American Association for the History of Medicine Awards and Prizes, 2019

Osler Medal Essay Contest, 2019: The William Osler Medal is awarded annually for the best unpublished essay on a medical historical topic written by a student enrolled in a school of medicine or osteopathy in the United States or Canada. First awarded in 1942, the medal commemorates Sir William Osler, who stimulated an interest in the humanities among medical students and physicians. The writer of the winning essay will be invited to attend the 2019 AAHM meeting, April 25–28, 2019, in Columbus, OH, where the medal will be conferred. Reasonable travel expenses will be provided, as will a two-year complimentary membership in the AAHM. If the Osler Medal Committee also selects an essay for honorable mention, its author will receive a certificate and a two-year complimentary membership in the association.

All students who are candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy, or are graduates of the class of 2018, are eligible. The essay must have been written while the entrant was a student in good standing. Students are not eligible to compete for the Osler Medal if they have completed at least one full year of graduate training in history, the history of science or medicine, or the humanities or social sciences by the closing date of the competition. Medical students who have been enrolled in a graduate program in history or a related discipline should submit their essays to the Shryock competition. No student should submit an essay to both competitions in the same year. Essays that have been awarded an Honorable Mention are not eligible for resubmission.

Essays may pertain to the historical development of a contemporary medical problem, or to a topic within the health sciences related to a discrete period in the past and should demonstrate either original research or an unusual appreciation and understanding of the problems discussed. The essay (maximum 9,000 words, including endnotes) must be entirely the work of one contestant.

Complete contest information may be viewed on the AAHM website (www.histmed.org/about/Awards) or obtained from the Osler Medal Committee Chair: Carla Keirns, ckeirns@kumc.edu. Entries must be postmarked or submitted electronically via e-mail (which is the preferred method of submission) by January 28, 2019.

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Shryock Medal Essay Contest, 2019: Graduate students are invited to enter the Shryock Medal Essay Contest. The medal honors Richard Harrison Shryock (1893–1972), a pioneer among historians interested in the history of medicine. The award is given for an outstanding, unpublished essay by a single author on any topic in the history of medicine. The essay (maximum 12,000 words, including endnotes) must be the result of original research or show an unusual appreciation and understanding of problems in the history of medicine. In particular, the committee will judge essays on the quality of writing, appropriate use of sources, and ability to address themes of historical significance.

The winner will be invited to attend the 2019 meeting of the association, Thursday–Sunday, April 25–28, 2019, in Columbus, OH, where the medal will be conferred. Reasonable travel expenses for the winner will be provided, as well as a two-year complimentary membership in the AAHM. If the Shryock Medal Committee also selects an essay for honorable mention, its author will receive a certificate and a two-year complimentary membership in the AAHM.

This competition is open to students enrolled in a graduate program in history or a related discipline at the time of submission. Medical students who have been enrolled in such a program should submit their essays to the Shryock competition. Essays must be in English. No student should submit an essay to both competitions in the same year. Essays that have been awarded an Honorable Mention are not eligible for resubmission.

Complete contest information may be viewed on the AAHM website (www.histmed.org/about/awards) or obtained from the Shryock Medal Committee Chair: Susan Lamb, slamb@uottawa.ca.

Essays must be postmarked or submitted electronically via e-mail (which is the preferred method of submission) no later than January 18, 2019.

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J. Worth Estes Award, 2019: This award was established in honor of J. Worth Estes, M.D., in recognition of his many invaluable contributions to the American Association for the History of Medicine and to scholarship in the history of medicine. The award is made annually for the best published paper in the history of pharmacology during the previous two years, whether appearing in a journal or a book collection of papers. The choice of topic reflects Worth Estes’ long tenure as Professor of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics at Boston University and his own scholarship in the history of pharmacology.

For the purpose of this award, the history of pharmacology will be defined broadly to include ancient and traditional materia medica, folk medicines, herbal medicines, the pharmaceuticals of the modern era, pharmaceutics, and the like. It shall encompass the discovery of medicaments, basic investigations about them, their characteristics and properties, their preparation and marketing, and their therapeutic applications.

While the committee will be monitoring relevant journals and books where such papers might appear, they welcome nominations of papers that would be eligible for consideration. The nomination should consist of a letter citing the work nominated along with a copy of the paper. For the current award, candidate papers will be those published in 2017 and 2018. Papers in languages other than English should be accompanied by a translation or detailed precis. Nominations should be directed to the Chair of the Committee, Cynthia Connolly, cac1@nursing.upenn.edu, and must be postmarked or submitted electronically via e-mail (which is the preferred method of submission) no later than January 18, 2019.

The winner will be invited to attend the 2019 meeting of the association, April 25–28, 2019 in Columbus, OH, where the award will be conferred.

