Month: August 2021

Call for nominations, 2022 Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award

Posted on by John Hawley

Nominations for the ASCI’s 2022 Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award are now open. This prestigious recognition, first called the ASCI Award, was renamed in 2006 in honor of Dr. Korsmeyer, the first recipient of the Award in 1998, who passed away in 2005. The Korsmeyer Award recognizes individuals for their advancement of knowledge in a specific field and mentoring of future generations of life science researchers. Information on all past honorees is available here.

Nominees for the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award must be ASCI members who are 55 years of age or younger as of January 1, 2022. They shall have made significant contributions to biomedical science and shall have adhered to the principles of scientific excellence that the ASCI exemplifies. The nominee should have a record that reflects high standards of intellectual integrity, a deep and abiding respect for the community of biomedical scientists, and a strong commitment to mentoring the next generation of physician-scientists. Prior nominees may be re-nominated. However, current ASCI Council members and prior Award recipients may not be nominated.

Nominations consist of:

  • a summary of the nominee’s accomplishments (in plain text, not to exceed 250 words),
  • a brief NIH biosketch (as a PDF),
  • a full curriculum vitae, including all publications and invited lectures (as a PDF),
  • and a trainee table (preferred as a PDF).

Nominations must be submitted by ASCI members through their online accounts.

The deadline for nominations is October 7, 2021, at 11:59 PM Eastern.

Nominations for Active and International membership, 2022

Posted on by John Hawley

Nominations for 2022 membership may be submitted through October 4, 2021, 11:59 pm Eastern. Proposers and supporters of nominations should review the guide below carefully. Questions regarding nominations should be sent by email to staff@the-asci.org.

  • Nomination guide for Active and International membership (PDF). This document should be reviewed for details about the process and to ensure a complete nomination. Note: As of the 2021 cycle, a separate nomination form was eliminated, in favor of an interactive web-based process.
  • Membership nomination support template (for use by Seconders and General Supporters; Word document). This document provides a template for drafting nomination support. However, members are encouraged to submit scores and comments through their member accounts (this template matches the online form).

Submitting nominations

To ensure proper tracking of nominations, all information and documents must be supplied online.

  • To begin, access your member account
  • After you have logged in to your account, select the “Nominations” tab, then search the nominee database. Links will appear in search results to guide you in the next steps.
  • Your nominee may already be in the ASCI database because the person was previously nominated or because a nomination or support form has been started for this nomination cycle.

Proposers: Proposers are responsible for ensuring that all information provided for the nomination is accurate and complete. A Proposer may grant access to a nominee to edit certain sections of the nomination (see the guide above for details).

In their accounts, Proposers are able to identify those serving as Seconder and General Supporters of the nomination, although supporters need to provide comments via their own member accounts.

ASCI staff sends acknowledgment of submissions by email after they have been reviewed and found to be complete. Proposers can check the status of their submissions (nominations and support forms) online by accessing their member accounts.

Seconder and General Supporters: To draft and complete forms online, select the nominee from search results; or add the requested information about the nominee you are supporting. General Supporters who are not ASCI members may complete the nomination support template and email it to staff@the-asci.org for handling.

Further clarification

  • Age criterion for Active and International nominees. Nominees in these categories must be age 50 or younger as of January 1, 2022.
  • Exceptions to the age criterion cannot be made. Although the ASCI Council understands that a nominee’s progress may have been delayed because of unavoidable or extreme circumstances, the Council has on multiple occasions discussed exceptions and concluded from each discussion that no policy could be implemented fairly and durably.
  • Limit on number of nominations per nominee. The number of nominations per nominee is limited to 3, provided the nominee is age 50 or younger as of January 1, 2022.
  • Limit on number of nominations proposed, seconded, or supported. There is no limit to the number of nominations a member may propose or support (either as Seconder or General Supporter).
  • PhD-only candidates. Active and International nominations are, per the ASCI’s bylaws, restricted to physicians.
  • MD-equivalent candidates are eligible for nomination.
  • Faculty appointment versus nominee’s country of residence. The distinction between Active and International nominations is made on the basis of residence, not faculty appointment. Active nominees must reside in the US or Canada. Candidates residing elsewhere should be nominated in the International category.

Voters approve bylaws amendments regarding membership nominations and other items

Posted on by John Hawley

A ballot was issued to Active voters on July 12, 2021, that proposed the following changes to the organization’s bylaws:

“Article II – Objectives”: remove outdated description of the Society’s publications, “… for national and international distribution, on subscription at prices not in excess of calculated expenses and needs, …”

“Article III – Membership, Section 2, Membership nomination and election”:

  1. Increase the annual limit for Active and Foreign Associate candidates recommended for election, from 80 to 100.
  2. Re-establish the Honorary membership nomination category as distinct from the Active and Foreign Associate category, with an annual limit of 10 for election via a distinct ballot item.
  3. Allow Foreign Associate members to vote on membership recommendations.
  4. Allow Emeritus and Honorary members to serve as proposers and seconders of membership nominations.

