Washington, D.C. – Nominations are now being accepted for the most prestigious awards available in the field of gambling research. Sponsored by the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG), the Scientific Achievement Awards will be presented at a special event during the 6th Annual NCRG Conference on Gambling and Addiction: Finding Common Ground on Prevention, Policy and Treatment scheduled for Dec. 7-8 at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, NV.
The NCRG Scientific Achievement Awards, offered in the categories of Young Investigator Award and Senior Investigator Award, were started in 2002 to recognize distinguished contributions to the field of disordered gambling research. Recipients receive monetary awards as well as travel and registration for the conference.
The Young Investigator Award recognizes excellence in scientific contributions to the field of gambling studies by a researcher whose advanced academic or professional degree was received within the past ten years. Previous recipients include Nancy Petry, Ph.D., University of Connecticut School of Medicine; Marc Potenza, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University; Renee Cunningham-Williams, Ph.D. (Honorable Mention), Washington University School of Medicine; and Jon E. Grant, J.D., M.D., M.P.H., Brown University.
The Senior Investigator Award honors an investigator whose body of work has advanced the field of gambling-related research, leading to important advances, discoveries or developments. This award has been presented to Robert Custer, M.D., U.S. Veterans Administration, posthumously; Robert Ladouceur, Ph.D., Université Laval; and Alexander Blaszczynski, Ph.D., University of Sydney.
All submitted nominations are reviewed by an independent committee of distinguished leaders in the field of addictions and gambling research chaired by Dr. Joseph T. Coyle, Eben S. Draper professor of psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.
Nominations are due by Sept. 12, 2005, and award recipients will be notified no later than Oct. 7, 2005. Complete nomination guidelines are available in the request for nominations.
The NCRG, the only national organization devoted exclusively to public education about and funding of peer-reviewed research on disordered gambling, was established in 1996. The NCRG supports the finest peer-reviewed basic and applied research on gambling disorders; encourages the application of new research findings to improve prevention, diagnostic intervention and treatment strategies; and enhances public awareness of pathological and youth gambling. To date, the casino industry and related businesses have committed more than $15 million to this effort, and the NCRG has issued more than $8 million in support of groundbreaking research on gambling disorders.
