The four winners of the 2013 EMCDDA scientific paper award will be honoured in Lisbon this week at the third annual award ceremony hosted by the EU agency (1). The winners — based in Germany, Austria, Norway and at the EMCDDA — will receive a non-monetary prize for their contributions on 7 November in the margins of the EMCDDA’s Scientific Committee meeting (2).
The prize, inaugurated in 2011 by the EMCDDA and its Scientific Committee, celebrates scientific writing and distinguishes high-quality research in the field of illicit drugs. Following the same procedure as last year, four groups were invited to nominate papers: European research societies; EMCDDA Scientific Committee members; the national focal points of the Reitox network; and European drug research peer-reviewed journals. This year, the International Society of Addiction Journal Editors (ISAJE) actively disseminated the request for nominations among its members and provided a member of the jury.
According to the entry criteria, all articles were published in peer-reviewed scientific journals, with the primary author based in an EU Member State, Turkey or Norway. Papers could be submitted in the following categories: basic biological, neurobiological and behavioural research; population-based and epidemiology research; demand reduction research; and policy, supply and crime research. The 2013 winners are:
- ‘Risk taking and the adolescent reward system: a potential common link to substance abuse’, primary author Sophia Schneider, Dipl.-Psych. (Germany). Published in the American Journal of Psychiatry 2012, 169: 39–46 (nominated by a journal editor).
- ‘A combined approach using transporter-flux assays and mass spectrometry to examine psychostimulant street drugs of unknown content’, primary author Dr Rudolf Rosenauer (Austria). Published in ACS Chemical Neuroscience (American Chemical Society), 2013, 4: 182−190 (nominated by a Reitox focal point).
- ‘All-cause and liver-related mortality in hepatitis C infected drug users followed for 33 years: a controlled study’, primary author Dr Knut Boe Kielland (Norway). Published in the Journal of Hepatology 2013,58: 31–37 (nominated by a member of the Scientific Committee).
- ‘The effectiveness of opioid maintenance treatment in prison settings: a systematic review’, primary author Dagmar Hedrich, Dipl.-Psych., MSc (EMCDDA staff member). Published in Addiction 2012,107: 501–517 (nominated by a Reitox focal point).
This year, 37 eligible entries were received in English, French and German and judged on the criteria of: scientific originality; scientific quality; clarity and quality of writing; and EU relevance. The jury was composed of: members of the EMCDDA Scientific Committee, one ISAJE representative and the agency’s senior scientific staff. Abstracts of the winning papers, along with details on shortlisted papers, are available online.
Chair of the EMCDDA Scientific Committee Dr Marina Davoli said: ‘European researchers working in the drugs field often do not receive just recognition for their contribution to the advancement of science. I am proud that, for the third consecutive year, the EMCDDA is publicly applauding the scientific excellence of their contribution.'
Notes
(1) The award ceremony, which is open to the press, will take place from 19.00 to 20.00 on 7 November at Museu do Oriente, Lisbon. More on the award and the abstracts of the winning papers.
(2) The Scientific Committee meeting will take place on 7–8 November.
