Society for Medical Decision Making

Procedure for all nominations:

• Please click the Nomination Form link and send the form along with a letter of support and CV for the candidate to info@SMDM.org.

• You will need to complete a separate nomination form for each candidate that you are nominating.

• In order to aid in deliberations, the Awards Committee asks that letters include specifics about the nominee's career and/or work that makes them uniquely qualified for the award.

• Please name your attached nomination form, "Candidate Last Name, Candidate First Name, Nomination"

• Please name your attached letter of support "Candidate Last Name, Candidate First Name, Letter of Support".

• Please name the attached CV, " Candidate Last Name, Candidate First Name, CV".

• Nominations must be received no later than 21 January 2026.

SMDM is committed to supporting science that is inclusive of all people.

The Awards Committee shall review each nominee’s information to determine who best exemplifies the criteria for each award. All candidates will be notified after deliberation and decisions have been made by the Awards Committee. The awards will be presented at the SMDM 48th Annual Meeting in June 2026.

Please click the Nomination Form linked below and send the form along with a letter of support and CV for the candidate to info@SMDM.org.

2026 Award Nominations Form

Career Achievement Award

The Career Achievement Award recognizes a senior investigator who has made significant contributions to the field of medical decision making. The nominee need not be a member of SMDM.  

The Awards Committee offers the following questions to stimulate your thinking about worthy nominees:

1. In your area of work, whose publications are most often referred to? 

2. In your work, what analytic tools do you use daily that may have been introduced by an individual in medical decision making? 

3. In your institution, whose names are most often mentioned when people talk about ideas in medical decision making?  

4. In your institution, when you hear others talking about medical decision making ideas, but they don’t mention individual names, whom do you recognize as the originator of those ideas? 

5. In your classes, whose work do you assign the students to read? 

6. In your own research or teaching, whose work do you frequently cite or refer to? 

View Previous Career Achievement Award Winners

2026 Award Nominations Form
 

SMDM Award for Distinguished Service

This award recognizes service to SMDM in terms of leadership, role in the operations of the Society, and contributions to the scientific and educational activities of the Society. The nominee must be a member of SMDM.  

Questions to stimulate your thinking about worthy nominees:

1. Who comes to mind as a person to call on for help if you need to get something accomplished in SMDM? 

2. Who do you hesitate to call on because you think they already are doing so much for the society? 

3. Who calls on you to serve SMDM? 

4. Whom would you feel you could not say “no” to if they called on you to serve? 

View Previous SMDM Award for Distinguished Service Winners

2026 Award Nominations Form
 

John M. Eisenberg Award for Practical Application of Medical Decision Making Research

This award recognizes sustained leadership in translating medical decision making research into practice, including taking exceptional steps to communicate the principles and/or substantive findings of medical decision making research to policy makers, or clinical decision makers, or the general public. The nominee need not be a member of SMDM.

Question: In your work or practice, when you come across a good idea, embodying solid medical decision making principles, who has worked to bring that idea into practice?

View Previous John M. Eisenberg Award for Practical Application of Medical Decision Making Research Winners

2026 Award Nominations Form

Outstanding Paper by an Early Investigator Award

This award was conceived as a means of recognizing outstanding work by an early investigator and assisting the recipient in the tenure process. The award is for a paper published, online or in print, in the calendar year prior to the award (journal must be dated in 2025 for the 2026 award). The nominee must be within the first eight (8) years of full-time employment after the end of “training” however that is defined within the country and field of the nominee. If the nominee falls outside of these guidelines, please add a note for why you believe they qualify. Nominators are encouraged to reach out to the Awards Committee for any clarification on eligibility criteria.  Any dispute about the eligibility of a nominee will be resolved by the committee.

• The nominee must be the first author of the paper.

• The nominee must be a current member of SMDM.

• The paper nominated must appear in a peer reviewed journal with a publication date of 2025. Online journals qualify, provided they are peer-reviewed.

• Papers will be judged for their importance and originality.

• The nominations must include a copy of the article preferably in pdf format, including complete journal citation. A letter of support explaining the importance of the paper is required. 

Questions to stimulate thinking about worthy nominees:

1. In the past year, what paper did you notice with surprise and pleasure, as being an impressive contribution from an Early Investigator?

2. Does this paper make you think, “This person has promise in a career in decision science”?

View Previous Outstanding Paper by an Early Investigator Award Winners

2026 Award Nominations Form

Sandy Schwartz SMDM Early Scholars Award

The SMDM Sandy Schwartz Early Scholar Award recognizes a promising Scholar who is new to or early in their career related to the field of Health Policy and Medical Decision Making but has the potential for impact and leadership in the field and in the Society of Medical Decision Making. A focus of the award is to increase diversity in the field of Medical Decision Making; under-represented minorities, persons from various countries and regions, persons of color, and persons with experiences that bring unique perspectives to the field are encouraged to apply. Applicants may be students, trainees, or junior faculty across a range of fields or interests in the health care fields. The nominee must be within the first eight (8) years of full-time employment after the end of “training” however that is defined within the country and field of the nominee. If the nominee falls outside of these guidelines, please add a note for why you believe they qualify. Nominators are encouraged to reach out to the Awards Committee for any clarification on eligibility criteria.  Any dispute about the eligibility of a nominee will be resolved by the committee.

The Awards Committee offers the following questions to stimulate your thinking about nominees for this award:

1. Does this nominee demonstrate the interest, passion, and potential to become active in and an eventual leader within the Society of Medical Decision Making.

2. Would an award that provides 1 to 3 years of membership, travel and support for a SMDM meeting, and research and career mentorship be pivotal for the nominee’s career development and engagement with SMDM 

3. Would the nominee bring a new set of experiences, background, or unique perspectives to the SMDM community?

Nominator may choose to mentor the awardee. Otherwise, the awardee will be paired with a senior SMDM member for mentorship.

View Previous Sandy Schwartz SMDM Early Scholars Award Winners

2026 Award Nominations Form

International Early Scholars Award in Honor of Murray Krahn

The SMDM International Early Scholars Award, presented in honor of Murray Krahn will advance the early career development of international scholars through supporting attendance at the SMDM Annual Meeting, facilitating connections to both trainees and scholars in the SMDM community, and providing research mentorship. Focus should be on the international impact of their work. Applicants may be students, trainees, or junior faculty across a range of fields or interests in the health care fields. International scholar is defined as those whose primary workplace is outside the United States and Canada based on the historical definition used in SMDM bylaws. The nominee must be within the first eight (8) years of full-time employment after the end of “training” however that is defined within the country and field of the nominee. If the nominee falls outside of these guidelines, please add a note for why you believe they qualify. Nominators are encouraged to reach out to the Awards Committee for any clarification on eligibility criteria.  Any dispute about the eligibility of a nominee will be resolved by the committee.

The Awards Committee offers the following questions to stimulate your thinking about nominees for this award:

1. Does this nominee demonstrate the interest, passion, and potential to become active in and an eventual leader within the Society of Medical Decision Making.

2. Would an award that provides 1 to 3 years of membership, travel and support for a SMDM meeting, and research and career mentorship be pivotal for the nominee’s career development and engagement with SMDM 

3. Would the nominee bring a new set of experiences, background, or unique perspectives to the SMDM community?

Nominator may choose to mentor the awardee. Otherwise, the awardee will be paired with a senior SMDM member for mentorship.

View Previous International Early Scholars Award in Honor of Murray Krahn Award Winners

2026 Award Nominations Form