CCNP Awards

The College has established four awards which are given for outstanding contributions to the field of neuropsychopharmacology. These are the Heinz Lehmann Award, the Young Investigator Award, the Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Award and the CCNP Medal. Regulations regarding these awards, nomination and selection procedures are given here

Heinz Lehmann Award

For Outstanding Contributions to Neuropsychopharmacology

The Heinz Lehmann Award is designed to recognize the outstanding contributions and distinguished career by a single individual in the field of research in neuropsychopharmacology in Canada. The Award consists of $2,000 honorarium and a suitably engraved plaque. The Heinz Lehmann Award shall be presented annually for work done primarily in Canada by Canadian scientists. Exceptionally, if there is no qualified nominee in the view of the Awards Committee, the award will not be given.

Eligibility shall include individuals from academic institutions, foundations, governmental, industrial and research organizations, regardless of age or sex. The decision of the Awards Committee shall be based on originality and uniqueness of approach to clinical or laboratory research that had led to new, significant neuropsychopharmacological knowledge or concepts, or to the development of new therapeutic agents for the treatment of mental diseases. This should be evidenced by contributions based either on a specific piece of research or on a large body of neuropsychopharmacological research done over a period of years. In assessing individual publications, the committee will consider citation history, but not to the exclusion of other information. For works by multiple authors, the particular contribution of the award nominee must be clearly specified. The Awardee is expected to give a lecture based on his/her research at the Annual Meeting of the CCNP, and to contribute a manuscript based on the lecture to the CCNP official journal, the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, no later than six months after the lecture.

Young Investigator Award

For Outstanding Contributions to Neuropsychopharmacology by a Young Investigator

The Young Investigator Award is designed to recognize outstanding contributions in the field of research in neuropsychopharmacology by an individual young basic scientist or clinical investigator in Canada. Applications will be judged primarily on the basis of the candidate’s work as an independent investigator. The Award consists of a $2,000 honorarium and a suitably engraved plaque. The Young Investigator Award shall be presented annually for work done primarily in Canada by Canadian scientists, unless there is, in the view of the Awards Committee, no qualified nominee.

The major selection criterion is that the candidate be actively engaged in high quality neuropsychopharmacological research in Canada. There is no restriction concerning the field in which nominees have obtained their doctoral degree, but not more than 11 years (for this competition only) should have elapsed since the completion of their post-doctoral or residency training by July of the year of presentation. It is not required that the candidates be members of the College or have an academic appointment. The Awardee is expected to give a lecture based on his/her research at the Annual Meeting of the CCNP, and to contribute a manuscript based on the lecture to the CCNP official journal, the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, no later than six months after the lecture.

Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Research Award

For Outstanding Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology by an Individual or Group

Sponsored by Pfizer Canada Inc.

The Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Research Award is designed to recognize innovative research in neuropsychopharmacology by independent investigators. The Award consists of $2,000 and a suitably engraved plaque. The Innovations in Neuropsychopharmacology Award shall be presented annually for work done primarily in Canada by Canadian scientists. Exceptionally, if there is no qualified nominee in the view of the Awards Committee, the award will not be given.

The decision of the Awards Committee will be based solely on the outstandingly innovative nature of the work by an individual or a group, as demonstrated by a single piece of research or by a body of work contributed over a number of years. Since science, by its nature, generates novel findings, the Awards Committee will seek more than the reporting of novel data. In particular, the committee will seek to identify contributions that have had a major impact in the field, for example: the introduction of a new research tool, or findings that lead to new avenues of research or successfully challenge the prevailing consensus. In assessing individual publications, the committee will consider citation history, but not to the exclusion of other information. For works by multiple authors, the particular contribution of the award nominee or nominated team (typically no more than 2 or 3) must be clearly specified. The Awardee(s) is/are expected to give a lecture based on his/her/their research at the Annual Meeting of the CCNP, and to contribute a manuscript, based on the lecture, to the CCNP official journal, the Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, not later than six months after the lecture.

CCNP Medal

This Award was established to honour individuals for a meritorious career in, and outstanding contribution to, neuropsychopharmacology in Canada as evidenced by their activities in education, administration and/or patient care. Achievement in research is not a necessary criterion for this Award. An outstanding contribution implies achievement at the national or international level, and evidence of novel initiatives.

The Award, which does not have to be awarded each year, consists of a bronze medal engraved with the name of the recipient.

Jock Cleghorn Award

For Best Poster Presentation by a Research Trainee

Donated by the CCNP

This prize, which will consist of a cheque for $500, will be awarded by the CCNP for the best poster presentation by a research trainee (graduate student or clinical resident) at the Annual Meeting of the CCNP. All trainees/students who submit a poster presentation for the Annual Meeting will be eligible for this prize. Those already applying for travel bursaries will automatically be considered for the Jock Cleghorn Prize.

The poster presentations will be judged at the Annual Meeting by a committee consisting of at least 3 members of the Awards Committee (or substitute judges to be chosen by the Council from the CCNP membership if Awards Committee members are unable to attend the Annual Meeting). Topics on either basic or clinical aspects of neuropsychopharmacology will be considered. The poster should represent research in which the graduate student or resident is the primary investigator, and (s)he should be the first author of the submitted abstract. The winner of the award will be announced in the first Newsletter following the Annual Meeting.