Rename “Foreign Associate” members to “International” throughout the bylaws.

By the July 19, 2021, deadline, 44.7% of eligible voters responded, reaching the minimum 40% participation rate required for ballot items regarding bylaws amendments. For each proposed amendment, the percentage of voters who responded favorably was over the 75% threshold required to approve amendments.

Following the bylaw’s Ballot Review Committee section, these results were received, reviewed, and verified by Priscilla Hsue (2021-2023 ASCI Secretary-Treasurer) and two Active members identified by random selection from ballots submitted and who agreed to audit the results. Thank you to Joseph R. Arron, MD, PhD (Genentech) and Ravi Thadhani, MD, MPH (Mass General Brigham) for their service.

Nominations open for 9th annual Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine

Posted on by John Hawley

Harrington Discovery Institute and the ASCI collaborate to recognize an outstanding achievement of a physician-scientist globally

National and international nominations are being sought for the 2022 Harrington Prize for Innovation in Medicine, which honors a physician-scientist who has moved science forward with achievements notable for innovation, creativity and the potential for clinical application. 

The Harrington Prize, which carries a $20,000 honorarium, is a collaboration between the Harrington Discovery Institute at University Hospitals in Cleveland, Ohio—part of The Harrington Project for Discovery & Development—and the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), one of the nation’s oldest and most respected medical honor societies. The Harrington Discovery Institute is a nonprofit institute dedicated to helping physicians and scientists advance promising discoveries into medicines for unmet needs.

Both organizations recognize the challenges associated with translating discoveries into medicines, and they are eager to highlight those who have navigated the path successfully or whose work has led to novel treatments.

A committee composed of members of the Harrington Discovery Institute Scientific Advisory Board and the ASCI Council will review the nominations and select the awardee. In addition to the honorarium, the 2022 recipient will deliver the Harrington Prize Lecture at the 2022 Joint Meeting of the Association of American Physicians (AAP), the ASCI, and the American Physician Scientists Association (APSA); will lecture at the 2022 Harrington Discovery Institute Symposium; and will publish a personal essay in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

Submitting a Nomination:

  • The deadline for nominations is September 29, 2021 (extended from September 20).
  • Multiple nominations from an institution are welcomed.
  • Teams are accepted for a nomination, but a primary nominee is required.
  • Nomination guidelines can be found at HarringtonDiscovery.org/ThePrize.

Previous Harrington Prize recipients:

  • 2014: Harry Dietz, MD, Johns Hopkins University, for his contributions to the understanding of the biology and treatment of Marfan syndrome, a disorder leading to deadly aneurysms in children and adults.
  • 2015: Douglas R. Lowy, MD, The National Cancer Institute, in recognition of his discoveries that led to the development of the Human Papillomavirus vaccine to prevent cervical cancer.
  • 2016: Jeffrey M. Friedman, MD, PhD, The Rockefeller University, for his discovery of leptin, which controls feeding behavior and is used to treat related clinical disorders.
  • 2017: Jointly awarded to Daniel J. Drucker, MD, Mount Sinai Hospital, Canada, Joel F. Habener, MD, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Jens J. Holst, MD, DMSc, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, for their discovery of incretin hormones and for the translation of these findings into transformative therapies for major metabolic diseases such as diabetes.
  • 2018: Helen H. Hobbs, MD, UT Southwestern Medical Center, for the discovery of the link between a gene mutation (PCSK9) and lower levels of LDL, which has improved the treatment of high cholesterol.
  • 2019: Carl H. June, MD, University of Pennsylvania, for advancing the clinical application of CAR T therapy for cancer treatment, and for his sustained contributions to the field of cellular immunology.
  • 2020: Stuart H. Orkin, MD, Harvard University, for breakthrough discoveries on red blood cells that offer new treatments for patients with sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia, which are among the most common genetic disorders.
  • 2021: Jointly awarded to Warren J. Leonard, MD, NHLBI and John J. O’Shea, MD,  NIAMS, NIH, for their respective contributions to the field of immunology, from fundamental discovery to therapeutic impact.

For questions or more information about the nomination requirements, visit HarringtonDiscovery.org/ThePrize or contact Bronwyn Monroe, Harrington Discovery Institute Program Director, at Bronwyn.Monroe@HarringtonDiscovery.org.