Announcement for Scholarships for 2008

The Lawson Wilkins Pediatric Endocrine Society (LWPES) is committed to improving the care of children with endocrine disease worldwide. One means to accomplish this objective is to make it possible for colleagues in pediatric endocrinology from foreign countries to visit and work in the clinics and laboratories of LWPES members and to attend the annual meeting of the LWPES. While some colleagues from foreign countries are able to make such visits, visitors to pediatric endocrine units in North America are frequently senior members of pediatric endocrine groups and often come from economically advantaged countries. Few opportunities for such visits are afforded to younger colleagues and to individuals from countries with limited resources. The LWPES International Scholars Program is intended, in so far as possible, to help in correcting this problem.

Objectives Of The Program:
Basic tenets of the LWPES International Scholars Program are that foreign applicants eligible for the awards will be identified by LWPES members; the applicant and the LWPES member will prepare the application jointly; and if the applicant receives the award, the LWPES member will serve as host for the awardee while he/she is in North America. The host and the awardee will define the awardee’s educational goals for the visit and will devise a program for attaining these goals. The goals might include observation in the host’s clinics, opportunities for library research and for preparation of manuscripts, acquisition of techniques used in the host’s laboratory, and development of long-term collaborative projects between the awardee and the host.

In addition to the visit in the host’s endocrine unit, the awardee will attend the annual meeting of the LWPES. It will be necessary, therefore, for the time spent by the awardee in the host’s endocrine unit to coincide with the LWPES meeting. It is intended that the awardee be present in North America for at least 4 weeks, but for no more than 3 months. The 4 week minimum will allow sufficient time for the awardee to have a meaningful visit in the host’s unit, considering that the awardee will also be expected to spend up to 1 week at the annual meeting of the LWPES and, if desired, in the joint meetings of the Pediatric Academic Societies–PAS: the American Pediatric Society-APS, the Society for Pediatric Research-SPR, and the Ambulatory Pediatric Association-APA). The 3 month maximum period is selected to avoid giving the awards to individuals who are residing in the USA or Canada, who are receiving salaries from USA or Canadian institutions, or who are in prolonged sabbaticals from their home countries. Reports on the visit, from the applicant and the sponsor, will be submitted to the scholarship committee after the visit.

Amount of the Award:
In 2008 there will be up to three selected LWPES International Scholars. Each award will have a value of US$8,000 (Eight thousand US dollars), which should cover all of the awardee’s travel expenses to the US and a portion of his/her subsistence. The host will be expected to provide any additional needed support.

Qualifications of the Award Recipient:
Click Here to view the Qualifications Of The Award Recipient (PDF 18K)

Award Application:
Click Here To Download Award Application (PDF 25K)

For additional information contact:
Alfonso Vargas, M.D.
Chairman, LWPES International Scholars Program Committee
Department of Pediatrics – Division of Endocrinology
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center - School of Medicine
Children’s Hospital
200 Henry Clay Avenue, Research and Education Bldg, Suite 4233
New Orleans, LA 70118-2822 – USA
TEL (504) 896-9282
FAX (504) 894-5139
E-mail: avarga@lsuhsc.edu