Jing Cheng, Publications Officer

The Statistics in Epidemiology Section invites applications from young investigators who will be presenting papers at the 2010 Joint Statistical Meetings in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for the Young Investigator Award. The award honors the best papers in statistics in epidemiology presented at JSM. The competition is open to current graduate students in statistics, biostatistics, and epidemiology and graduates who received their degree within the past two years. Award recipients receive $500 to help defray travels costs to the meetings, and a reception is held in their honor.

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 presenter. The JSM presentation does not have to be in a session sponsored by the epidemiology section, nor must applicants be current section members.

To apply for the award, submit an abstract to the ASA by February 1 and the paper and a cover letter to Jaya Satagopan, section secretary/treasury, at satagopj@mskcc.org by June 1. Include with your paper where you are a current student. If you are a recent graduate, include your year of graduation. Questions about the award should be sent to Ron Brookmeyer, section chair, at rbrook@jhsph.edu.

Topic-Contributed Sessions

The section welcomes submissions for JSM topic-contributed sessions. These five 20-minute presentations (one of which can be a discussant) are organized around a common theme. Each speaker must submit an abstract to the ASA by February 1 and indicate it is part of a topic-contributed session. The name of the session organizer must be included at the time of submission. Individuals who wish to organize a session should contact the section’s 2010 program chair, Ruth Pfeiffer, at pfeiffer@mail.nih.gov.

Nathan Mantel Award

Nominations are being accepted for the Nathan Mantel Award for lifetime contributions to the development and application of statistical science to problems and issues in epidemiology. The award is in honor of Nathan Mantel (1919–2002) and in recognition of his seminal and pivotal contributions to statistics in epidemiology. The award consists of $1,000 and a plaque, which will be presented by the section at JSM.

The nominee should be a person who is widely known and has an established record of developing statistical methods for epidemiology. Consideration is not limited to candidates who are members of the ASA Section on Statistics in Epidemiology.

To submit a nomination, send a CV and cover letter to Satagopan at satagopj@mskcc.org by March 1. Questions can be addressed to Brookmeyer at rbrook@jhsph.edu.

Previous recipients of the Nathan Mantel Award include Norman Breslow, Ross Prentice, and Clarice Weinberg.