NEW YORK – The American Association for Clinical Chemistry announced Monday it has launched a new competition to support research to improve diagnostic testing.
The 2020 AACC Research Prize Competition is open to laboratory medicine professionals who are AACC members and affiliated with an academic institution, along with academic research teams with at least one AACC member. Preference will be given to early-career researchers, the organization said in a statement.
Up to three winners will be awarded sample sets from the organizations Universal Sample Bank, valued at $25,000 each. The samples were collected from more than 700 ethnically and geographically diverse adults before the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak and come with health screening info for the donors. Winners will also have the chance to present their research at a future AACC Annual Scientific Meeting.
Proposals will be evaluated based on scientific innovation, investigator credentials and research environment, significance to the field of laboratory medicine, and impact on patient care and the healthcare system. The competition is not meant to be the main source of support for a project but instead aims to supplement ongoing research that requires additional materials, AACC said.
Proposals must be submitted by September 15 at 5p.m. EST.
AACC noted the difficulties laboratory medicine researchers are facing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of which is the struggle to obtain samples from healthy individuals for studies.
"AACC hopes this competition will provide the support our members need to continue their vital research, even as they also continue to provide the testing that is so essential to containing the outbreak," said AACC CEO Janet Kreizman.