The purpose of the Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI) student award is to encourage consideration of the broader ethical, legal, and social implications of conducting toxicology research. Research should not be conducted for its own sake but rather because it may help to address a larger public health concern.

Current Pre- or Post-Doctoral students presenting a poster or platform presentation at the Annual Meeting are eligible to compete for the award (membership in ELSI SS is NOT required). Pre- and Post-Doctoral submissions will be judged separately and one award will be made for each group. Submission requirements include i) the abstract for the poster or platform presentation ii) a brief statement of the ELSI aspects of the research, and iii) a letter of support from the advisor outlining the student's role in the research. Students may be contacted by the review committee for a brief discussion of the submission.

Principles and Criteria

Each submission will be evaluated based on a number of criteria:

1. Ethical treatment of animal and/or human subjects. For animal based research, this includes efforts to limit the number of animals used and minimize pain or discomfort related to treatment. All statements accompanying the abstract must indicate whether the research program was approved by the appropriate animal care committee or human subjects institutional review board.

2. The degree to which the research responds to ethical, legal or social concerns in toxicology.

3. The soundness of the research described (i.e., does the research described address the question(s) the student is attempting to answer?).

4. Clarity of the abstract and ELSI statement.

Below are several examples of ELSI topics that could be addressed in the award application. This is only a limited selection of possible topics.

Ethical, legal or social issues involved in conducting the research. What were the ethical, legal, or social issues associated with conducting this research project (e.g., animal or human subject welfare) and what measures were taken to address these concerns?

General implications of research results: What are the potential adverse or beneficial impacts of the research results on individuals or society and what measures could be taken to prevent, mitigate, or encourage those impacts?

Implementation of possible health policy based on the research results: If the research could potentially lead to changes in Public Health policy or health care, what types of issues might arise (e.g., privacy concerns related to genetic profiling or financial conflict of interest issues for health care insurers).

Conflict of Interest: If you were collaborating with or working in an organization where restrictions were imposed on publication of some results, how was this issue discussed and resolved? Alternatively, is the area of research one where different groups of scientists hold opposing views? How might conflict of interest issues be involved in the debate?

Environmental justice issues: Is the research being focused on a population group that is politically isolated or economically disadvantaged? What challenges were encountered in conducting the research and how were these addressed?

Prizes

In addition to recognition plaques for each winner, monetary prizes for both Pre and Post-Doctoral student categories will consist of $500 plus a Taylor and Francis gift certificate. Because students may belong to more than one specialty section, students may elect to receive the award either at the ELSI meeting or at another specialty section's meeting (subject to schedule availability of ELSI officers).

A student or post-doc can only win first place once.

Application Instructions

To apply for this award, the following items should be sent by email to Thomas Lewandowski (talewandowski@yahoo.com): i) the submitted SOT abstract, ii) a brief (e.g., one to two paragraph) statement of the ELSI aspects of the research and, iii) a letter of support from the advisor outlining the student's role in the research. For additional information contact: Thomas A. Lewandowski. Deadline: February 1, 2008.