Blogs

Each year, the Society honors outstanding researchers for their contributions to toxicology through the SOT Awards. Two such awards—the Enhancement of Animal Welfare Award and Public Communications Award—recognize toxicologists for their contributions to public awareness of toxicological issues.

You are encouraged to nominate deserving colleagues for these accolades by the October 9 deadline. All SOT Awards have their own criteria, so be sure to read each award description closely when making your nomination.

Enhancement of Animal Welfare Award

The Enhancement of Animal Welfare Award is presented annually to a member of the Society to recognize contributions made to advancing toxicological science through the development and application of methods that replace, refine, or reduce the need for experimental animals. This award recognizes outstanding or significant contributions made by SOT members to the scientifically sound and responsible use of animals in research. This award also serves to recognize member contributions to the public awareness of the importance of animals in toxicology research. The achievement recognized may be either a seminal piece of work or a long-term contribution to toxicological science and animal welfare.

Public Communications Award

The Public Communications Award is presented to recognize an individual who has made a major contribution to broadening the general public’s awareness of toxicological issues, including public understanding of the role and importance of experimental animals in toxicological science, through any aspect of public communications. The award should reflect accomplishments over a significant period of time. Examples of qualifying media in which the nominated communication may appear include books, brochures, continuing education courses, databases, extension bulletins, magazines, newspapers (local or national), public presentations, public forums, radio and television scripts, and workshops.

Making a Nomination

Nominations for either award should include both a primary and a secondary letter of nomination from Full members of the Society that provide in layman’s terms an analysis of the nominee’s significant contributions to toxicology and how they apply to the award criteria. The strongest nomination packages include two letters that are distinct from one another to offer more detailed support of the candidate’s qualifications. Nomination packages that include very similar letters of nomination offer less information than those that include recommendations that are varied in content. Letters of nomination should be specific and descriptive while also maintaining a level of concision. The Awards Committee will review only the two letters required to complete the nomination; no additional letters will be considered.

Nominations also should include the nominee’s up-to-date CV. For national SOT Awards, such as the Enhancement of Animal Welfare Award and Public Communications Award, the Awards Committee requires a standardized length for CVs included in nomination packages. CVs must be a maximum of 10 pages in length and should highlight the candidate’s most significant professional accomplishments as they relate to the criteria for the award. Awards Committee members are required to review only 10 pages of each CV; therefore, submitting a longer CV does not strengthen an award nomination.

For more information on making a nomination, please review the “Awards Review Process and FAQs” web page of the SOT website. Please direct any inquiries to SOT Headquarters.

These are opportunities to honor your colleagues for their outstanding accomplishments in bringing toxicology to the public space; you are encouraged to submit your nominations by October 9.

Please note that to ensure a diversity of nominees, there is a two-year grace period for national SOT Awards. Preference will be given to nominees who have not received one of the following SOT awards in the past two years: Achievement, Arnold J. Lehman, Distinguished Toxicology Scholar, Education, Enhancement of Animal Welfare, Founders, Leading Edge in Basic Science, Merit, Public Communications, Toxicologist Mentoring, Translational Impact, Translational/Bridging Travel, and Undergraduate Educator Awards.