Morton Ziskind, MD
(photo courtesy of
Tulane University Archives)

Description:

The Ziskind Clinical Research Scholar Award is an ATS Scholarship Award that honors pulmonary and critical care fellows engaged in clinical research.The award was named after Morton Ziskind, MD, a highly respected clinician-researcher from Tulane University who died in 1979 and was renowned for bringing his fellows to the ATS International Conferences and exposing them to memorable learning experiences. In an effort to honor his inspiring mentoring practices, the ATS created this award program to recognize the best and the brightest individuals in clinical research. View previous Ziskind Clinical Research Scholar Awardees.

Eligibility:

The Ziskind Clinical Research Scholar Award is for early career ATS members that have demonstrated exceptional ability in leadership, scholarship, academic success, and ATS involvement. To be considered for the Ziskind Clinical Research Scholar Award (a one-time award of $2,500), applicants must first be nominated by the research mentor or fellowship program director or associate director. The ATS strives for diversity and inclusion and would encourage underrepresented minorities to apply.

For this award, patient-oriented research is defined as research conducted with human subjects or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena. This area of research includes: 1) mechanisms of human disease; 2) therapeutic interventions; 3) clinical trials; and 4) the development of new technologies. Excluded from this definition are in vitro studies that utilize human tissues but do not deal directly with patients. In other words, patient-oriented research is research in which it is necessary to know the identity of the patients from whom the data, cells or tissues are derived.

Applicant criteria:

• Must complete MD or DO within 9 years. *If there are extenuating circumstances, please send the Ziskind steering committee an email and they will review.
• Must be within their first 4 years of enrollment in an adult or pediatric pulmonary and critical care medicine fellowship. Applicants enrolled in training programs outside the U.S. are eligible and encouraged to apply¹.
• Must demonstrate early success in patient-oriented research².
• Must have submitted an abstract to the ATS 2023 International Conference.
• Must be an ATS member at the time of application.
• Must NOT have received a career development award at the time of application (e.g., K award, VA career development award, or equivalent)³.

^{Anyone who is in a combined training program that extends beyond the 4 years will also be considered. However, please email Maria Novozhilova with your specific situation for confirmation before applying.}

^{2 The NIH definition for patient-oriented research has been adopted for this award and is defined as research conducted with human subjects (or on material of human origin such as tissues, specimens and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator (or colleague) directly interacts with human subjects. This area of research includes: 1) mechanisms of human disease; 2) therapeutic interventions; 3) clinical trials; and 4) the development of new technologies. Excluded from this definition are in vitro studies that utilize human tissues but do not deal directly with patients. In other words, patient-oriented research is research in which it is necessary to know the identity of the patients from whom the cells or tissues under study are derived.}

^{3 Fellowship awards (e.g., F32, Parker B. Francis, etc.) are allowed. Please contact Maria Novozhilova if there are questions in eligibility.}

How do I nominate a fellow?

Call for nominations open in Janury of the cycle year. Only one applicant is allowed from any given institution, and must meet the eligibility criteria above.

Please submit the following in your nomination application:

• Nomination letter from a research mentor, fellowship program director, or associate director (2-page limit).
  • The letter should state why the nominee is considered an “outstanding clinical research scholar” and provide details as to why this person will be a future leader in patient-oriented research and in the ATS. The letter should describe institutional support for the applicant, and acknowledge that only one applicant has been nominated from that institution.
• Curriculum vitae of the nominee.
• Personal statement of the nominee stating their future goals (1-page limit).
• Copy of the abstract submitted to ATS 2023 International Conference by the nominated fellow.
• Applications must be approved by their respective division or department leadership to ensure that only one applicant is submitted from that institution. 

How are nominations reviewed?

All applications will be evaluated for achievements in the following areas: leadership, scholarship, grants, and ATS involvement. Each criterion will be assessed using the following scoring system to facilitate the review discussion.
Learn how nominations are scored.

Awards Cyle Timeline 

• Call for Nominations opens: January 2024
• Call for Nominations deadline closes: February 2024
  
• Applicants will be notified of the Ziskind steering committee's selection: May 2024

Questions?

Questions related to the Ziskind Clinical Research Scholar Award Program can be directed to Maria Novozhilova.