Outstanding Junior Investigator of the Year Award

Purpose

This award will be given to an outstanding junior investigator for their body of work. The award takes into consideration independence of thought and originality in new and relevant research in geriatrics and gerontology. The award is designed to recognize individuals who are committed to a career in aging research.  

Eligibility 

This award is targeted to junior investigators (Assistant Professor/Instructor or equivalent) who are in the career development stage of their research career with a faculty appointment of at least three years, since the completion of post-graduate training in their discipline (if you were an instructor while in postdoctoral fellowship as a chief resident, these years will not count) but no more than seven years, and who have had a demonstrated focus on aging research during the period of faculty appointment. The ideal candidate is an individual who has previously been awarded a career development award (e.g. A traditional K award, a post-doctoral award under The John A. Hartford Foundation, etc.), competitively obtained external pilot grant funds, or an R-level grant (e.g., R03 or R21, but not an RO1) or institutional grant (but not an R01). Applicants must demonstrate evidence of a record of accomplishments in aging research, such as: 

  • First-author original research publications (not review articles) in aging; 

  • Poster/oral presentations of aging research at national meetings; or 

  • At least one research grant submitted as principal investigator. 

Applicants must also demonstrate evidence of a career plan related to aging research.  

Nomination Process 

The nomination should consist of a primary letter of nomination written by a senior researcher who knows the candidate’s work. The letter should outline the candidate’s involvement in the AGS, research contributions and potential. The application must include the candidate's biosketch (NIH- style 4 pages maximum), reprints of up to three publications illustrating the candidate’s most important contributions, and one supporting letter of recommendation (limited to 1 page). The candidate should continue to be actively engaged in the line of research for which the award is made. Nominations will be reviewed, and the awardee selected by the AGS Research Committee.

Please provide a 150-word summary statement of your nominees’ achievements which we will use in our announcements and speeches.  Your summary should focus on the impact that they have had or will have on the field of geriatrics.  

Award

To recognize his/her outstanding achievement, the awardee will receive a letter documenting the award and an award certificate.

Applications for 2024 are now closed. 

View Current & Past Awardees