The Outstanding Pharmacy Early-career Researcher Award (OPERA) 2023 for early-career researchers aims to recognise and celebrate the work of researchers working within pharmacy who demonstrate potential to achieve world-leading status and can act as role models, inspiring others to enter and persevere with research careers.
The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) wants to recognise the efforts being made by those starting out in pharmacy research careers and showcase their work to others. The Society already celebrates mid-career and established researchers through its Harrison and Hanbury medals. The time is right to recognise early-career researchers working within the pharmacy field who are making outstanding contributions through their outputs, impact and public engagement at pre-doctoral, doctoral or post-doctoral (within five years of award of their PhD) levels or equivalent experience.
The RPS’s definition of a pharmaceutical scientist is “an individual working in the basic, applied or the social sciences impinging on the discovery, development, delivery, quality, safety, efficacy, regulation or usage of medicines and medical devices and their educational development in all its many aspects and for the ultimate benefit of the patient and public”. Applications are encouraged from early-career researchers working across the breadth of pharmaceutical science.
For a guide on what to include in your nomination, please read the information below and fill out the nomination form. Thank you for nominating and we look forward to reading your entry.
How to nominate someone
Nominations can be submitted by anyone with the permission of the nominee. Self-nominations are permitted.
Individuals can submit a nomination by completing the nomination form.
Please ensure all of the required information in the nomination form is provided. We will be unable to accept partially completed nominations.
Successful nominations will contain substantial, quantitative evidence relating to the originality, quality and scientific merit of outputs; impact, translation, and application of research for the field of pharmacy; and independence, creativity and public engagement of the researcher. Those self-nominating will also need to include testimonials from relevant others, such as researchers, employers and funders.
The deadline for nominations is 23:59 on 14 February 2023.
Who can nominate?
We invite nominations from any individual with in-depth knowledge of the nominee’s research and achievements. We would ask that individuals only nominate one nominee if possible, as we aim to publish a diverse shortlist of early-career researchers from a wide variety of disciplines and locations.
Who can be nominated?
Anyone who fulfils the following criteria will be considered for the shortlist:
- Early career, at the time of nomination undertaking any of the following:
- a pre-doctoral training Fellowship;
- doctoral training;
- post-doctoral research (having obtained their PhD within the past 5 years; pro-rata and excluding career breaks) — or equivalent research authorship experience;
- Making a major contribution as author to high-quality research papers and demonstrating potential to achieve world-leading status in their field;
- Member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, either in the UK or worldwide;
- Actively engaged in research which is genuinely grounded in pharmacy.
Who are we looking for?
Nominees will be assessed on the following criteria:
- Originality, quality, and scientific merit of outputs;
- Impact, translation, and application of research for the field of pharmacy;
- Independence, creativity, and public engagement of the researcher.
The Pharmaceutical Journal team and an external panel of contributors will take into account the individual circumstances and diversity of candidates when drawing up the final shortlist. You will also have the option to submit any information on protected characteristics, or other personal factors, that may be relevant to the application and should be taken into account when considering the nomination.
What qualifies as ‘supporting evidence’?
Examples of evidence could include:
- Journal publication record;
- Data about the publications including citations, impact factors and wider reach;
- Conference presentations;
- Invited talks and their details;
- Publications in trade and professional journals;
- Public engagement events including dates, attendee details and any feedback from attendees;
- News coverage of the research including active media engagement;
- Testimonials from colleagues and/or patients and the public;
- Local recognition of success e.g. prizes, awards.
Please ensure the evidence is as recent as possible. Incomplete evidence will be accepted and considered only in the context of the whole application.
How will my nomination be judged?
Nominations will be assessed by The Pharmaceutical Journal team and a panel of external contributors to create a shortlist.
Shortlisted candidates will be invited to submit a statement summarising their research in terms of its scientific merit and application to pharmacy (up to 1,000 words).
The shortlist will be published in The Pharmaceutical Journal.
The overall winner will receive:
- Glass trophy with inscription and formal certificate;
- Coverage of the work by The Pharmaceutical Journal, including an interview;
- Invitation to the winner to give a 30-minute presentation about their work at an RPS annual event on science.
Nominations have now closed.
You may also be interested in
The 2023 ‘Outstanding Pharmacy Early-career Researcher Award’ judging process
Atheer Awad
