ERA awards and awards’ protocol

I. General

1. The SAB will be in charge of evaluating the candidates for the ERA Awards with the exception of the Outstanding contribution to the ERA and the Award for excellence in the field of Sustainable Nephrology
2. When applicable, the ERA Council will be in charge of deciding who will be the winners of the Awards based on the pre-selection done by the SAB
3. No Council or SAB current member can be a candidate for the Awards during their term
4. A person can receive the Award only once, independently of the category
5. The Council will be in charge of deciding the final number of Awards granted each year

II. Categories

The Awards are assigned in the following categories:

1. Outstanding clinical contributions to nephrology and/or dialysis and/or transplantation
2. Outstanding basic science contributions to nephrology and/or dialysis and/or transplantation
3. Research excellence in nephrology (clinical or basic science)
4. Outstanding contribution to the ERA
5. Excellence in the field of Sustainable Nephrology
6. Awards for young investigators:

• • Young investigator award for basic science
  • Young investigator award for translational science
  • Young investigator award for clinical science

III. Submission of candidates

The candidates for the Awards are normally submitted through an open call, with the exception of these two awards: Outstanding contribution to the ERA and Excellence in the field of Sustainable nephrology.
For all the Awards both SAB and the Council can also propose candidates .
Self-candidacy is available for the Young investigator awards only. Candidates will submit their candidacy by filling in the form available in the open call. Nominees must be ERA Full members.
For the categories: Outstanding clinical contributions, Outstanding basic science contributions, and Research excellence any ERA member can propose names of outstanding colleagues who could be nominated. Nominees must be ERA members.
Candidates for the awards for Outstanding contribution to the ERA and Excellence in the field of Sustainable nephrology will be directly nominated by the Council.

IV. Award parameters

1. Awards for Young Investigators

The candidates must have:

• Presented an oral presentation at an international conference to present their own data
• Be 40 years old or younger at the time of receiving the Award. An extension of the age limit can be considered if the applicant’s career has been interrupted due to childcare or severe illness, in any case this extension cannot exceed 2 years
• Be ERA Full members
• Have at least 5 first/last author papers in kidney research related studies (renal medicine) Journals
• Have had an accepted abstract at an ERA Congress

The evaluation will be based on the candidate’s application form, the papers and the IF of the Journals they are published in and their H-Index (calculated using Web of Science).

2. Outstanding clinical contributions, Outstanding basic science contributions, Research excellence in nephrology

The minimum parameters are:

• He/She must be an ERA member
• He/She must be a person well known and worthy of receiving the Award based on exceptional achievements in the fields of the Award

IMPORTANT. For the Research Excellence Award there is an additional requirement: the candidate must be between 41 and 60 years of age in the year of the nomination.

The evaluation will be based on:

• Publications published in Journals with a high Impact Factor
• Hirsh Index (calculated using the Web of Science)
• Lectures in international meetings
• Any other awards/recognitions received
• Eventual seminal discovery with fundamental impact on kidney patient care or on understanding of kidney physiology/disease

3. Outstanding Contribution to the ERA

For the Outstanding Contribution to the ERA the recognition should be reserved for those ERA Members who have made a significant positive impact on ERA or its members through their leadership, volunteerism and commitment. This award should be the reserved to individuals whose career has had a positive and lasting impact on the European Renal Association. Candidates must be ERA members.

4. Excellence in the field of Sustainable Nephrology

For the Excellence in the field of Sustainable Nephrology the recognition should be reserved to individuals, organisations or health initiatives that have made significant contributions to the development and promotion of environmentally sustainable practices within nephrology.

V. Awards notification procedure and benefits

1. The Council will nominate the awardees for the Outstanding contribution to the ERA and for the Excellence in the field of Sustainable Nephrology as well as evaluate those selected by the SAB following the open calls. Finally, the Council will select all the Award winners during the Spring Council meeting
2. The names of the winner(s) will be printed in the Annual Report and posted in a specific page on the ERA website
3. The Award(s) and diploma(s) will be given by the ERA President during the Welcome Ceremony of the annual ERA Congress according to the “Award Protocol” (see below)
4. The winner(s) of the Award(s) will be an invited guest to the ERA Congress, receiving VIP accommodation (i.e. travel reimbursement; 3 nights in faculty hotel; free congress membership – for more details see the “Specifications for Organising the ERA’s Congresses and Meetings”)
5. The winner/winners of the “Awards for young investigators” will also receive a prize of EUR 10,000.00 each; they will receive three years of free ERA Membership (Junior membership) and will be able to become a member of the Board of a Working Group of their choice
6. The winner/winners of the “Awards for young investigators” will also be given a talk at the annual ERA Congress

AWARD PROTOCOL

1. The ERA Award(s), the Diploma(s) and the prize will be given during the Welcome Ceremony of the ERA Congress by the ERA President
2. This will be done after the speeches of the Local Congress President any eventual local authority and the ERA President, and, therefore, before the Opening Lecture
3. The ERA President will give all the Awards, the Diplomas and the prize/prizes after a short description of the reasons behind the selection of the winner
4. The reasons for giving the Award to a specific person will be prepared by the ERA President

IMPORTANT. All Award winners should be invited, with their accompanying persons, to the President’s Dinner that is held during the Congress when the Award is granted to them.

Last update: November 2023