To:       School of Medicine Faculty

From:  Jon M. Lindstrom, PhD - Chair, PSOM Limited Applications Selection Committee

Re:       Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists

Date:    Sept. 19, 2019

 

The University has been invited to submit nominations for the Blavatnik National Awards for Young Scientists, a program that recognizes promising faculty-rank researchers in Life Sciences, Physical Sciences and Engineering, and Chemistry. The University is permitted to nominate one faculty member for each of the three disciplinary categories. The Office of the Vice Provost for Research is coordinating the review and candidate selection process for the University.  PSOM is invited to submit one nomination for the Life Science and Chemistry categories. 

 

Blavatnik guidelines are at:  http://blavatnikawards.org/awards/national- awards/nomination-guidelines/

FAQs at: http://blavatnikawards.org/awards/national-awards/faq/

National finalists from previous years. http://blavatnikawards.org/honorees/national-finalists/  

 

Award Details:

• Award Amount: $250,000

 

Eligibility

• Have been born in or after 1978*
• Hold a doctorate degree (PhD, DPhil, MD, DDS, DVM, etc)
• Currently hold a tenured or tenure-track academic faculty position (or equivalent) at an invited institution in the United States.
• Currently conducting research as a Principal Investigator in one of the Life Sciences or Chemistry:

Life Sciences

• Biomedical Engineering & Biotechnology
• Clinical Medicine
• Computational Biology & Bioinformatics
• Developmental Biology
• Ecology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Genetics & Genomics
• Immunology & Microbiology
• Marine Biology
• Molecular & Cellular Biology
• Neuroscience
• Systems Biology

Chemistry

• Analytical Chemistry
• Biochemistry & Structural Biology
• Chemical Biology
• Chemical Engineering
• Environmental Chemistry & Biogeochemistry
• Green Chemistry
• Inorganic & Solid-State Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Physical Chemistry
• Polymer Chemistry
• Synthetic Chemistry
• Theoretical Chemistry

*Age limit exceptions will be considered in exceptional circumstances upon a detailed written submission from the nominating institution.

Blavatnik Evaluation Criteria

Nominees and their work as independent investigators will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Quality: The extent to which the work is reliable, valid, credible, and scientifically rigorous.

• Impact: The extent to which the work addresses an important problem and is influential in the nominee’s field.
• Novelty: The extent to which the work challenges existing paradigms, employs new methodologies or concepts, and/or pursues an original question.
• Promise: Future prospects in the nominee’s field and potential for further significant contributions to science. 

 

PSOM Review and Selection Process

The Office of the Vice Provost for Research (OVPR) will oversee the final review and selection of the nominees. (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is also an invited institution and faculty based at the hospital should apply through CHOP and may not apply through both CHOP and PSOM.)

 

Candidates must submit the following:

• A coversheet that includes:

• Nominee’s first and last name and date of birth (mm/dd/yyyy)
• Nominees official title, academic rank, department, school
• Disciplinary category (see list above)
• Names, academic ranks and institutions for two letter writers familiar with nominee’s scientific contributions who will provide letters of support
• Rationale for Nomination from Department Chair: A 200-word statement that explains why the nominee should be selected as the institutional nominee, based on his/her strong record of significant independent scientific contributions, early career success, and promise of sustained or accelerated progress in the future.
• Nominee’s Research Summary: A research summary (1,000-words maximum), written by the nominee, should describe up to five of the nominee’s most significant scientific contributions and research accomplishments from their independent career. The research summary should be accessible to another scientist working in their overarching disciplinary category (e.g. Life Sciences) but not in their specific field of study (e.g. Neuroscience). Key results, their impact on the nominee’s field of study, and the nominee’s specific role in the described work should be included. Information about the nominee’s positions, awards, and service activities should be excluded. One figure illustrating the most significant results is allowed. Citations and figure caption do not count toward the word limit.
• Nominee’s Curriculum Vitae (4-page maximum) which should include the following: (see sample: http://blavatnikawards.org/media/filer_public/42/a8/42a88759-e1a1-41f0-a8e1-946d6b7281ee/cv_example.pdf:

               §        Full name, current institution(s), and position title.

               §        Education and training, including postdoctoral training and/or residency.

               §        Employment history.

               §        Honors and awards with years when they were received.

               §        Select peer-reviewed publications – List only published work or manuscripts in press authored  during independent career; do not               include manuscripts that are submitted or in preparation or those published during graduate or postdoctoral studies. Conference                                    abstracts and proceedings should only be included if they are the                     primary way of disseminating new results in the nominee’s field.

               §        Select patents and patent applications, with years.

               §        Research grants – List funding for the main ongoing and completed  projects on which the nominee  is a PI or a co-PI.   

 

Materials must be submitted by email in a single pdf file to Connie Weinstein at clw@pennmedicine.upenn.edu by 9:00 AM on Monday. Oct. 14. Subject line of email should be Blavatnik_Discipline of Nomination_nominee’s surname_nominee’s first name (e.g. Blavatnik_Life Sciences_Doe_Jane) If you have any questions, please contact Connie Weinstein at 215-898-0132 or clw@pennmedicine.upenn.edu.