HSR Investigator Awards

Award Guidelines

AWARD REVIEW COMMITTEES: Each award will have its own dedicated Review Panel/Committee.

PANEL COMPOSITION: The HSR Award Review Panels/Committees are appointed by the Director, HSR and comprised primarily of experienced health services researchers with VA affiliations. The Committees also include a Chair and a Scientific Program Manager with expertise in the specific award under review, both of whom are senior members of the HSR VACO-based staff. All Review Panel members are familiar with health services research, VA priorities, and HSR goals.

See below for each award description and criteria.

• HSR Best Research Paper of the Year
• Health System Impact Award
• Daniel Deykin Award for Outstanding Mentor

HSR Best Research Paper of the Year

This award is intended to honor a single article or collection of articles resulting from one or more HSR or QUERI funded investigators and represent the top 10% of publications in the field during the year under review. Articles may present, analyze, and comment on new data, or may synthesize and analyze data that have already been collected.  

Eligibility: The paper must be based upon a research study involving Veterans that was funded by HSR or QUERI and might have included a component of operations funding, or dually funded through a collaborative effort/joint RFA between the VA and an agency such as DoD or NIH.

This award is not open to previous recipients of the Under Secretary for Health Award, and only one application per VA Medical Center will be accepted.  In addition, Medical Centers may not nominate investigators for more than one HSR field award simultaneously.

Study results also must meet the following specific criteria.

1. Be important to Veterans' health and care, and to the VA Healthcare System.

• The study generated significant publicity (e.g. in briefings to VA leadership and operational partners, VA pulse, highlighted in Veterans groups, social media, etc.)

2. Include high-visibility research demonstrated through:

• Publication in a high-impact journal,
• Active dissemination of findings, and/or evidence of uptake in policy or adoption of practice/implementation
• Presentation at a national meeting.

3. Have made a substantial contribution to the field or demonstrate a novel research approach.

• Innovative, novel, groundbreaking work.
• Building scientific evidence where science is still uncertain

4. Articles must have been:

• Peer-reviewed.
• Published in a journal within 12 months prior to the nomination closing date.
• Cite the author's VA support for the research in question.

Nomination Materials

• A formal nomination letter of one single-spaced page or less, stating reasons the nominee should receive the Best Research Paper award.
• A clean copy of the paper and accompanying citation.
• Completed nomination package checklist and nomination form that includes current contact information for the nominee.

Award Package

Recipients of the award are honored with the following:

• A research-related supplement of $25,000.
• Commemorative plaque.
• A special dissemination program promoting their receipt of the award, including article highlights on the HSR site, an investigator profile, a special Cyberseminar, and a guest author opportunity on the HSR Perspectives intranet blog.

Timeline:

Nominations due in HSR/VACO: December 19, 2023

Peer reviews of nominations: Early - Mid March 2024

Decisions and notifications: Late March - Mid April, 2024

Please email completed nomination packages to Eric Enone at Eric.Enone@va.gov by COB on December 19, 2023.

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Health System Impact Award

This award honors HSR- and QUERI-funded research (with or without a component of operations funding) that has had a direct and important impact on clinical practice or clinical policy in the VA Healthcare System. Nominations should represent examples of outstanding research that have been successfully translated into VA's policy or operations, or that have otherwise had effective, system-wide implementation, and demonstrated improvements in veterans’ health or health services research.

Eligibility:  The nominee must be an investigator funded by HSR or QUERI which might include a component of operations funding, or dually funded through a collaborative effort/joint RFA between the VA and an agency such as DoD or NIH, or be a VA investigator affiliated with a COIN.

This award is not open to previous recipients of the Under Secretary for Health Award, and only one application per VA Medical Center will be accepted.  In addition, Medical Centers may not nominate investigators for more than one HSR field award simultaneously.

Specific examples of impact should include one or more of the following products. Please be sure to describe the extent of the “spread” of the impact.**

1. A decision tool or toolkit.
2. A policy (new or revised).
3. Implementation of evidenced-based practice.
       a. Describe extent of scale and spread within VA.
4. A scientific advancement adopted by other investigators in VA.
5. A high impact frequently cited publication in a high impact journal.
       a. Include the citation index.

**NOTE: The more broad the effect of impact, the greater the credit that will be assigned for the impact.  For example, a national impact will be associated with the highest amount of credit, followed by a VISN impact, with a local impact receiving the least amount of credit.

