The Nina Etkin Young Researcher Award of the International Society for Ethnopharmacology (ISE)
1. Purpose: The purpose of the Etkin Award has two parts. First, it is to honour the memory of Nina Etkin and her work in ethnopharmacology. Second, it is to support the work of graduate students doing field work in ethnopharmacology.
2. International dimension: Members of the ISE are well aware of the broadly international membership in the Society, and the international interest in ethnopharmacology. Therefore, the rules stated below will be read creatively by the award committee so as not ever to exclude some worthy student because his or her education system works somehow differently that they do in North America or Europe. It is our hope that, in time, this award will have been given to people from all over the world.
3. Award schedule and proposals: Ordinarily, one award will be made every two years (even numbered years), in the amount of $5000. The inner board of the ISE may sanction variation in this rule (changing years of the Award, or the amount). The inner board will, at every ISE meeting in an even numbered year, appoint an award selection committee made up of 3 or 4 ISE members (one as chair) who will evaluate and rank proposals. [In the first instance of the award to be made in 2012, the selection committee will consist of ISE members Dan Moerman (Chair), Elaine Elisabetsky, Paul Ross and Marco Leonti]. Ideally, at least one member of the committee will have served on the previous committee, to provide for continuity. Proposals will ordinarily be due by May 1st of even numbered years for consideration by the selection committee. Details of where proposals should be sent, and the deadlines for that year, will be available on the ISE web site. The committee should report a decision to the President. Applicants must be in recognized programs working toward the PhD degree in ethnopharmacology or a closely related field (pharmacology, anthropology, pharmacy, etc.). People with PhD degree in hand for less than two years who are Post Doctoral Fellows in these fields are also eligible to apply. Proposals will have several necessary components. The proposal will describe a scientific project with a rich theoretical foundation, and one which will easily meet the requirements of the “Rules of Five” of the Journal of Ethnopharmacology (http://ees.elsevier.com/jep/img/rulesof5.pdf).
It is possible that the award will be for gathering preliminary data (that is, research which would lead to significant subsequent funding); or for pursuing exploratory research in a novel area with limited evidence, but based on some well-founded concepts. In any case the proposal should lead to a project of exceptional scientific interest. The proposal shall not be longer than 4 double spaced pages, and shall be supplemented by a supporting letter from the student’s major professor; the letter shall describe any departmental support being provided for the student, and the progress he or she is making toward the degree. Post Docs shall provide a supporting letter from the director of the program or laboratory where they are working.
4. Award requirements: Award winners should be members of the ISE when they submit their proposal but this requirement may be lifted by the chair of the Awards Committee if it is an undue hardship. The award recipient shall provide the ISE President with a progress report 12 months after the award is made; the report will ordinarily be published in the next ISE Newsletter. When the research is completed, the recipient is encouraged to submit a manuscript for publication by the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. If accepted for publication, it will be labelled as a Nina Etkin Young Researcher Award Winning Paper. In any other subsequent publication of the results of this research, the author shall appropriately acknowledge the Nina Etkin Award.
Nina Etkin Award steering committee, Fall 2010
