Awards: what do they mean?

Geoffrey A. Donnan

At the recent European Stroke Congress in Nice, Stephen Davis

and I were fortunate enough to be the recipients of the ‘Johann

Jacob Wepfer Award’, which honors scientists for outstanding sci-

entific work in the field of cerebrovascular diseases and significant

contributions to knowledge about treatment of acute stroke.

While this was a humbling experience for both of us, it did make

me consider the idea of awards in general; what they mean? Why

we value them? And how they impact on academic careers? This

topic, that we do not often openly discuss, is worth putting into a

career context for young investigators.

There is no doubt that awards at various stages of one’s career

help at a number of levels. Most universities value these as an

index of excellence, and granting bodies consider them in the

same vein. Awards also provide important feedback to individuals

during their career ensuring they are making satisfactory prog-

ress. Pleasingly, there are many more awards now for investigators

across the whole career span, rather than awards reserved for

those near the end of their careers. Stephen Davis and I, along

with many others, have actively promoted the idea of increasing

the number of awards, to reflect the increasing participation in

global stroke research. We need to recognize that we live in a

competitive environment. Awards for junior and mid-level

investigators are protean in other fields; we would be remiss in not

creating the same competitive opportunities in stroke.

So awards are important; however, the most important driver

in any academic’s life needs to be the pursuit of knowledge. If

awards or other accolades come as a consequence of knowledge

generation, then this is an added bonus. It’s important to note

that the large bulk of important information generated from

research goes unrecognized. At a more local level, acknowledg-

ment of work well done, even if not groundbreaking, needs to be

noted and praised by team leaders and drivers of collaborations as

an important part of today’s more collaborative research environ-

ment. It is easy to see that successful teams and collaborative

groups operate using these very principles, and this is an obvious

driver of their success.

In a similar vein, we are delighted to announce that we have

created a new section in IJS for young stroke professionals. We see

a need to provide a vehicle for young investigators to globally

connect in a way that will enhance future collaborative research

efforts. The talented Young Investigator Atte Meretoja, together

with international colleagues who have been appointed to the

World Stroke Organization Young Stroke Professionals Commit-

tee, will head the section. These are the future of stroke globally,

and it is a pleasure to provide a platform for them to speak to each

and the world.DOI: 10.1111/ijs.12281

And enjoy exclusive benefits:

Join us in the global fightagainst stroke

www.world-stroke.org

Editorial

© 2014 World Stroke Organization Vol 9, June 2014, 393 393