The American College of Rheumatology is pleased to announce the availability of a limited number of merit awards for rheumatology fellows. The intent of the Distinguished Fellow Awards Program is to recognize clinical and research fellows who are in a rheumatology fellowship training program and who have performed meritoriously. The recipients of these awards will be honored in Washington, DC at the time of the Annual Scientific Meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, during the week of November 9-14, 2012.
AWARD FUNDING
Ten awards in the amount of $1,500 each will be presented by the ACR. The Distinguished Fellow Awards Program is sponsored by the ACR and supported through the ACR Fellows Education Fund. As part of the 2012 Fellows Education Fund, the ACR thanks the following organizations for their support of the Distinguished Fellow Award Program: Amgen, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, UCB, Inc., and Janssen Biotech, Inc.
ELIGIBILITY:
- Nominee must be completing their second or third year of their first rheumatology fellowship in an ACGME-accredited rheumatology training program at the time of nomination and be eligible to take the rheumatology certification exam (i.e. board-eligible).
- Individuals in their fourth year of fellowship or participating in a post-doctoral fellowship will not be considered.
- Nominee must possess an MD, DO or equivalent degree.
- Nominee must maintain an outstanding record of accomplishment. Equal weight will be given to excellence in the following areas:
- Clinical care
- Teaching
- Research and scholarly activity
- Community service
- Nominee must submit an abstract for the 2012 ACR Annual Scientific Meeting.
- Previous recipients of this award or the Rheumatology Fellow Award are not eligible for this award.
- Applicants must be nominated by a supervisor, training program director, or an ACR member in good standing.
- Applicants must be an ACR member in good standing at the time of application.
APPLICATION:
Award applications will be accepted online only, the online portal will open June 6, 2012.
The following items must be included with each nomination in order to be considered for an award:
- Curriculum Vitae (NIH format) limited to the equivalent of four text pages.
- Copy of abstract(s) submitted for the ACR's 2012 Annual Scientific Meeting.
- Nominee ratings completed by Program Director
- Letter of recommendation from the nominee's supervisor or an ACR member (must be someone OTHER THAN the fellow's program director), should not exceed 1.5 single spaced pages and should include a description of the nominee's outstanding or meritorious performance in education, research, patient care, and community service. Please discuss his/her exact role in the publications listed in his/her curriculum vitae and abstract(s) submitted to the 2012 ACR Annual Scientific Meeting.
- Letter of recommendation from training director certifying that nominee is a fellow at the time of nomination.
DEADLINE:
Applications must be submitted no later than June 29, 2012.
NOTIFICATION:
Final decisions will be made by the ACR Committee on Rheumatology Training and Workforce Issues in early July 2012. The awardees and their supervisors will be notified by in late of July 2012.




