Nominations Sought for Environmental Health Sciences
‘Science Communication Fellows’
Due Date: September 30, 2008

Environmental Health Sciences (EHS), publisher of EnvironmentalHealthNews.org and DailyClimate.org, seeks nominations for Science Communication Fellows. The 12-month appointments are open to postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty at research universities that have active research programs related to environmental health sciences.

Most of the public and many reporters are unaware of how profoundly the environmental health sciences have advanced in the past decade, and they often lack a basic understanding of the significance or context of new results. The Science Communication Fellows program addresses this gap, working with up to 10 researchers a year to develop and hone their communication and outreach skills early in their professional careers, while also publishing accessible summaries of important new research findings.

Nominations are being accepted now for the competitive, one-year fellowships that will further enhance the researchers’ communication skills and offer a strong peer network with current and past Fellows. Fellowship training provides participants tools with which to communicate environmental health research to the media, policy makers and the public.

Duties: With assistance from skilled communication experts and EHS staff, Science Communication Fellows appointed for the 2009 calendar year will:

• Identify every month two important new scientific findings within his or her area of expertise.
• Submit short written summaries that translate the findings for reporters and a broader public.
• Report on those findings via a monthly conference call.
• Post the summaries and contribute to a group blog critiquing media coverage of environmental health findings.
• Attend a two-day national conference to meet each other and Environmental Health Sciences staff, network with professionals in related fields, attend media training and discuss research and policy issues in environmental health.

Compensation: $5,000 stipend and paid expenses for media training conference.

Nomination: Department chairs or deans will nominate successful candidates. Applications are due September 30, 2008, and must be submitted electronically to sciencefellows@environmentalhealthnews.org. More information is available online at http://www.environmentalhealthnews.org/nomination.html. Applications should include:
1) a letter of recommendation from the applicant's department chair or dean;
2) a letter from the nominee describing qualifications and why he or she wishes to participate; and
3) the nominee’s CV with three sample publications in PDF format.

Selection and Notification: A selection committee will review nominations and select up to 10 fellows for the 2009 calendar year. Participants will be notified before December 15, 2008.

Selection Committee: Lynn R. Goldman, Johns Hopkins University; Louis J. Guillette, Jr., University of Florida-Gainesville; Patricia A. Hunt, Washington State University; Richard J. Jackson, University of Michigan; Shuk-me Ho, University of Cincinnati; Shanna H. Swan, University of Rochester; and Frederick vom Saal, University of Missouri-Columbia.

Environmental Health Sciences is a not-for-profit organization that promotes public understanding of scientific exploration of links between environmental factors and human health. This program is funded by a grant from the Kendeda Foundation. EHS is an Equal Opportunity Employer.