Awards and Honors
Special Awards
The Environmental Mutagenesis and Genomics Society gives three special awards at the Annual Meeting: The Annual EMGS Award, The Alexander Hollaender Award, and the EMGS Service Award in addition a variety of other awards listed below.
EMGS Award: Conferred annually in recognition of outstanding research contributions in the area of environmental mutagenesis.
Criteria:
· EMGS membership is not required
· Relevance of the work to the EMGS mission
· Scientific activity in the area of the causes and mechanistic bases of DNA damage and repair, mutagenesis, heritable effects, epigenetic alterations in genome function, and their relevance to disease measured by the number of publications, invited speaker and or guest lecturer and/or previous awards.
· Service to the professional community (EMGS and/or others) and/or the general public
Who can nominate:
Any EMGS member and members of the scientific community
What to submit:
One letter of nomination, addressing the criteria mentioned above
At least one supporting letter (maximum of 3 supporting letters)
CV or biographical sketch of the nominee
Alexander Hollaender Award: Conferred annually in recognition of outstanding contributions in the application of the principles and techniques of environmental mutagenesis to the protection of Human Health.
Criteria:
· EMGS membership not required
· Relevance of the work to the EMGS mission
· Relevance to protection of Human Health.
· Scientific activity in the area of the causes and mechanistic bases of DNA damage and repair, mutagenesis, heritable effects, epigenetic alterations in genome function, and their relevance to disease measured by the number of publications, invited speaker and or guest lecturer and/or previous awards.
· Service to the professional community (EMGS and/or others) and/or the general public
Who can nominate:
Any EMGS member and members of the professional community
What to submit:
One letter of nomination, addressing the criteria mentioned above
At least one supporting letter (maximum of 3 supporting letters)
CV or biographical sketch of the nominee
EMGS Service Award: Conferred from time to time in recognition EMGS members of long-standing dedication and service to the Society.
Criteria:
· EMGS member
· Service to the EMGS above and beyond normal service in governance
· Leadership in special projects related to EMGS mission and EMGS leadership
Who can Nominate:
Any EMGS member.
What to submit:
One letter of nomination describing why the nominee deserves recognition.
Between 0-2 letters of support.
Education Award: Conferred from time to time in recognition of EMGS members of long-standing dedication to educating and mentoring the future generation of scientist in field of environmental mutagenesis.
Criteria:
EMGS member
Involvement in mentoring and/or education activities involving students and/or young investigators.
Individuals who made a difference in your career.
Who can nominate:
Any EMGS members or student or new investigator working/collaborating with the nominee (EMGS membership for the student or new investigator is not necessary)
What to submit:
One letter of nomination describing in detail why the nominee deserves recognition.
1-2 letters of letters of support (preference is given to individuals working/collaborating with the nominee).
Please nominate deserving candidates (candidates need not be EMGS members). Nominations should include a cover letter that succinctly states why this candidate is deserving of this award, as well as two additional letters of support. Nominations for the EMGS Award and the Hollaender Award ideally should also include the candidate’s CV. Nominations can be sent any time before December 10. Please assemble all nomination materials into a single PDF file (nameofaward-nameofnominee.pdf) and upload it to the appropriate award above.
EMGS Young Scientist Award
The Young Scientist Award is an exciting opportunity for young investigators to showcase their talent to the EMGS community while communicating the importance of their research to the public using a fun crowdfunding video!
The nomination process starts Jan 1. Eligible candidates may self-nominate or be nominated by an EMGS member by sending in the nominees name, affiliation, and contact information!
Award nominees should meet the following criteria:
- EMGS members in good standing; nonmembers can be nominated if willing to join EMGS
- Active scientists, with an intent to continue as such
- New investigators 2 years post terminal degree OR new faculty or equivalent for 3 years
- Willing and able to participate fully in the award promotional campaign and annual meeting
Nominees will be contacted to provide the following materials:
- CV, including the names of three references
- Letter of support from the mentor and/or nominator
- Two examples of the nominees published scholarship
- One-page summary of the nominees research, including their agreement to participate in the campaign
- Three-minute video explaining the research suitable for a lay audience
The winner will be announced by July 1. The award winner will receive:
- A plenary lecture presentation at the EMGS Annual Meeting
- A plaque recognizing the honor
- $2,500 award check to support meeting registration, travel costs, and honorarium
Student and New Investigator Presentation Awards
The Education, Student and New Investigator Affairs Committee invites all students and new investigators to submit abstracts for either poster or oral presentations. Your submission will automatically be entered in the Best Presentation/Poster Competition. Posters presented by students and new investigators will have special identification for judging.
