Up to two PSANZ New Investigator Awards, in each of the Society's 6 disciplines, will be presented at each Annual Congress. Within each discipline, one prize is usually reserved for an oral presentation, and one for a poster or poster symposium presentation. Where a suitable awardee is not identified within either of these categories, the selection committee may, at their discretion, award both prizes to either within the oral or poster/poster symposium category. Winners will receive $1000 towards the cost of attending a subsequent PSANZ Annual Meeting.
Eligibility Criteria for a PSANZ New Investigator Award:
1. The applicant must be a PSANZ member at the time of early bird registration for the Congress - 4 January 2010;
2. Must be the presenter and first author of the abstract;
3. Must be either:
(a) Enrolled (full or part time) in a research degree (Bachelor, Honours, Masters, PhD or within 5 years award of a Bachelor/Honours degree or 2 years of a postgraduate research degree ; or
(b) Involved in research and a 1st author for presentation of research findings at scientific meetings for less than 5 years;
4. If the applicant does not have a research degree and satisfies criteria "2" above, they must not hold a university academic appointment higher than research fellow or lecturer (or equivalent) or a university adjunct appointment no higher than adjunct senior research fellow or adjunct senior lecturer;
5. Must not have previously been awarded a PSANZ New Investigator Award;
6. Must present evidence of eligibility using the PSANZ New Investigator Eligibility Form (e.g. PSANZ membership number or membership receipt, note from academic supervisor, copy of relevant degree, evidence of employment level, brief cv).
Potential applicants not meeting these criteria may apply to the Conference and Program Liaison Officer (CPLO), Assoc Prof Jane Pillow (jpillow@meddent.uwa.edu.au), for consideration, stating the reasons why they feel they qualify as a New Investigator.
Only 1 abstract from each applicant will be considered for a New Investigator Award each year. Applicants may nominate their preferred type of presentation (poster or oral), however the final decision will rest with the Congress scientific committee to balance session scientific content as required. The new investigator award will be judged upon the presentation. However, the number of abstracts accepted for consideration as New Investigator Award abstracts may be limited to 70% of the total number of abstracts submitted for consideration for NIA to facilitate scheduling and adjudication. The scientific committee may apply this limit according to abstract score. NIA Abstracts will not be limited to less than 6 presenters per discipline, unless there are insufficient submissions. If a limitation is necessary, applicants will be advised by the congress organisers if their abstracts were accepted for NIA consideration after the early bird registration deadline, and checking of eligibility.
Applicants will be advised by the congress organisers if their abstracts were accepted for NIA consideration after the early bird registration deadline, and checking of eligibility. NIA will be announced at the completion of the conference. Potential awardees are expected to be in attendance.
Winners will be notified by the CPLO in writing immediately following the conference, with instructions on how to claim their award. The secretariat will inform the CPLO when awards have been claimed.
Prior to claiming their award, winners will be required to provide a lay summary (maximum 300 words) of their abstract to PSANZ for publication in the PSANZ newsletter.
Please note that all NIA nominees must download, complete and return an 'Eligibility for NIA' form (click here to download).
The 'Eligibility for NIA' form must be completed and returned to Congress Chair, Dr Dawn Elder, (contact information on form) by 4 January 2010.