The Young Investigator Award Judicial Committee will select the 6 best submitted abstracts (3 clinical and 3 basic science), for competitive presentation (10 minutes presentation, 5 minutes discussion) at the annual meeting of the SSPR in New Orleans. Eligible studies should address a clinical or basic science problem, either diagnostic or therapeutic, with relevance to the field of pediatrics and should interest an audience of pediatric physicians/scientists.

Eligibility
The nominee must be first author/presenter of the abstract accepted for presentation. A letter from the senior investigator or sponsor that includes a statement that the work was performed by the nominee and fully addresses the role the candidate had in the work must be sent to the SSPR President.

Any student, resident, fellow or junior faculty is eligible for the Young Investigator competition who:

Scope and Presentation
The topic of the abstract may be of a clinical or basic science nature with relevance to the field of pediatrics. Two committees of three judges who are members of the SSPR will select three clinical and three basic science abstracts for presentation in the final competitions. Competitive presentation of each of the six finalists' papers (10 minutes in length with 5 minutes of discussion) will occur at the annual meeting of the SSPR. These presentations will constitute the "President's Young Investigator 90 Minutes" during the SSPR Plenary Session. Both abstracts selected and not selected for the Young Investigator Award final competition will remain eligible for presentation at the appropriate subspecialty session of the SSPR/AFMR/SSCI/APA.

Procedure
Submit an abstract using the electronic abstract form found on the AFMR website and rules applying to this abstract as defined by the American Federation for Medical Research (AFMR). Be sure to check the appropriate box on the website in order to be considered for the SSPR Young Investigator Award competition. The investigators whose abstracts are chosen for presentation during the Presidential Plenary Session will be notified. These six investigators will be required to submit an original manuscript including tables and graphs and a letter by a Senior Investigator or Sponsor confirming independent work on the project. Each manuscript (approximately 20 pages in length exclusive of bibliography) should be organized in the format outlined in the instructions to authors of the journal Pediatric Research. Upon notification by the Society, finalists will be asked to mail manuscripts to the lead judge or to the SSPR President.

Criteria for Evaluation
The winner of the Young Investigator Award will be determined by the scientific merit and originality of the research and the clarity of the oral presentation. The letter from the senior investigator or sponsor, the ability of the finalists to respond to questions and the data analysis in the manuscript will also be considered.

Awards
The six finalists whose abstracts are selected and who submit a manuscript will receive a check for $500. The 1st place winners in the clinical and basic science divisions will be determined after the oral presentation and all finalists will each receive a plaque at the SSPR Plenary Session.

YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD

Past Awardees for the SSPR Young Investigator Award
	Basic Science	Clinical
2003	S. Bharwani	A. B. Bonner
2004	Deepa Nagar	S. Somjee
2005	Prameela Karimi, MD	Josh Koch, MD
2006	Margarita Vasquez, MD	J.J. Visootsak, MD
2007	Don F Meyn, MD	K.M. Kloepfer, M.D.


Dr. Don F. Meyn was the recipient of the SSPR 2007 Young Investigator Award in Basic Sciences. The award is sponsored by Ross Laboratories.		Dr. K.M. Kloepfer was the recipient of the SSPR 2007 Young Investigator Award in Clinical Sciences. The award is sponsored by Ross Laboratories.