ACSM Cancer SIG Awards
Karen Hornbostel Memorial Award
The American College of Sports Medicine is pleased to announce the establishment of the Cancer Interest Group Trainee Award, named in honor of the memory of Karen Hornbostel. The award recipient will be a student or postdoctoral fellow and will receive an Award of up to $250 USD.
**The award will be determined by quality of the abstract accepted for presentation at ACSM’s Annual Meeting.
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Applicant Eligibility Criteria
1) Be a student or post-doctoral fellow at the time of the Annual Meeting;
2) Be a member in good standing of ACSM (please provide proof);
3) Have an abstract relevant to the topic of exercise and cancer accepted by the Program Committee for presentation at the Annual Meeting;
4) Be first author on the submitted abstract;
5) Personally present the work (oral or poster) at the Annual Meeting.
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Deadline Information
Individuals who wish to compete for the award should submit application packets directly to the ACSM Cancer SIG using this form.
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Deadline for submission is 5pm EST on the 13th May
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The student’s application packet must include the following:
1) A copy of the applicant’s expanded abstract: three pages maximum (including title and authors), 12-point font, double-spaced, and should list ‘key’ reference citations. Abstracts not adhering to the format requirements will not be reviewed.
2) A signed official letter from a Supervisor/Department Chair, confirming that the applicant is a student or post-doctoral fellow.
3) A cover letter containing the applicant’s status (student or post-doc), role description (for the current study- preference given to student-driven studies), current mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number.
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Walking with Nick: The Nicholas P. Cumer Award.
The American College of Sports Medicine is pleased to announce the establishment of the Cancer Interest Group Trainee Award, named in honor of the memory of Nicholas Cumer. The award recipient will be a student and will receive an Award of up to $250 USD.
**The award will be determined by quality of the application packet submitted and will be awarded at this year’s ACSM Annual Meeting.
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Nick was a graduate student in the Master of Cancer Care Exercise Oncology Program at Saint Francis University whose life was tragically cut short in Dayton, Ohio on August 4, 2019.
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All of us who worked with Nick knew him as a dedicated and compassionate person whose desire to help others was exceptional. He chose Exercise Oncology as a graduate path because he wanted to truly help those in deep need. Working with those facing the life and death pressure associated with cancer was where Nick wanted to be - helping those needing the most help.
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Nick’s own words from his time at Maple Tree Cancer Alliance in Dayton, OH, where he was completing his Exercise Oncology Internship when tragedy struck, reflect his attitude and passion for the field:
“I have been fortunate to have an amazing group…. All of my patients are incredible to work with and most all of them have a smile on their face at all times. My favorite part of the exercise sessions so far is walking outside in the hallways with the patients if they are capable. It opens up a time for deep conversation on anything they would like to talk about and that is important to me. Yes, we are people who are helping this population with quality of life and fitness but one of my main goals here is to get to know my patients to the level of calling them friends to make them feel welcome when they work with me.”
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Clearly Nick understood the value and importance of communication and connection, and in his ability to connect and share with them, he inspired those often short on motivation or hope. Nick was a humble and sincere human being, a great young man with a gentle spirit, and a strong desire to learn as much as he could so he could be the best practitioner possible for his patients.
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It is in his honor that we create this award to acknowledge the importance of studying the clinical aspects of Exercise Oncology. Specifically, what we do outside of the research laboratory to assist cancer survivors in gaining the freedom to actively participate in their recovery, including the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects of the disease process.
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Applicant Eligibility Criteria
1) Be a student at the time of the ACSM Annual Meeting.
2) Be a member in good standing of ACSM.
3) Interest in working in clinical exercise oncology/clinical exercise physiology specializing in cancer.
Deadline Information
Individuals who wish to compete for the award should submit application packets directly to the ACSM Cancer SIG using this form.
Deadline for submission is 5pm EST on the 13th May.
The student’s application packet must include the following:
1) An essay discussing why you want to be a clinical exercise physiologist working with cancer patients/survivors and how you will work to move the field forward. This essay should be three pages maximum (12-point font, double-spaced). Essays not adhering to the format requirements will not be reviewed.
2) A signed official letter from a Supervisor/Professor/Department Chair confirming that the applicant is a student and interested in clinical exercise oncology.
3) A cover letter containing the applicant’s current academic status, role description, current mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number.
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