International Mycological Congress 12 (IMC12) Award Opportunities

For the 2024 Award year, MSA is pleased to share that four additional awards are available for consideration. We encourage all eligible members to review the requirements. 

All nomination folders should be emailed to: msafungi@reesgroupinc.com no later than February 1, 2024. The awards to be considered are listed below, with all of the requirements. 

De Bary Medal

Awarded to an individual who has established an outstanding mycological career. Nominees for the award will be evaluated based on the quality, originality, and quantity of their published research.

General Requirements:

• An individual may receive the same IMA Award only once. • Self-nomination is not allowed.
• Nominators must be members of the IMA.

• Nominees who are not chosen for the prize, may be re-nominated for up to two additional terms (within the year limit linked to the specific award).

Documents required (nomination folder should contain):

1. A nominating letter, including a detailed evaluation of the nominee’s contributions to Mycology.

2. A current curriculum vitae.

3. Nomination form

Next Nomination deadline: February 1, 2024

Contact Information: 
Dr. Chiharu Nakashima, Japan
Vice-president IMA Awards (IMA Executive Member seconded to the IMA Council)
Email: chiharu@bio.mie-u.ac.jp

Submission Information: 
Email all nomination packets to: msafungi@reesgroupinc.com

Notes: The award consists of a certificate. The Committee may choose to make no award in a given year if appropriate. Presentation of the awards will take place at the awards ceremony at the IMC meeting.

The next award will be given at the IMC12, 11-15 August 2024 in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

DeBary Medal Nomination Form

GC Ainsworth Medal

Awarded to an individual for recognition of extraordinary service to world mycology. Nominees for the award will be evaluated on the basis of service to world mycology or to the field of mycology in general.

General Requirements:

• An individual may receive the same IMA Award only once. • Self-nomination is not allowed.
• Nominators must be members of the IMA.

• Nominees who are not chosen for the prize, may be re- nominated for up to two additional terms (within the year limit linked to the specific award).

Documents required (nomination folder should contain):

1. A nominating letter, including a detailed evaluation of the nominee’s contributions to Mycology.

2. A current curriculum vitae.

3. Nomination form

Next Nomination deadline: February 1, 2024

Contact Information: 
Dr. Chiharu Nakashima, Japan
Vice-president IMA Awards (IMA Executive Member seconded to the IMA Council)
Email: chiharu@bio.mie-u.ac.jp

Submission Information: 
Email all nomination packets to: msafungi@reesgroupinc.com

Notes: The award consists of a certificate. The Committee may choose to make no award in a given year if appropriate. Presentation of the awards will take place at the awards ceremony at the IMC meeting.

The next award will be given at the IMC12, 11-15 August 2024 in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

GC Ainsworth Nomination Form

Young Mycologist Award

Awarded to an outstanding mycologist early in their career. The nominees will be evaluated primarily based on the quality, originality, and quantity of their published work.

General and specific Requirements:

• An individual may receive the same IMA Award only once.
• Only RMMO can send the recommendation letter to IMA. Self- nomination is not allowed.

• Nominators must be members of the IMA.

• Nominees who are not chosen for the prize, may be renominated for up to two additional terms (within the year limit linked to the Young Mycologist Award).

• Nominees must have received their PhD within the ten (10) year* period immediately preceding January 1st of the year in which the award is given.

The present call for nominations is an exception due to the postponement of IMC12 to 2024. One candidate is selected from mycologists, conferred a degree from 2012 to 2021. A second candidate is selected from mycologists, conferred a degree from 2014 to 2023

Next Nomination deadline: February 1, 2024

Protocols for nomination and election:

[For 2024, Two young mycologists are awarded for each medal. RMMOs have to recommend two young mycologists.]

For each Regional Mycological Member Organization (RMMO), a separate award is provided. Committees representing the various regions evaluate proposals from their members for the Young Mycologist Medal and recommend a single candidate to the IMA.

