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Rising Star Award

The Society for Pediatric and Perinatal Epidemiologic Research (SPER) invites nominations for the Rising Star Award. The deadline for submission is January 29, 2024 at 11:59 PM PT.

This award recognizes early to mid-career investigators whose achievements and potential set them on a trajectory to become research leaders in the field of reproductive, perinatal and pediatric epidemiology. Early to mid-career investigators from academia, government, or the private sector are eligible. Candidates should be at the Assistant to Associate Professor rank if in academia (more advanced than post-doctoral fellow, but not at the full professor level) or an equivalent employment status if outside academia. The time since the highest degree should be no more than 7 years. Potential candidates must be nominated by a SPER member and nomination packages should be prepared in collaboration with the nominee.  Candidates must be current members of SPER in good standing at the time of nomination. Incomplete nomination packets will not be considered. The winner is also expected to have an active Society membership at the time of meeting registration.

To be considered for the award, the following documents must be submitted in a single PDF file named as the nominee’s last name with “star” appended at the beginning (i.e., star_lastname):

  • Cover letter from the nominating SPER member including the following information: name of the nominee, nominee’s current university/agency affiliation, nominee’s address, phone, email address, reason for the nomination, name of the nominator, nominator’s email address and phone number
  • Letters of support from two (or more) persons that address the evaluation criteria
  • Copy of the nominee’s curriculum vitae
  • Copies of three of the nominee’s published papers that highlight his/her contributions to the field of reproductive, perinatal, and pediatric epidemiology

Submissions will be evaluated according to the following four criteria: (1) overall research contributions (e.g., publications, presentations) thus far, (2) influence on the field, (3) the candidate’s likely future role as his/her career continues to evolve, and (4) letters of support. 

The winner will receive a $500 award plus two-night hotel stay, economy flight reimbursement, and SPER Meeting registration.