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Young Investigator Award

This award is to recognize early-stage melanoma investigators (fellows and faculty within five years of their first independent position). Applicants may be nominated by a colleague or self-nominated.

Nominees should submit a recent CV or Bio Sketch including listings of their published works, two letters of professional recommendation and a brief 300-word summary of why they feel their work is important to melanoma research. SMR is dedicated to supporting diversity and inclusion for all our members. We especially encourage applications from those in underrepresented populations to apply for these awards. Winners of the award receive a $5,000 cash prize, will be invited to attend the annual SMR Congress, and they will be recognized at the annual awards ceremony.

Applications may be made for any young investigator, whether an SMR member or non-member, who is currently affiliated with any institution involved in melanoma research, melanoma medicine, or melanoma-related biomedical science.

  • Award Amount: $5,000
  • Complimentary Congress Registration
  • Complimentary Ticket for Awards Ceremony
Joanna Pozniak

Joanna Pozniak

2025 - Joanna Pozniak, PhD

2024 - Vito Rebecca, PhD

2023 - Benjamin Izar, MD, PhD

2022 - Panagiotis Karras, PhD

2021 - James Wilmott, PhD

2020 - Stefani Spranger, PhD

2019 - Carmit Levy, PhD

2018 - A. Hunter Shain, PhD

2017 - Richard White, MD, PhD

2016 - Poulikos Poulikakos, PhD

2015 - Georgina Long, BSc, PhD, MBBS, FRACP

2014 - Jennifer A. Wargo, MD, MMSc

2013 - Roger Lo, MD, PhD

2006 - Pam Pollock and Ashani Weeraratna

Application Information

  1. Applications must consist of:
    1. Complete contact information for the applicant.
    2. The applicant’s full CV or Bio Sketch.
    3. A list, including Pubmed IDs, of the applicant’s published melanoma-relevant research manuscripts. In addition, PDFs of accepted manuscript(s) that are in press, including a confirmatory e-mail from the journal indicating that the manuscript is accepted for publication, are eligible. Papers that are under review or in preparation are not eligible for consideration.
    4. A maximum of two letters of recommendation, no longer than 2 pages in length/letter, one of which must be a formal letter of support from the applicant’s current or former mentor, which describe the applicant’s suitability for this prestigious award.
  2. Applications are due August 1st.
  3. Applications will be evaluated by designated members of the SMR Awards committee with external assistance as required.
  4. Additional consideration may be given to current SMR members.
  5. The award will consist of an unrestricted honorarium of $5,000, a commemorative plaque and support for the awardee to attend the SMR Annual Congress.
  6. The awardee must be available to accept the award in person at the Society for Melanoma Research Congress.

Apply Here

SMR is dedicated to supporting diversity and inclusion for everyone. We encourage applications from any individual who is within 8 years of receiving their terminal degree and especially encourage those in underrepresented populations to apply for this award.