Criteria
Successful candidates for the IBA Excellence in Research Prize generally have a strong record of significant independent research accomplishments that demonstrate creativity and the potential to become future leaders in the mathematical biology community. Nominated candidates for this prize are normally below the rank of associate professor and do not hold tenure, but these are not strict requirements.
Nomination
In order to be considered for an IBA Excellence in Research Prize, a candidate must have a letter of nomination from a department head or other senior researcher. Submissions unaccompanied by such a nomination letter are not accepted. Self-nominations are also not accepted.
Nomination Letters and Letters of Support are important elements of the selection process and are read carefully by the Selection Committee. The letters allow nominators and support writers to give committee members insights about nominees that are not present in their other application materials (CV, publication list, etc.). The Selection Committee recommends that letters of support be submitted by someone who can speak objectively and knowledgeably about the quality and significance of a nominee’s work. Letters submitted by co-authors, personal associates, or professional mentors are, in this sense, less useful to Selection Committee than letters submitted by those with more professional distance from a nominee’s work.
Materials Required
- A letter from a department head or other senior researcher officially nominating the candidate and describing his or her qualifications, initiative, and research;
- The candidate’s curriculum vitae (including a list of the candidate’s scientific publications);
- Two representative articles by the candidate;
- A brief (one-page) statement by the candidate describing his or her significant scientific work and immediate research plans;
- Two letters from other researchers (preferably not all from the same institution) written in support of the candidate’s nomination.
Selection
Nominations are reviewed and candidates selected by an independent selection committee of distinguished scientists in the field of mathematical biology. Prize awardees are selected on the basis of their independent research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in the scientific community through their contributions to mathematical biology.