Cefic-LRI Innovative Science Award 2019 call now open!

European-based early career scientists can now apply for the 2019 Innovative Science Award, a €100.000 prize to support promising new research in the field of environmental toxicology.  This year’s call focuses on chemical substances that bind to soil and sediments very strongly, also known as non-extractable residues (NERs).

“There is uncertainty about the risks associated with NERs and their persistence in the environment. Chemicals released into the environment often end up binding strongly to terrestrial soil and aquatic sediments and remain trapped unless an event - such as degradation - significantly changes the nature of the compound or the structure of the matrix to which they are bound” says Dr Océane Albert, Long-range Research Initiative (LRI) Programme Manager.

In 2018, the European Chemical Agency (ECHA) released a Technical and Scientific Report reviewing the state-of-science on the role of NERs and identified several technical challenges and directions for future research.

“Cefic-LRI aims to contribute to the research by supporting early career scientists with out-of-the-box thinking who can advance the science in this area”, concluded Dr Albert.

Innovative science
The Cefic-LRI Award is intended for a European-based scientist with less than ten years post-doctoral experience. Active involvement in interdisciplinary research, current academic track record, and access to appropriate networks will be considered in the selection. There is no age limit for applicants. Previous award winners are not eligible to apply.

The award is offered by the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), in conjunction with the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), the Association of European Toxicologists and European Societies of Toxicology (EUROTOX), and the International Society of Exposure Sciences (ISES). Application details are available through the Cefic-LRI website.

How does it work?
In January every year, the topic for that year's award is announced with a call for entries on the LRI website. This year, applicants must submit a  two-page proposal by 24 March 2019. Short-listed researchers are then requested to send in a more detailed description of their work, after which the three finalists are selected to present their proposal before a jury panel in Brussels. The LRI Innovative Science Award is officially presented at the LRI Annual Workshop in November, and the Awardee is invited to present the results of the research supported by the Award at the LRI Annual Workshop the following year.

Learn more about the Cefic-LRI Award by watching the video on the 2018 Award Ceremony below.



For more information on the topic and on how to apply, please visit the Cefic-LRI Award 2019 web page, or send an email to the LRI secretariat at Cefic.

More rebel thinkers required for 2017 LRI Award!

Are you a real rebel thinker? Do you have a great idea for novel research in human health or environmental risk assessment? Then apply now for the Cefic-LRI Innovative Science Award 2017. But be quick - the closing date for applications is 19 March 2017.

The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), in conjunction with the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), ), the Association of European Toxicologists and European Societies of Toxicology (EUROTOX), and the International Society of Exposure Sciences (ISES) is offering a €100,000 award to support promising new research in the field of dose-response of synergy in combined exposure to humans or environmental species. But you must apply by 19 March 2017!

New approaches to synergy needed
The risk assessment of combined exposures to multiple chemicals is largely based on the assumption that effects of chemicals acting via the same Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) / Mode of Action (MoA) can be estimated based on dose-addition, and that different AOPs/MoAs can be accounted for by response-addition models. The interaction of multiple chemicals that result in more-than-additive adverse effects (‘synergy’) is assumed to be rare and is mostly described for toxicokinetic interactions of pharmaceuticals at high doses.

Beyond the question of whether synergy can occur or not, the synergy dose-response is highly relevant for the risk assessment of moderate to low co-exposures to either humans or environmental species. But today our knowledge on the relevance of both exposure levels and mixture ratios on the occurrence and degree of synergy is limited.

So for 2017 the LRI Award is looking for new approaches and techniques that, in characterising synergy dose-response, will improve risk assessment of chemical co-exposures at environmentally relevant exposure levels. These could include:

• Experimental approaches to examine the dose-response of more-than-additive interactions of chemicals in relevant models of environmental or human health effect assessment
• Structure-activity modelling
• Mathematical modelling to integrate mechanistic and/or kinetic knowledge and experimental data from different models

Award objectives
The objective of this LRI Award is to stimulate innovative research, ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking and new approaches which will advance the development and application of new and existing approaches in the assessment of chemical safety.

The research should be complementary to the Long-range Research Initiative’s (LRI) objectives. LRI is a chemical industry funded programme that aims at enhancing scientific knowledge to help protect health and the environment.

