Applications are Closed for the 2025 Conference
Purpose:
The Society of Biological Psychiatry (SOBP) Educator Award in Biological Psychiatry recognizes the need for educational excellence, innovation, scholarship and engagement in teaching biological psychiatry. The stated purpose of the Society includes promotion of educational excellence in fields that investigate the nature, causes, mechanisms and treatments of disorders of thought, emotion or behavior. Thus, the advancement of teaching in biological psychiatry is critical to the Society’s mission.
The Award recognizes and honors the efforts of outstanding educators and their endeavors to promote and disseminate the understanding of biological psychiatry at the local, national or international levels. Recipients receive complimentary registration, transportation and accommodations for the SOBP annual meeting and are recognized at the meeting. Recipients also will be invited to submit their presentation as a manuscript for peer-review by Academic Psychiatry.
Eligibility:
The Award is open to individuals at all career levels who demonstrate teaching excellence, innovation, scholarship and engagement in undergraduate or graduate education and/or professional medical education (UME, GME, CME) focusing on biological psychiatry. Educators from academic institutions, foundations, governmental, industrial or research organizations are eligible regardless of age, sex, race or nationality.
Nomination Criteria:
- Nominees need not be members of the SOBP, but should be willing to attend the annual meeting to receive their Award and describe their contributions to the field.
- Nominations must be made or endorsed by a SOBP member.
- No person may nominate more than one individual.
- Each medical school or institution may nominate one individual each year.
Materials submitted with the online nomination form should include:
- One nomination letter
- Nominee’s curriculum vitae
- A brief Educator Portfolio of the nominee, including:
- a statement of educational philosophy,
- goals as an educator, and
- a summary of contributions in teaching, assessment, curriculum development, mentoring/advising, and/or educational leadership or administration.
- One letter of recommendation from:
- A former trainee or mentee whose letter documents significant contributions to biological psychiatry education, or
- A colleague who has worked with the nominee in development or oversight of a curriculum, textbook or other materials in biological psychiatry.
Selection Criteria:
The applications will be judged based upon four different criteria: Quality, Innovation, Engagement and Commitment.
- Quality: educational scholarship and assessment of effectiveness and impact by peers and trainees
- Innovation: examples of innovative approaches, techniques, pedagogical methods or dissemination approaches
- Engagement with others at the local (department or institution), regional, national or international levels
- Commitment: the breadth and scope of educational activities in which the applicant is involved
- The decision of the award committee shall be final, subject to approval by the Council of the Society.
Additional Review Guidelines: These selection criteria need not be weighted equally, and all criteria need not be satisfied at the discretion of the Award Committee. The intent is that awardees be at faculty or equivalent career level, not trainees.
Previous Recipients
2019 – David Ross, MD, PhD – Yale University
2020 – Sophia Frangou, MD – Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
2021 – Mayada Akil, MD – Georgetown University
2022 – Charles Gillespie, MD – Emory University School of Medicine
2023- Leanne M. Williams, PhD– Stanford University School of Medicine 2024- Charles B. Nemeroff, MD, PhD – Dell Medical School University of Texas at Austin