Awards and Honors

Special Awards

The Environmental Mutagen Society gives three special awards at the Annual Meeting.

EMS Award: Conferred annually in recognition of outstanding research contributions in the area of environmental mutagenesis.

Alexander Hollaender Award: Conferred annually in recognition of outstanding contributions in the application of the principles and techniques of environmental mutagenesis to the protection of human health.

EMS Service Award: Conferred from time to time in recognition of long-standing dedication and service to the Society.

Please nominate deserving candidates (candidates need not be EMS members). Nominations should include a cover letter that succinctly states why this candidate is deserving of this award, as well as two additional letters of support. Nominations for the EMS Award and the Hollaender Award ideally should also include the candidate’s CV. Nominations can be sent any time before March 31 for the current year's meeting. Please assemble all nomination materials into a single PDF file (nameofaward-nameofnominee.pdf) and send it to EMS Headquarters.

Nominations will be acknowledged by e-mail. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail within two business days, please contact EMS Headquarters.

Student Education Awards

EMS Student Education Award: Conferred in recognition of outstanding contributions to student education and mentorship.

Student and New Investigator Presentation Awards

Students and new investigators hold a special place in the EMS. Therefore the Education, Student and New Investigator Affairs Committee invites all students and new investigators to submit abstracts for either poster or oral presentations. All students and new investigators will automatically be entered in the best presentation/poster competition according to the presentation type. Poster presented by students and new investigators will have special identification. A total of four presentation awards will be given: two for the best oral presentation by a student and a new investigator, respectively, and two for the best poster presentation by a student and a new investigator, respectively. Award recipients will receive a monetary award and new investigators will be required to submit a paper to the EMS Journal, Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, which sponsors the awards. To be considered for the award, the abstract must be submitted and presented by a student or new investigator. Awards will be conferred to EMS members. Membership can be obtained at anytime via the EMS Web site.

EMS Student and New Investigator Travel Awards

Students and New Investigators are the future. EMS strives to help students and postdoctoral level investigators to establish long-term relationships that will promote career development. The EMS offers a limited number of Student and New Investigator Travel Awards to assist students and new investigators to attend and participate in the EMS Annual Meeting.

Students and new investigators (doctoral degrees within the past five years) are eligible for Travel Awards, which provide partial support to attend the EMS Annual Meeting. Travel awards are based primarily on merit. The applicant must be a member of EMS prior to the award application deadline. Membership can be obtained at any time via the EMS Web site.

Applications Requirements

The Abstract submitted to the meeting.
A letter of recommendation sent by the applicant’s current mentor. (Recommended elements for mentor letters.)
A statement written by the applicant (250 words maximum) describing how the applicant expects to benefit from a travel award to attend the EMS meeting.

In keeping with EMS tradition, a student from a developing country currently enrolled in a graduate degree program in the USA or Canada is eligible to receive the Alexander Hollaender Travel Award. The applicant must indicate their desire to be considered for this award during the submission of their application.

If your institution restricts the receipt of award monies, the most meritorious applications will still receive EMS recognition without funding, when applicable.

Alexander Hollaender Travel Award

For a student from a developing country currently enrolled in a graduate degree program in the USA or Canada.

Travel Award Submission Check List

FASEB/MARC Travel Awards

As many of you are aware, EMS is a member of FASEB and one of the benefits of this association is that qualified students, postdocs and faculty are eligible to apply for FASEB/MARC travel grants to attend the EMS Annual Meeting. The awards help to defray travel-related expenses (lodging, transportation, per diem) associated with meeting/conference attendance. One does not have to be a member of EMS to take advantage of this opportunity. Information on these awards can be found at FASEB/MARC Web site.

There are two types of FASEB MARC awards available:

Faculty/Students Travel Award

Each award would provide funding for one faculty member/mentor and two graduate or undergraduate students from a minority institution to participate in the EMS meeting. The faculty member/mentor member must nominate two graduate or undergraduate students who are pursuing research careers in a life sciences discipline.

Poster/Oral Presenter Travel Award

Each award would provide funding for one underrepresented minority graduate/undergraduate student or postdoctoral fellow who has been selected to give an oral or poster presentation at the EMS meeting.
Students and postdocs submitting an acceptable abstract before the deadline would be eligible to apply for funding.

Additional award pages that may be of interest include:

Visa Alert

As part of new security procedures, many visa applications are being sent to the State Department in Washington, D.C. for review by a variety of federal agencies. Due to the number of visas being processed and the heightened security concerns, this review can take as long as six to eight weeks, or longer, depending on the applicant's country of origin. Therefore, we encourage scientists intending to come to the United States to apply for their visa as early as possible and to pay attention to U.S. State Department guidance on this matter. The National Academies has a very useful Web site containing this information. The most frequent reason that visitor visas are denied is because the applicant was unable to provide enough evidence, in the opinion of the consular officer, that he or she was not intending to immigrate to the United States (per Section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act). Therefore, we encourage you to pay particular attention to State Department advice on how to deal with this type of denial.