The American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics in Epidemiology invites applications from young investigators who will be presenting papers at the 2012 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) in San Diego, California. The awards honor the best papers in statistics in epidemiology presented at JSM 2012 and are open to all current graduate students in statistics, biostatistics, and epidemiology and recent graduates who have received their degree within the past two years. The award consists of $500 to help defray travel costs to JSM, and a reception will be held at the San Diego meeting to honor award recipients.

Preference will be given to papers with both methodologic contributions and substantive epidemiological applications. Jointly authored papers are acceptable, but the applicant is expected to be the lead author and present the work at JSM 2012. Note that the presentation at JSM does not have to be in a session sponsored by the Section on Statistics in Epidemiology, nor must applicants necessarily be current members of this section.

To apply for the award, submit an abstract online by February 1, 2012. Then, submit the paper by June 1, 2012, along with a cover letter stating where you are a current student or your year of graduation if you are a recent graduate to Jaya Satagopan, secretary/treasurer of the Section on Statistics in Epidemiology, at satagopj@mskcc.org. Questions about the award can be addressed to Melissa D. Begg, section chair, at mdb3@columbia.edu.

Topic-Contributed Sessions for JSM 2012

The Section on Statistics in Epidemiology welcomes organization of topic-contributed sessions. These sessions consist of five 20-minute presentations (one of which can be a discussant) organized around a common theme. Each speaker must submit an abstract by the February 1 deadline and indicate it is part of a topic-contributed session. The name of the session organizer must be included online at the time of abstract submission. Individuals who wish to organize topic-contributed sessions should contact the 2012 program chair, Dylan Small, at dsmall@wharton.upenn.edu.