ERA | Society of Forensic Toxicologists, Inc.

The ERA award has evolved in both amount and scope. First referred to as the SOFT Education Award, it was given its current name of the SOFT Educational Research Award (ERA) in 1982. Support for the award was broadened to include a portion of membership dues and donations from members. As a result, the annual award could now be funded from interest on principal from the ERA endowment. In 1988, SOFT decided to include portions of general society income in the fund. Consequently, the stipend has grown from $500 for a single award to multiple awards of $500 - $1,000. Over the past 4 years, the committee has received 1 to 6 applications per year, and has granted from 1-4 awards in a year. In 2009, the stipend was increased to $2,000.

Although the use of the award was not specified, it has been a long standing practice to encourage use of the funds for travel to an Annual Meeting of SOFT. Due to the timing of the awards, the announcement did not always allow the awardee sufficient time to plan on coming to the meeting during the year of the award. In part, due to these factors, the committee has proposed that the award and announcement be restructured. In brief, it would be acknowledged that the ERA award is intended for travel expenses related to the Annual Meeting. Conditions of the award would include having research suitable for presentation at the upcoming annual meeting. In addition, all proposals must be submitted by the first Friday in April. Award recipients would be notified by June 1 such that they could make plans to attend the annual SOFT meeting and present their findings. The award is $2,000 plus basic meeting registration.

Purpose

To encourage academic training and research in areas related to forensic toxicology and recognize worthy student researchers. The award is to be used to assist awardee with travel expenses to attend the Annual SOFT Meeting for the purpose of presenting their research. The type of presentation (platform or oral) will be decided upon by the scientific program committee for the annual meeting at which the award is to be presented.

Eligibility

Applicants - Applicants for the award must be enrolled in a Master's, Pre-Doctoral, Post-Doctoral or Medical Residency academic program and performing toxicological research. The applicant's research should have an emphasis in drug detection/quantitation, drug absorption/distribution/elimination, drugs and human performance or related areas of forensic toxicology.

Note 1: In addition to the monetary award, a certificate of recognition will also be presented to the awardee at the SOFT Business Meeting which is held at the Annual SOFT Meeting.

Note 2: Applicants who have completed their formal research after the previous year's application deadline are eligible to apply at the next deadline although they are no longer enrolled in an academic program.

Note 3: Awards are to be made at the discretion of the Awards Committee based upon excellence, relevance to forensic toxicology or other criteria established by SOFT and the Awards Committee. It is not required that award(s) be made in either or/both categories each year.

Requirements of the ERA Application (submit electronically to Awards Committee Chair)

Completion of an ERA Application Form (see above download link).
Abstract in SOFT Annual Meeting format (MS Word).
Brief summary of research plan. This should include hypothesis, experimental design, results and conclusion. If several projects have been completed as part of their studies each should be addressed in the same format. Each project should not exceed 1 page in length.
One (1) letter of recommendation from mentor or department head on university letterhead attesting to applicant's capabilities and the writer's willingness to ensure the award will be used to supplement expenses for attendance of the applicant at the SOFT Annual Meeting for presentation of the data supporting the abstract submitted. Note: It is preferred that the person writing the letter of recommendation be a member in good standing of SOFT, however, it is not an absolute requirement.
A resume or curriculum vitae of the applicant. Note: It is not a requirement that the applicant be a member of SOFT.
The application deadline is the first Friday in April, the year of the annual meeting.

Notification of Award to Applicant: No later than June 1 of year of award.

Applications should be emailed to Erin Spargo, Ph.D.

Application Checklist

Be certain that the following items are included in your electronic submission.

_____ 1. Application Form.
_____ 2. Abstract in SOFT Annual Meeting format (MS Word).
_____ 3. Letter of recommendation from mentor.
_____ 4. Brief summary of your research.
_____ 5. Resume or curriculum vitae.

Previous Award Recipients of the Educational Research Award

Year	Awardee	Affiliation
2012	Caroline Betit	Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario (Canada)
2012	Trista Wright	East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
2011	Michelle Schmidt	Cedar Crest College, Allentown, PA
	C. Meagan O’Hehir	Arcadia University, Glenside, PA
	Dayong Lee	NIDA, Baltimore, MD
	Nathalie Desrosiers	NIDA, Baltimore, MD
	Trista Wright	East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
2010	Hannah Bunten	Center for Forensic Sciences, Bournemouth University, UK
	David Schwope	National Institute of Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD
	Samantha Tolliver	Florida International University, Miami, FL
2009	Erin Karschner	National Institute of Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD
	Xiaoyun Liu	South China University of Technology
	Jillian Yeakel	Arcadia University, Glenside, PA
	Jayne Thatcher	University of Washington, Seattle, WA
	Teresa Gray	National Institute of Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD
	Huda Hassan	University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland
2008	Sherri Kacinko	National Institute of Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD
2008	Meng-Yan Wu	Fooyin University, Kaohsiung Hsien, Taiwan
2007	Amy Cadwallader	Center for Human Toxicology, Salt Lake City, UT
	Michele Merves	University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
	Erin Kolbrich	National Institute of Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD
	Cody Peer	West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV
	Sandeep Sunny Rodhey	Pace University, New York, NY
2006	Erin Kolbrich	National Institute of Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD
2006	Stacy Smeal	Center for Human Toxicology, Salt Lake City, UT
2005	Jessica Jennings	Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
2005	Romina Kaushik	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
2004	Dawn Parker	National University, La Jolla, CA
	Robin Choo	National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD
	Danyel Tacker	University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX
	David Burrows	East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
2003	Dustin Yaworsky	University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
2003	Jimmy Crockett, Jr.	University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI
2002	Riet Dams	National Institute on Drug Abuse, Baltimore, MD
	Paul Jannetto	Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's Office and Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI
	Laureen Marinetti	Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
	Brandy Yglesias	University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
2001	Robert Kronstrand	Linkoping University, Linkoping, Sweden
2001	Edward Carter	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
2000	Laureen Marinetti	Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
	Martha Burt	Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN
	Diane Boland	University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
1999	Robin Evans	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
1999	Sandra Valtier	University of Texas, San Antonio, TX
1998	Brad Hall	University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX
	Rebecca Jufer	East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN
	Tessa Long	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
	Jeri Ropero-Miller	University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
1997	Rebecca Jufer	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
1996	Robert Joseph	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
	Matthew Slawson	University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
	Tracy Williams	University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
	George Behonick	St. John's University, Queens, NY
1995	Gina Cassella	University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
1995	John Pablo	University of Miami, Miami, FL
1994	Karla Moore	Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
1994	Amanda Jenkins	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
1993	Amanda Jenkins	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
1992	William Walker	University of Saskatchewan, Canada
1992	Phillip Kemp	Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, LA
1990	Nancy Haley	University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI
	Gary Kunsman	Louisiana State University Medical Center, Shreveport, LA
	MaryAnn Suero	Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL
1988	Vickie Watts	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
	Anthony Costantino	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
	Daniel Isenschmid	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
1987	P. Tareyl Barton	Mercer University Southern, Atlanta, GA
	Joseph Boni	Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
	Robert Fitzgerald	Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
1986	Donna Bush	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
	Anthony Costantino	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
	Bruce Goldberger	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
	Daniel Isenschmid	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
	Peggy Kelly	University of California School of Health, Berkeley, CA
	Teri Stockham	Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
1985	Daniel Isenschmid	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
1984	Bruce Goldberger	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
1983	Paul Hale	St. Louis University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO
1982	Barry Levine	Medical College of Virginia, Richmond, VA
1981	Christopher Long	St. John's University, Queens, NY
1980	John Hebb	University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD

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