The Young Investigator Award, which was sponsored by PARI and which goes to “a scientist who will not be older than 40 years of age . . . and who has made significant contributions to the field of aerosols in medicine,” was awarded to Jie Li of Rush University, who was the previous winner of the Ted Martonen Student Research Award.
The remaining awards all went to longtime active members of ISAM, starting with the Willi Stahlhofen Award for “a scientist or team of scientists which have published their outstanding experimental research in the Journal of Aerosol Medicine and Pulmonary Drug Delivery.” The Willi Stahlhofen Award was presented to Beth Laube of Johns Hopkins University, who served as the president of ISAM from 2003 to 2005, for her 2019 article titled, “Mucociliary Clearance in Former Tobacco Smokers with Both Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease and Chronic Bronchitis and the Effect of Roflumilast.”
Several of the winners of later career awards were previous winners of the Young Investigator Award: The Jurai Ferin Award for outstanding contributions and commitment to ISAM went to Sunalene Devadason of The University of Western Australia, the 2005 winner of the Young Investigator Award and a past President, General Secretary, and board member of ISAM. The 2009 Young Investigator Award winner, Barbara Rothen-Rutishauser of the Adolphe Merkle Institute at the University of Fribourg, ISAM’s President-Elect, was named the winner of the 2021 Career Achievement Award.
The Thomas T. Mercer Award for “the achievement of excellence in the field of medicinal aerosols and inhalable materials,” which is co-sponsored by ISAM and the American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR), was awarded to Robert Phalen of the University of California Irvine. Phalen, who was present in Boise to receive the award, recalled his interactions with Thomas Mercer when he was younger and encouraged delegates to keep in mind their position as role models for today’s young scientists.
The awards presentation also included a new award called “Fellow of ISAM” which “Recognizes the achievements, commitment and contributions to the Society as well as outstanding contributions in the field of aerosols in medicine.” Nominees must have been members of ISAM for 10 continuous years to be eligible. The first ten Fellows are all past presidents of ISAM: Paula Anderson, William Bennett, Andy Clark, Chantal Darquenne, Sunalene Devadason, Rajiv Dhand, Peter Gehr, Wolgang Kreyling, Beth Laube, and Gerhard Scheuch. Clark, Dhand, and Darquenne were present in Boise and received their awards in person.
Exhibition:
Exhibitors included Aerogen, Aptar Pharma, Catalent, Harro Höfliger, H&T Presspart, IntraPac, Lonza, Recipharm, and Vectura
Continuing access
Delegates to the 2021 ISAM Congress will continue to have access to the recorded presentations and poster through August 2021.