Reasonable travel expenses for the winner will be provided. As a result of a generous contribution in honor of Worth Estes from a member of the association, the award will be accompanied by a $500 check.

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Jack D. Pressman-Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Development Award in 20th Century History of Medicine or Biomedical Sciences, 2019: This award honors Jack D. Pressman, Ph.D., a distinguished historian of medicine and associate professor of the History of the Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, at the time of his early and unexpected death in June 1997. The award and stipend of $1,000 is given yearly for outstanding work in twentieth-century history of medicine or medical biomedical sciences, as demonstrated by the completion of the Ph.D. and a proposal to turn the dissertation into a publishable monograph. The Ph.D. must have been completed and the degree granted within the last five years (i.e., 2014–2018). The application must include a curriculum vitae, the dissertation abstract, a one-page summary of the proposed book; a description (not exceeding two pages) of the work to be undertaken for publication; and two letters of support from faculty members knowledgeable about the applicant’s dissertation.

The award will be presented at the 2019 meeting of the association, to be held April 25–28, 2019, in Columbus, OH. Reasonable travel expenses will be provided. The application, including all supporting materials, must be submitted by December 31, 2018. Submissions and/or questions should be directed to the Chair of the Pressman–Burroughs Wellcome Committee, Howard Kushner, at hkushne@emory.edu. More information may be obtained from the AAHM website (www.histmed.org/about/ awards) or from the committee chair.

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Genevieve Miller Lifetime Achievement Award, 2019: The American Association for the History of Medicine established the lifetime achievement award in 1988; the first recipients were Saul Jarcho, Lester King, and Owsei Temkin. The award was named for Genevieve Miller in 2014 to honor of her contributions to the history of medicine and the association. The award is given annually to a member of the association who has retired from regular institutional affiliation or practice, with a distinguished record of support for the history of medicine over many years, and who has made continuing scholarly contributions of a distinguished nature. Barron Lerner, chair of the Genevieve Miller Lifetime Achievement Award Committee, welcomes nominations for the award, at the following e-mail address: barron.lerner@nyumc.org. Nominations for this award should include at least one letter of nomination outlining the nominee’s continuing contributions to the field and a curriculum vitae or other biographical information. Deadline for nominations: October 31, 2018. Electronic submissions are preferred.

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The George Rosen Prize, 2019: The George Rosen Prize is awarded in odd years to one or more authors/creators of an article, essay, edited volume, museum exhibition, film, or other significant contribution to the history of public health or the history of social medicine published or created in the five calendar years preceding the award’s nomination deadline, i.e. from 2013 to 2018. “Social medicine” here refers to historical efforts to heal, relieve, or prevent diseases arising inherently from social circumstances and is intended to be distinct from the “social history of medicine.” In this context, “social” refers to the perspective of the historical actors and not to the perspective or methods of the historian. The award will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine, in Columbus, OH, April 25–28, 2019.

The award is named in honor of George Rosen, physician, public health administrator, past-president of the AAHM, and a major contributor to the history of social medicine. The AAHM Council established the award in 2014 thanks to the generosity of Susan Rosen Koslow. Further information is available at http://www.histmed.org/about/awards. The Chair of the 2018–2019 Rosen Prize Committee, Graham Mooney, welcomes suggestions of articles, films, or other significant scholarly endeavors to consider for the award that are not singly or jointly authored historical monographs (these will be eligible for the Rosen Prize next year). Publishers nominating an edited volume must send a copy to each member of the committee.

To nominate materials and to obtain mailing addresses of all committee members, contact Graham Mooney, chair of the George Rosen Prize Committee, at gmooney3@jhmi.edu. Deadline for submissions: October 31, 2018.

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The William H. Welch Medal, 2019. The William H. Welch Award is awarded to one or more authors of a book (excluding edited volumes) of outstanding scholarly merit in the field of medical history published during the five calendar years preceding the award. Hence, books published during 2013–2017 inclusively will be eligible for the medal to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the History of Medicine, in Columbus, OH, April 25–28, 2019.

The award is named in honor of a major American figure in the history of medicine and public health, who was also one of the first faculty members at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. The medal was first presented in 1950 to Henry Sigerist. A list of subsequently awarded authors and their scholarship can be found at: http://www.histmed.org/about/awards/welch-medal/welch-medal-winners. The chair of the 2018–2019 Welch Medal Committee, Joseph Gabriel, welcomes suggestions of books to consider for the award. Publishers nominating a book must send a copy to each member of the committee.

To nominate a book and to obtain mailing addresses of all committee members, contact via phone or e-mail: Joseph Gabriel, College of Medicine, Florida State University, 1115 West Call Street, Tallahassee, FL 32306–4300, (805) 645–1542, joseph.gabriel@med.fsu.edu.

Deadline for nominations: October 31, 2018. Previously nominated eligible books must be renominated; they will not be considered automatically.