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Melissa and Pete Shepherd, Jr., PhD.

New Investigator Prize

The New Investigator Prize honors Melissa and Pete Shepherd, Jr., PhD for their lifelong support of students and young researchers in their education and scientific endeavors.

Awardees:

This prize will be awarded annually to a UMMC trainee for outstanding contributions to physiology research. Eligible trainees will include medical students, dental students, graduate students, residents, and post-doctoral fellows who have conducted meritorius physiology reserach.

Selection of Awardee:

Each year a description of the Melissa and Pete Shepherd, Jr., PhD. New Investigator Prize and the deadline for applications will be formally announced campus wide via the UMMC Office of Marketing and Communications, the Office of Research, and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics. A committee of faculty members with expertise in physiology will make a recommendation for the award recipeitn using predetermined criteria that include (1) an abstract presented or accepted for presentation at a national scientific meeting in the past year, or (2) a paper published or accepted for publication in the past year.

Prize:

The award will include a cash prize and stipend that could, for example, cover the following expenses: expenses for attending a professionsal conference to present research findings, educational textbooks, or memberships to professional organizations. A plaque will be presented to the award recipient at the Annual UMMC Research Day or UMMC Honors Day.

Eligibility and Submission Requirements

All submissions will be sent to physiology@umc.edu
Deadlines for submissions: September 5, 2025

• All pre-doctoral students (dental,medical, and graduate students), residents, and post-doctoral fellows may apply for this award
• The candidate can submit only one abstract or publication per year.
• All work must represent work conducted at UMMC and can be:
  • A manuscript published or accepted for publication in the last year.
  • An abstract presented or accepted for presentation at a scientific conference within the last year.
• Previous winners are not eligible to re-enter the competition at the same level of training. However, if awarded as a pre-doctoral student (dental, medical, or graduate student) they may reapply as a post-doctoral fellow or resident at UMMC, if applicable.

I. Abstract and Publication Guidelines 

25% of Total Score

The overall quality of abstract/publication will be assessed based on the following criteria: hypothesis/aims, technical approach, results, conclusions, and signifigance of the research: (25 points total).

For abstract submissions, each abstract should include a title, author names and departmental and institutional affiliation. Word count including title, names, affiliations and body of the abstract should not exceed one page.

II. One-Page Letter

25% of Total Score

A one-page letter (written by the applicant and separate from the abstract or publication) should address the following components:

• Career goals- Future professional aspirations (5 points)
• Future research goals- Scientific goals and focus area (5 points)
• Role in the research- Specific contributions of the applicant to the work described in the abstract or publication (5 points)
• Importance of the research- Should not repeat the abstract (5 points)
• Training level confirmation- Indicate their level of training (5 points)

The letter must be co-signed by the applicant's research mentor.

III. Curriculum Vitae (CV)

An updated CV of the applicant must be included. The CV will be evaluated as part of the scoring criteria below.

Scoring Criteria: 

50% of Total Score

• Relevance of the science to the field of Physiology
• Originality/Topicality
• Clinical or Discovery Relevance
• Potential Impact
• Trainee's productivity or potential for productivity based on their CV
• Innovation
• The trainee's contribution to the development of the:
  • Hypothesis
  • Experimental design
  • Data collection/analysis and statistics
  • Drafting of submitted abstract or publication
• Abstract only: Potential for publication as a peer review research manuscript.