Traumatic StressPoints - Winter 2004: 2003 Award Recipients Honored for Their Achievements in Traumatic Stress Studies

2003 Award Recipients Honored for Their Achievements in Traumatic Stress Studies

Each year at its annual meeting, ISTSS presents awards in recognition of achievements made in the field of traumatic stress studies. The 2003 Gala Awards Ceremony was held Saturday evening, November 1, in the Grand Ballroom of the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago before a packed house, with a reception following.

Frank Ochberg, MD

The 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award went to Frank Ochberg, MD. The highest honor given by ISTSS, this award is presented to the individual who has made great lifetime contributions to the field of PTSD.

Alexander McFarlane, MD

Alexander McFarlane, MD, received the 2003 Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement, given to an individual or group who has made an outstanding contribution to research in the PTSD field.

John D. Elhai, PhD

The Chaim Danieli Young Professional Award recognizes excellence in traumatic stress service or research by an individual who has completed his or her training within the last five years. Receiving the award was John D. Elhai, PhD.

Christine A. Courtois, PhD

Christine A. Courtois, PhD, was the 2003 winner of the Sarah Haley Memorial Award for Clinical Excellence, given to a clinician or group of clinicians in direct service to traumatized individuals. This written and/or verbal communication to the field must exemplify the work of Sarah Haley.

The Public Advocacy Award is given for outstanding and fundamental contributions to advancing social understanding of trauma. Receiving the award in 2003 was Senator Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.

Additional Awards
Also receiving awards at the ceremony were Lisa McTeague, taking first place in the Student Poster Award for her poster, "Psychophysiology and PTSD: Emotional Reactivity During Imagery."

Honorable mention went to Nicole Nugent, Marit Sijbrandij and Allessandra Rellini for their poster entries.

Two recipients were selected for the Student Research Grant:

Maria Padun is working to validate the World Assumption Scale in the Russian context, investigating a sample of veterans from the Chechen War and a sample of women diagnosed with breast cancer.
Rachel Guthrie is investigating predictors of PTSD in a prospective way that will deepen knowledge about the processes that eventually lead to the development of PTSD.

Each year the winner of the Dart Award for Excellence in Reporting on Victims of Violence is acknowledged at the ISTSS awards ceremony. Director of the Dart Award, Migael Scherer, recognized Houston Chronicle reporter Daniel Vargas for the 2003 award he received for his article "Legacy of Love and Pain," telling the story of a woman who was set on fire by her estranged husband. For more information about the Dart Award, visit www.dartcenter.org.

Details of individual award recipients will be featured in Traumatic StressPoints throughout the year, with the Lifetime Achievement Award appearing in this issue. The spring issue will include the Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement. The summer issue will feature the Public Advocacy Award. The Sara Haley Award for Clinical Excellence and the Chaim Danieli Young Professional Award will appear in the fall issue.