Nomination Materials

• Two letters (each not more than two pages):

• A letter from a senior VA HSR investigator describing the research impact and extent of effect (i.e., local, regional, or national level) and summarizing its value for Veterans health or the VA healthcare system as well as its sustainability (as applicable).
• A letter from a VA end-user of the research (outside of VA HSR) that describes the impact of the work on policy, and/or VA program or operational area, and/or research.

• Completed nomination package checklist and nomination form that includes current contact information for the nominee.

Award Package

Recipients of the award are honored with the following:

• Research-related supplement of $25,000.
• Commemorative plaque.
• Long-term special dissemination activities, including a Cyberseminar series, ongoing visibility and dissemination of partnered work on the HSR website, and other activities as determined appropriate.

Timeline:

Nominations due in HSR/VACO: December 19, 2023

Peer reviews of nominations: Early - Mid March 2024

Decisions and notifications: Late March - Mid April, 2024

Please email completed nomination packages to Eric Enone at Eric.Enone@va.gov by COB December 19, 2023.

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Daniel Deykin Award for Outstanding Mentor

This award honors outstanding dedication and skill in mentoring the next generation of health services researchers and the nominee should demonstrate mentoring activities that are exemplary or of high quality.

Eligibility: The nominee must have served as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator of an HSR or QUERI award to include COEs/COINs, SDPs, QUERI Projects or Centers, IIRs, PPOs and/or served as a VA investigator with outstanding track records of mentoring VA HSR CDA recipients, faculty, or trainees.

This award is not open to previous recipients of the Under Secretary for Health Award, and only one application per VA Medical Center will be accepted. In addition, Medical Centers may not nominate investigators for more than one HSR field award simultaneously.

Specific criteria that must be met for this award are listed below.

1. Guiding mentees toward a comprehensive understanding of research's impact on a unique population (Veterans).
   • E.g., Providing guidance and involvement in veteran engagement activities or working with mentees to nominate veterans for veteran focused work groups of relevance to research.
2. Fostering mentee's appreciation and necessity for communication with VA system stakeholders, including Veterans and VHA executive decision-makers.
   • E.g., Mentoring activity around orientations to VA, ORD and HSR systems.
3. Developing and exposing mentees to career opportunities both internal and external to VA.
4. Supporting a diverse set of mentees over the course of the mentor's career.
5. Maintaining ongoing, regular and meaningful contact with mentees.
6. Serving as a role model in leadership, professionalism, integrity and life balance.
7. Guiding mentees to become fully independent investigators in their respective areas.

Nomination Materials

• Curriculum Vitae of nominee. Please include a table of individuals mentored either as part of the CV or as a supplement to the CV. For each individual mentored, the table should reflect:
  • time frame of mentoring
  • rank or role of the mentee during the mentoring (Fellow, Career Development Awardee, Assistant Professor, etc.)
  • relationship to the mentee, if formal (primary mentor, secondary mentor, etc.)
  • reference to products of mentoring (papers, awards, grant applications)
  • current role or academic rank of any former mentee(s)
• A letter of Nomination from an HSR colleague, COIN Director, ACOS or other member of the local leadership..

• The letter should A) summarize the breadth of individuals mentored; and B) should describe observations of the quality of the mentoring and the significance and impact of the mentoring across all those mentored for the VA, for Veterans, and for science and healthcare in general.

• Two additional letters of support from individuals who were mentored by the nominee in the past, one of whom represents the most successful former mentee. These letters should describe the mentoring relationship and the quality of mentoring using specific examples to illustrate the importance of the mentoring to the mentee's career.

• Each support letter should demonstrate impact by describing papers, awards and grants, and professional advancement that were attained with guidance or support from the mentor.

• Completed nomination package checklist and nomination form that includes current contact information for the nominee

Award Package

Recipients of the award are honored with the following:

• Research-related supplement of $25,000
• Commemorative plaque
• A special dissemination program promoting the receipt of the award that might include: article highlights on the HSR site, an investigator profile, a special Cyberseminar, a guest author opportunity on the HSR Perspectives intranet blog, and other activities as determined appropriate

Timeline:

Nominations due in HSR/VACO: December 19, 2023

Peer reviews of nominations: Early - Mid March 2024

Decisions and notifications: Late March - Mid April, 2024

Please email completed nomination packages to Eric Enone at Eric.Enone@va.gov by COB on December 19, 2023.

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