  • Ethel Mary Doidge Medal – African Regional Mycological Member Organization

  • Keisuke Tubaki Medal – Asian Regional Mycological Member Organization

  • Daniel McAlpine Medal – Australasian Regional Mycological Member Organization

  • Elias Magnus Fries Medal – European Regional Mycological Member Organization

  • Carlos Luis Spegazzini Medal – Latin American Regional Mycological Member Organization

  • Arthur Henry Reginald Buller Medal – North American Regional Mycological Member Organization

    Eligibility

    To be eligible to be nominated for an IMA Young Mycologist Award, a member of the IMA must, at the time of the next International Mycological Congress, be within ten years of his or her PhD degree, e.g. for IMC12 in 2024, a nominee must have received his or her PhD degree no earlier than 2012.

    Establishment of Award Regional Committees

    The President of each IMA Regional Mycological Member Organization is asked to establish an IMA Young Mycologist Award Regional Committee consisting of at least two members (although the appointment of more members to represent the diversity of mycology in the region is encouraged) and a chair, who will serve from one International Mycological Congress to the next. To ensure a broad pool of nominees, nine months prior to the next International Mycological Congress, this committee will notify the members of the IMA Regional Mycological Member Organization of the award, solicit nominations and vote to select a candidate. To ensure a breadth of experience on the IMA Young Mycologist Award Regional Committee, the chair and members of this committee should be senior mycologists with distinguished records and should represent the diversity of Mycological Member Organizations and Sustaining Mycological Member Organizations from the region. The chair will vote only in the event of a tie vote by the other members.

    Responsibilities of the Award Regional Committees

    • Nine months prior to the next International Mycological Congress and three months prior to the deadline for receiving nominations, members of each IMA Regional Mycological Member Organization shall be notified of the call for nominations for the relevant IMA Young Mycologist Award through the IMA website and the IMA Regional Mycological Member Organization website and through emails sent to delegates from the region who attended the preceding International Mycological Congress.
    • Nomination of candidates for each IMA Young Mycologist Award shall consist of a letter of nomination, two letters of support from mycologists familiar with the candidate, and a current curriculum vitae of the candidate. Candidates are expected to have contributed appreciably to mycology and they should have achieved international recognition based on several criteria:
      • The quality, innovation, thoroughness, and impact on science of their published research, with consideration given to the contribution of the nominee to multi- authored publications.
      • Service as editors of journals or as officers of societies.
      • Membership on national or international policy committees.
      • Invitations to present research at national or international meetings.
    • The committee will forward the nomination material for each nominee and the committee’s choice for the award to the IMA Young Mycologist Awards Committee convened by the IMA Vice-President no more than one month following the deadline for nominations and no less than five months prior to the next IMC. The IMA Young Mycologist Awards Committee is charged with ratifying the choices made by the IMA Young Mycologist Award Regional Committees.

    Next application deadlines:

    The timeline for the IMA Young Mycologist Awards for IMC 12 is as follows.

    • The notification to the members of the call for nominations shall be nine months prior to the IMC November 15, 2023
    • The receipt of the IMA Young Mycologist Award Regional Committee’s choice by the IMA Young Mycologist Awards Committee shall be five months prior to the IMC, March 15, 2024. In this way, recipients can be notified of their award at least four months prior to the IMC to encourage their attendance at the IMC.

    Awards shall consist of a certificate and free registration.

    Documents required (nomination folder should contain):

    • A nominating letter from the representative of the RMMO, including a detailed evaluation of the nominee’s contributions to Mycology.
    • A current curriculum vitae. 
    • Nomination form

    Contact Information: 
    Dr. Chiharu Nakashima, Japan
    Vice-president IMA Awards (IMA Executive Member seconded to the IMA Council)
    Email: chiharu@bio.mie-u.ac.jp

    Submission Information: 
    Email all nomination packets to: msafungi@reesgroupinc.com

    Notes: Awards consists of a certificate and free registration to the upcoming IMC. The award consists of a certificate. The Committee may the deadline for receipt of nominations by the IMA Young Mycologist Award Regional Committees shall be six months prior to the IMC February 1, 2024. The committee may choose to make no award in a given year if appropriate. Presentation of the awards will take place at the awards ceremony at the IMC meeting.

    The next award will be given at the IMC12, August 11-15, 2024 in Maastricht, The Netherlands.

    Young Mycologist Award Form