PICR Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow Award

Purpose:

The PICR Outstanding Cancer Research – Postdoctoral Fellow Award was developed to annually recognize an outstanding Postdoctoral trainee within the Institute based on research excellence. An annual award of $1000 will be presented to a trainee who has exhibited outstanding commitment, creativity, and excellence in cancer research, with a focus on making a meaningful impact on the field and has promise for a productive career in the field. The award will be presented to the trainee at the PICR spring awards ceremony.

Criteria:

1. Only research completed by the trainee while a postdoctoral fellow at Purdue University will be given major consideration in evaluating Evidence of excellence of work completed elsewhere will be considered supportive of the trainee’s nomination.
2. Criteria of particular significance in evaluating nominations will include evidence of:
   1. Research Excellence: The recipient should demonstrate outstanding achievement in cancer research, displaying a deep understanding of the scientific principles and methodologies relevant to their work.
   2. Innovation and Originality: The award will be granted to a trainee who exhibits imagination, originality, and intellectual curiosity as demonstrated by identification, design, and conduct of the trainee’s research problem.
   3. Potential for Future Impact: The recipient's work should show promise for future contributions to cancer research, indicating the potential to make a lasting impact on the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.
   4. Communication Skills: The ability to effectively communicate complex scientific concepts to both scientific and non-scientific audiences is essential. The recipient should be able to articulate the significance of their work and its potential implications.
3. At the time of nomination, the trainee must be employed as a postdoctoral fellow under the direction of a faculty member in one of the programs of the Purdue University Institute for Cancer Research and have been at Purdue in this position for 1 year. This award can be received only once.

Procedure:

1. Nominations should be submitted as a single PDF file here by March 26, 2024.
2. The Cancer Research Training and Education Committee will serve as the selection committee for the
3. Nominations shall include in the following order:
   1. Cover Page (see template below)
   2. A letter of nomination from the trainee’s PI indicating justification of the nomination and a statement setting forth the significance of the efforts upon which the nomination is based; (limit 2 pages).
   3. The trainee’s CV, including a summary of professional activities, publications presentations, and grant writing
   4. A summary of the trainee’s research project and its significance, professional goals and aspirations for the future, written by the trainee (limit 2 pages).