SOCIETY FOR PEDIATRIC RESEARCH

Dr. Richardson was best known for his research on neonatal illness severity and variations in neonatal clinical practice. This work stems from previous observations showing a four-to-eight-fold variation in birth-weight specific mortality rates, and rates of neonatal complications such as chronic lung disease. This variation is not explained by differences in the demographic characteristics of the patient populations. Thus, the variation is likely due to some combination of differences such as an unmeasured severity of illness or acuity on admission, or clinical practice. Before these issues could be addressed, it was necessary to develop an instrument to measure admission severity. To this end, Doug developed the Score for Neonatal Acute Physiology (SNAP). The importance of this instrument is that it measures the severity of illness based on deviation of measures of physiologic function, rather than subjective clinical assessments. This tool was validated by exhaustive testing and was shown to have excellent predictive power for both mortality and morbidity independent of birth weight. SNAP, and subsequent refinements of this instrument, have been used by multiple investigators to study numerous risk factors and interventions in the neonatal intensive care setting. For example this instrument was used to examine the outcomes of several academic NICUs and demonstrated that substantial variations in practice style affected most types of morbidity experienced by very low birth weight infants.

This award, established in 2003 by the SPR, is also supported by generous contributions by:

Friends and Colleagues of Doug Richardson
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Children’s Hospital Boston
Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Harvard Medical School

• To be eligible for the 2008 Award, nominees must be Pediatricians, and they must have displayed a sustained record of excellence as a clinical investigator.
• A single Award will be made annually. The Award provides a $500 honorarium, complimentary registration, a plaque, and travel expenses to attend the 2008 Pediatric Academic Societies’ Annual Meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii. The Award will be presented in a related session during the PAS Annual Meeting followed by a lecture given by the awardee.
• Awards will be made only when there are worthy candidates.
• The Committee for the 2008 Douglas K. Richardson Award will solely be responsible for the selection of the recipients. 
• Members of the Selection Committee cannot nominate or support any nominations.
• Nominations will be automatically held and reconsidered for the following year, for candidates who did not receive the award during the first year they were nominated.
• Nominees do not need to be a member of the Society for Pediatric Research.
• Each Awardee will be invited to serve on the committee providing one mechanism for turnover of committee membership by individuals suited to adjudicate the terms of this particular award.

Receipt Deadline:  December 6, 2007

• Nominations must be received by December 6, 2007. The committee will select the Awardee(s) prior to February 2008.

• The nomination must be supported by the following documents:

  • Completed nomination form

  • Detailed letter of nomination that provides evidence of substantive research contributions in either: 1) the effective utilization of healthcare services, 2) the identification of risk factors for adverse outcomes, 3) general epidemiologic health services studies, or 4) patient oriented clinical studies that lead to improved healthcare delivery to the neonatal or broader pediatric populations. Evidence of mentorship or fostering careers in health services research will be given special consideration.

  • Include three (3) letters of support from individuals other than the nominator. These letters should substantiate the nominee’s research career achievements and/or evidence of mentorship.

  • Curriculum Vitae of the nominee, including research activities.

  • One set of completed nomination materials and all supporting documents must be received at the SPR Central Office (address below) by December 6, 2007.

Mail the completed packet to:

Society for Pediatric Research
Douglas K. Richardson Award Committee
3400 Research Forest Dr., Ste B-7
The Woodlands, TX  77381

Past Recipients of the Douglas K. Richardson Award