The award is intended for a European-based scientist with less than ten years post-doctoral experience. Active involvement in interdisciplinary research, current academic track record, and access to appropriate networks will be considered in the selection. There is no age limit for applicants.

Applicants must submit a two-page project proposal by mid- March. Short-listed researchers are then requested to send in a more detailed description of their work, after which the three finalists are selected to present their proposal before a jury panel in Brussels. This year the final selection in Brussels will be on June 2017.

The winning proposal of the LRI Innovative Science Award will be officially presented at the LRI Annual Workshop on 15 November 2017. The 2017 Awardee will be expected to present the results of the research supported by the Award at the LRI Annual Workshop in November 2018.

The Cefic-LRI Innovative Science Award was established in 2004 to inspire highly innovative and industry relevant projects in biomedical toxicology and ecotoxicology led by promisingly early career scientists. The prize of € 100 000 has been awarded annually ever since - boosting the careers of twelve younger European scientists in the challenging fields with which LRI is engaged.

For more details on the Cefic-LRI award and how to apply visit the awards web page or email the Cefic-LRI secretariat.

What is LRI?

The Long-range Research Initiative (LRI) programme is a major voluntary initiative of the European chemical industry to support the long-term sustainability of its sector and European society. Through the programme we hope to identify the hazards posed by chemicals and improve the methods available for assessing the associated risks.

The LRI sponsors high-quality research of a standard publishable in a reputable peer-reviewed journal, and seeks to provide sound scientific advice on which industry and regulatory bodies can draw-on to respond quickly and accurately to public concerns.

More rebel thinkers required!

Are you a real rebel thinker? Do you have a good idea for novel research in human health or environmental risk assessment? Then you can help your ideas come alive with the Cefic-LRI Innovative Science Award 2016. Your idea could be worth € 100 000! But be quick - the closing date for applications is 18 March 2016.

The European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic), in conjunction with Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Federation of Toxicologists and European Societies of Toxicology (EUROTOX), International Society of Exposure Scientists (ISES) and Chemical Week, is offering a €100,000 award to support promising new research in the field of novel approaches to the characterisation of molecular initiating events, or other key events, in pathways for human and environmental toxicity. But you must apply by 18 March 2016!

The award judges will be looking for innovative research ideas, focused either on human health or environmental safety, which can pioneer new approaches to identifying and characterising molecular initiating events (MIEs) and other key events or biomarkers that are relevant for important new Adverse Outcome Pathways (AOPs).

In 2012 the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) launched a programme for the definition of AOPs as analytical constructs that describe series of linked events that are causally related and that lead to an adverse health outcome or environmental effect at the tissue, organism or population level. Such AOPs characteristically describe MIEs and other subsequent key events on the pathway to an adverse outcome.

The objective of the Cefic-LRI Innovative Science Award is to stimulate innovative research, "out-of-the-box" thinking and new approaches which will advance the assessment of hazardous substances.

The Cefic-LRI Innovative Science Award was established in 2004 to inspire highly innovative and industry relevant projects in biomedical toxicology and ecotoxicology led by promisingly early career scientists. The prize of € 100 000 has been awarded annually ever since - boosting the careers of twelve younger European scientists in the challenging research fields with which LRI is engaged.

Who can apply? 
The award is intended for a European-based scientist with less than ten years of research experience after their doctoral degree. Active involvement in interdisciplinary research, their current academic track record, and access to appropriate networks will be considered in the selection of the finalists.

Valid entries submitted by end-of-play on 18 March will be assessed by a panel of judges to select three finalists, who will be invited to present their ideas in Brussels on 6 June 2016, where the ultimate winner will be decided.

The LRI Innovative Science Award will be officially presented at the LRI Annual Workshop on 16 November 2016 and the 2016 Awardee will be expected to present the results of his or her research at the LRI Annual Workshop in November 2017.

For more details on the Cefic-LRI award and how to apply visit the awards webpage.

What is LRI?
The Long-range Research Initiative (LRI) programme is a major voluntary initiative of the European chemical industry to support the long-term sustainability of its sector and European society. Through the programme we hope to identify the hazards posed by chemicals and improve the methods available for assessing the associated risks.

The LRI sponsors high-quality research of a standard publishable in a reputable peer-reviewed journal, and seeks to provide sound scientific advice on which industry and regulatory bodies can draw-on to respond quickly and accurately to the public's concerns.