Four first prize presentation awards will typically be given:
1. Best oral presentation by a student.
2. Best oral presentation by a new investigator.
3. Best poster presentation by a student.
4. Best poster presentation by a new investigator.
Four, second place awards for each of the presentations listed above will also be given.
Award recipients will receive a monetary award. New investigators are highly encouraged to submit a paper to the EMGS Journal, Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, which sponsors the awards. To be considered for the award, the abstract must be submitted and presented by the student or new investigator.
EMGS Student and New Investigator Travel Awards
Students and New Investigators are the future of our Society. An EMGS priority is to foster the career development of students and postdoctoral level investigators, helping them establish the long-term collaborative relationships that will make EMGS their professional home. Therefore, the EMGS offers a limited number of Student and New Investigator Travel Awards to assist students and new investigators to attend and participate in the EMGS Annual Meeting.
Students and new investigators (doctoral degrees within the past five years) are eligible for Travel Awards, which provide partial support to attend the EMGS Annual Meeting. Travel awards are based primarily on merit. The applicant must be a member of EMGS prior to the award application deadline. Membership can be obtained at any time via the EMGS website.
A student from a developing country currently enrolled in a graduate degree program in the USA or Canada is eligible to receive the Alexander Hollaender Travel Award. The applicant must indicate their desire to be considered for this award during the submission of their application. Application requirements are the same as all travel awards.
Application Requirements
- An abstract submitted to the meeting.
- A letter of recommendation sent by the applicant’s current mentor. (Recommended elements for mentor letters.)
- A statement written by the applicant (250 words maximum) describing how the applicant expects to benefit from a travel award to attend the EMGS meeting.
The following checklist will help in gathering all the required application materials. Travel Award Submission Check List
If your institution restricts the receipt of award monies, the most meritorious applications will still receive EMGS recognition without funding, when applicable.
EMGS Newly Independent Investigators Engagement Program
The future of EMGS rest in the hands of our new investigators, who will define the directions we take and galvanize the next generation of our membership base. High quality new investigators who have recently transitioned to independence are invited to apply to be part of a Newly Independent Investigator Engagement Group. Accepted recipients will receive a commitment to cover their costs to attend up to three Annual Meetings over a five-year period. In exchange, recipients must maintain active and engaged membership in EMGS.
Criteria
1. Be involved in non-trainee research relevant to the EMGS mission.
2. Be new investigators (≤ 3 years) in research, academia, industry or government who have recently transitioned to independence.
3. Pay annual membership dues.
Award
Recipients will be notified on May 1. Each recipient will receive:
- An Annual Meeting registration waiver plus travel costs (four hotel nights and airfare offset) for as many as three years during their five-year program.
EMM Student and New Investigator Best Paper Awards
The Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis (EMM) Best Paper Awards are presented annually to a student and a new investigator and are chosen by the Editorial Board members of EMM based on papers accepted for publication in EMM in the calendar year. Each winner receives a cash prize, free registration to the following EMGS Annual Meeting, and a complimentary one-year EMGS membership.
Visa Alert
As part of new security procedures, many visa applications are being sent to the State Department in Washington, D.C. for review by a variety of federal agencies. Due to the number of visas being processed and the heightened security concerns, this review can take as long as six to eight weeks, or longer, depending on the applicant's country of origin. Therefore, we encourage scientists intending to come to the United States to apply for their visa as early as possible and to pay attention to U.S. State Department guidance on this matter. The National Academies has a very useful website containing this information. The most frequent reason that visitor visas are denied is because the applicant was unable to provide enough evidence, in the opinion of the consular officer, that he or she was not intending to immigrate to the United States (per Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act). Therefore, we encourage you to pay particular attention to State Department advice on how to deal with this type of denial.