offices of the APHA Epidemiology Section and members of the Awards Committee are not eligible for this award. Nominees should be excellent speakers.


The John Snow Award
This award recognizes an outstanding epidemiologist for excellence in epidemiologic practice or research.
Criteria: Contributions of enduring value to the improvement of human health or substantial reduction in burden of disease; responsible for innovations in public health practice based on clear epidemiologic foundations or implementation of epidemiologic approaches to solution of health problems; contributions which are practical, explicit, and applied, rather than theoretical or implicit.

Annotations: Nominees are not required to be members of the Epidemiology Section, APHA or citizens of the United States. Current officers of the APHA Epidemiology Section and members of the Awards Committee are not eligible for this award. The introduction to the 2002 winner can be read at: <http://www.human.cornell.edu/pam/apha/02snowaddrs.htm>. We also plan to post on our Section Web site the introduction of the 2003 winner.


The Abraham Lilienfeld Award
This award recognizes excellence in the teaching of epidemiology during the course of a career. Criteria: Excellence in teaching as exhibited in effective classroom lectures, professional seminars or workshops, publications of substantial pedagogical or methodological importance for students and professional epidemiologists or students who have made worthwhile contributions to the improvement of public health; Evidence of incorporating both historic and innovative epidemiologic concepts and methods in teaching; evidence of ability to communicate difficult of complex ideas in clear, understandable language or using innovative methods; evidence of influence on students or young professionals as teacher or mentor.

Annotations: Preference is given to nominees who teach in the classroom, are engaging lecturers, write clearly and whose students have made worthwhile contributions to the improvement of public health. Nominees are not required to be members of the Epidemiology Section, APHA or citizens of the United States. Current officers of the APHA Epidemiology Section and members of the Awards Committee are not eligible for this award.


Student Prizes - Whom Do You Recommend?
The Epidemiology Section awards up to six $500 student Travel Prize awards to assist student presenters with their costs to attend the Annual Meeting, as well as Honorable Mention awards. They are based upon abstracts submitted to the Annual Meeting. The review process for these awards involves:

  • The abstract must be marked on the APHA abstract form as being submitted by a student in order to be considered. (If the student presentation is part of an Invited Special Session for which the Epidemiology Section is the primary sponsor, contact the Awards Chair and Program Chair directly.)

  • Only abstracts submitted to the Epidemiology Section are eligible. (Each Section reviews its own abstracts. Abstracts submitted to other Sections are not eligible.)

  • Work that has been previously published, or which is the subject of other abstracts (even if presented or submitted by another author), is NOT eligible, and will lead to disqualification or annulment of the award. If there is overlap or potential overlap, the first author should notify both Dr. Weiss and the Section Program Chair of the potential overlap in advance, with a copy of the other related material.

  • Abstracts submitted from student first authors for oral or poster presentation will be reviewed by the Awards Committee.

  • The first author of the top tier of abstracts will be contacted by Sept. 1, 2004 by the Student Awards Committee Chair to let him/her know that the abstract is in the selection pool for an Epidemiology Section Student Award.

  • First authors will be required to electronically submit their full presentation (using PowerPoint slides) by Oct. 1, 2004 for review by the Awards Committee in order to remain in competition for the student awards.

  • Based on the quality of presentations received, up to six Travel Awards of $500 each will be announced at the Epidemiology Section Awards Ceremony.

  • Meritorious presentations that are not awarded travel awards may still win a $50 [price of student APHA/Epidemiology Section membership] honorable mention prize to offset their membership in the APHA Epidemiology Section for 2005.

Additional prizes (e.g., software or books) may also be newly awarded in 2004. (Several vendors have verbally agreed to make donations to the Section for this purpose.)