3Rs Science Prize 2020 Call for submissions
The EPAA aims to promote the development, validation and acceptance of 3Rs alternative approaches (replacement, reduction and refinement of testing on animals). The 3Rs science prize is granted every two years to a scientist with an outstanding contribution to the 3Rs. We want to promote positive contributions from industry or academia and encourage more scientists to focus their research on the 3Rs goals. Scientists working on relevant methods for regulatory testing (e.g. safety, efficacy, batch testing) that provide an outstanding contribution to the use of the 3Rs may apply for the prize.
A selection board (composed by EPAA members and representatives of the EPAA Mirror Group) will evaluate the submissions, provide the EPAA steering committee with the results of the evaluation and give a recommendation on the ranking of the submissions. Based on this recommendation, the Steering Committee will select the winner, to whom the prize of €10,000 will be awarded.
The prize will be granted to the institution of the winner to be announced at the EPAA Annual Conference, on 10 November 2020. The winner will have the opportunity to present his/her work at the 2020 EPAA Annual Conference, gathering regulators, industry stakeholders, academia and civil society. Applicants should, therefore, confirm that they are available on 10 November 2020 to present their work at the Annual Conference if they win. Their travel and accommodation will be paid for by EPAA.
Who should apply?
Scientists working on alternative methods for regulatory testing purposes. Applicants should be based in Europe and have up to 10 years of postgraduate experience (i.e. after obtaining their Bachelor's or Master's degree). Applicants should submit a written case study based on actual research (not older than 5 years and not a project on future research) where their role and involvement are shown. The application should make clear:
• how the above criteria are met (e.g. how the method or approach relates to regulatory testing)
• for which regulatory requirements the applicant's approach can be used
• what the applicant's postgraduate experience, role and involvement in the research are.
The EPAA Secretariat will screen applications for eligibility criteria and inform the selection board of their findings. Applications that do not comply with the eligibility criteria are not eligible.
Selection criteria
The selection board, applying 6 selection criteria as shown below, will assess the eligible applications. Each member of the selection board will evaluate the submissions and assess each criterion individually with a rating from 1 (very poor) to 5 (very good). Criteria 1 and 3 will be double-weighted (i.e. maximum of 10 points each). Every selection board member may rate applications between 0 and 40 points, thus the total ranking of an application will be between 0 and 240 points.
1. Impact on the 3Rs (reduction, refinement, replacement of animal uses) *Weighted x2*
2. Innovation / contribution to meeting an urgent, yet unmet scientific need
3. Possible applicability of the method/approach for regulatory testing (including for safety or potency) *Weighted x2*
4. Impact on predictive safety science (better data/science is obtained thanks to the work of the applicant compared to the current animal method)
5. Work potentially applicable widely e.g. to other methods and endpoints and across sectors
6. International recognition (already published work, number of publications, rankings in peer-reviewed journals etc.)
Should no application get at least 160 points, the EPAA steering committee may decide not to grant the prize.
Application process
To submit an application, please send an email to grow‐epaa@ec.europa.eu by Monday 5 October at 12:00 (noon), Brussels time with the following documents:
1. CV with a list of publications.
2. Cover letter where the applicant explains why his/her work is relevant and how it contributes to the 3Rs.
3. A case study description (max. 2500 words) where the applicant introduces his/her work or project selected for the application and its achievements/results. Pictures, illustrations and videos may also be attached to the case study if relevant. The case study should clearly define the regulatory endpoint targeted, the method implemented and the results obtained.
4. Letter of support/endorsement from their current organisation/employer.
Enquiries should be directed to grow‐epaa@ec.europa.eu
Timeline
- 20 April: Launch of the call for submissions
- 5 October at noon: Deadline for submissions
- by 23 October: Winner is notified and invited to attend the EPAA conference in Brussels (sponsored by EPAA)
- 10 November: EPAA Annual Conference in Brussels.
More information
Find out more about previous 3Rs Science prize winners
Source: https://ec.europa.eu/growth/content/3rs-science-prize-2020-call-submissions_en
