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PT George M. Baer Latin American Researcher Award
This year, the International Committee of the organization Rabies in the Americas (RITA) will award the best works of Latin American researchers: The Rabies in the Americas Award. George Baer and Award Ivanete Kotait.
George M. Baer Prize for Latin American Research
The George M. Baer Latin American Researcher Award recognizes outstanding work in the field of rabies by researchers from Latin American countries.
GEORGE M. BAER, MPH, DVM (1936-2009)
George M. Baer (1936-2009) was a renowned virologist, veterinarian, and public health scientist and a founding member of the Conference on Rabies in the Americas. Born in London and raised in New York, he received a degree in veterinary medicine from Cornell University in 1959 and a master's degree in public health from the University of Michigan in 1961.
Baer served at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention throughout his career, with a special focus on psittacosis, brucellosis, and rabies. He worked at the Southwest Rabies Research Laboratory and was a consultant to the Pan American Health Organization in Mexico, helping to establish national rabies programs.
As director of the CDC's Rabies Laboratory, he led the team that developed oral vaccination for wildlife and is recognized as the "Father of Oral Rabies Vaccination." Baer published over 100 scientific papers, including his landmark book "The Natural History of Rabies." After retiring, he founded a diagnostic laboratory in Mexico and remained active in the Conference on Rabies in the Americas.
Legacy and Award
The International Steering Committee named this award in honor of his contributions, highlighting his dedication to research and the advancement of public health in Latin America.
In 2025, the award winner will be recognized for their achievement with the opportunity to present their work at a special session of the RITA Conference.
Who can apply for the George Baer Award?
To apply for the George M. Baer Award, candidates must:
- A professional or researcher with less than 10 years of previous experience in the field of rabies.
Ivanete Kotait Latin American student / young researcher Award
The Ivanete Kotait Award is given to a Latin American student or young researcher for outstanding work in rabies research. It is named in honor of Dr. Ivanete Kotait, one of the first members representing Brazil on the International Steering Committee of the Rabies in the Americas (RITA) organization.
Dr. Ivanete Kotait was a prominent researcher who dedicated herself intensely to advances and improvements in rabies diagnosis, research, and control, always with great affection for developing regions. As a graduate of Veterinary Medicine, she began her professional career at the Biological Institute of São Paulo and, later, at the Pasteur Institute of São Paulo. During her tenure, she contributed to the improvement of the Institute's activities, which achieved recognition by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) as a Collaborating Center for Rabies, in addition to becoming a National Reference Laboratory for Rabies in Brazil. She was key in laying the foundations for agricultural and public health programs against rabies in Brazil, a commitment she maintained throughout her professional career.
It has focused on the generation and transfer of technology Throughout his professional life, he has encouraged students and young researchers to study the study and importance of rabies in the context of public health and economics. In recognition of his impact, the RITA International Steering Committee established this annual award in his honor for the best paper by a Latin American student or young researcher.
In 2025, the award winner will be recognized for their achievement with the opportunity to present their work at a special session of the RITA Conference.
Who can apply for the Ivanete Kotait Award: A professional or student in an undergraduate, graduate, or post-doctoral program who receives formal supervision from the institution to which he/she belongs. The applicant must have less than 5 years of previous experience in rabies.
Be a citizen and resident of a Latin American country.
Basic requirements
- Be of Latin American nationality and live in a Latin American country for either award.
- Belong to a public or private (non-profit) institution in a Latin American country.
- Be chosen by their research group as the first author and the one who contributed most substantially to the work..
- Not have received the award previously.
Evaluation criteria:
- The innovative nature of the work described;
- The clear and logical description of the research; and
- The work's importance is for the researcher's country and the region.
The RITA International Steering Committee chooses the winners of the awards. The following elements are taken into consideration when selecting the winner:
The winner of the award receives:
- Presentation of the chosen work in a special session of the conference.
- Free registration for the event.
- Transportation, food and accommodation for the event.
How to register:
Read all instructions carefully.
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
The application package consists of three parts:
- A brief history of his interest in the study of the rabies field.
- The extended research abstract should include an introduction, objectives, experimental design, materials and methods, results (up to two tables and/or two graphs), discussion sections, and conclusions. The relevance of the results presented to public health in Latin America should be specified. Bibliographic references should be a maximum of 5. The text should not exceed 500 words, excluding authors and references.
- Curriculum vitae.
- All applications must be submitted in English. The winner of the award must prepare an oral presentation, in the language of his/her choice: Spanish, Portuguese or English, but the corresponding slides must be in English.
- The applicant must submit the application package by email.
- Please save your completed application package as an MS Word file using the following naming template: "IK Award 2025 – LAST NAME, NAME" or "GB Award 2025 – LAST NAME, NAME", as applicable.
- Please email your completed application package to [email protected] using the subject line: "IK 2025 Award - LAST NAME, FIRST NAME" or "GB 2025 Award - LAST NAME, FIRST NAME", as appropriate.
- Applications must be received by July 31 at 11:59 p.m. (GMT-5). to be considered for RITA 2025.
You will receive confirmation of receipt of your application package and the winner will be notified.
If you have any questions about the application process, please get in touch with us at [email protected] [email protected]