By Judith Kinman, MA, Project Manager, University of Pennsylvania/Medicine Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Philadelphia, PA

The awards for the best papers published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety in the year 2003 (volume 12) were presented at the 20th International Conference of Pharmacoepidemiology & Therapeutic Risk Management held in Bordeaux, France in August. The first prize consists of a certificate and $1000, generously provided by the publisher, John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. Other winners are presented with a certificate.

The jury for the best paper prize is comprised of the two editors of Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, Ronald D. Mann, FISPE, and Brian L. Strom, FISPE, and one person chosen by the ISPE president from the pool of ISPE past presidents. This year's ISPE representative was Jacques LeLorier, FISPE, Chief of the Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomics Research Unit and Professor in the Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology of the University of Montréal.

The awards are based on four criteria: originality, clarity of presentation, methodological soundness, and public health importance. A 25-point system is used, of which 10 points are allocated for public health importance. Only original reports are eligible for the prize.

The quality of papers published in the journal continued to improve during 2003, and the selection committee, with difficulty, selected the papers for the award. The prize was awarded for the first time at the 2002 ISPE meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland. This year, the awards were presented by Dr. Strom and Professor Mann, and by Jeremy Theobald, Managing Editor of the journal.

PDS-ISPE Award Recipient Helen Seaman with Brian Strong

Dr. Seaman's current research projects include further work on assessing the risk of adverse events among women using cyproterone acetate in combination with ethinyloestradiol and the risk of adverse cardiovascular events among men prescribed cyproterone acetate to treat prostate cancer.

Ron M. C. Herings of PHARMO Institute and the Utrecht Institute for Pharmaceutical Sciences of Utrecht University in The Netherlands was another first prize winner. The title of his paper is "Increased suicide attempt rate among patients interrupting use of atypical antipsychotics" (Issue 5, July/August, p. 423-424). Joëlle A. Erkens is co-author of the paper. Dr. Herings accepted his certificate at the Bordeaux meeting.

Certificates of distinction for special excellence were awarded for three additional papers. Susan Andrade of the Department of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Rhode Island and the Meyers Primary Care Institute in Massachusetts was awarded a certificate as the first author of the paper entitled "Liver function testing in patients on HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors" (Issue 4, June, p. 307-313). Her co-authors are James G. Donahue, K. Arnold Chan, FISPE, Douglas J. Watson, and Richard Platt. Dr. Chan accepted the certificate on behalf of Dr. Andrade.

Lynn Rosenberg of the Slone Epidemiology Center of Boston University was awarded a certificate for the paper, "A case-control study of acetaminophen use in relation to the risk of first myocardial infarction in men" (Issue 6, September, p.459-465). Her co-authors are R. Sowmya Rao and Julie R. Palmer. Allen Mitchell, FISPE, of the Slone Epidemiology Center accepted the certificate on behalf of Dr. Rosenberg.

Sonia Tabacova of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was awarded a certificate as the first author of the paper, "Adverse pregnancy outcomes associated with maternal enalapril antihypertensive treatment" (Issue 8, December, p. 633-646). Her co-authors are Ruth Little, Yi Tsong, Amarilys Vega, and Carole A. Kimmel. Professor John Senior of the FDA accepted the certificate on behalf of Dr. Tabacova.

Professor Mann, in his introductory address at the awards ceremony, emphasized how the standards of the journal have risen. As a consequence, the achievement of the Best Paper Award is a very significant accomplishment. Professor Mann went on to say that the Best Paper Awards represent one further example of the happy and scientifically productive relationship that exists between ISPE, the Journal and its publishers.

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