Have you ever written a blog, or wanted to? This is your chance! Enter an article for #KeepResearchCurious: the EACR Science Communication Prize 2024. The winner, and shortlist, will be published here in The Cancer Researcher online magazine. The winner will also receive a free registration to an EACR conference of their choice.
For this year’s theme, ‘Keep Research Curious‘, we’re excited to hear from cancer researchers who believe in the importance of curiosity-driven research. At the EACR, we believe that fundamental research has incredible potential for scientific advancements and future medical breakthroughs, that ultimately lead to improved patient care and outcomes.
We invite submissions that highlight the multifaceted nature of curiosity-driven research and its indispensable role in the ongoing battle against cancer. Whether you choose to delve into personal experiences, historical contexts or future possibilities, we hope that this year’s theme will help create a rich tapestry of perspectives on the power of curiosity in science.
Topics may include (but are not limited to):
- The role of curiosity in scientific discovery
- Success stories of curiosity-driven research in cancer treatment
- How fundamental science underpins applied cancer research
- Personal reflections on maintaining curiosity in a research career
- The impact of curiosity-driven research on future cancer therapies
How to enter
- Write a short blog post on the theme ‘Keep Research Curious’.
- Suggested length: around 400-600 words. It can be funny or serious. Take a look at some of our topic ideas below.
- Include a 50-100 word ‘About the author’ section, and an optional photo of the author.
- Don’t forget to send pictures, drawings or even GIFs, to illustrate your article!
- Please submit your entry to us by email by 30 September 2024!
The winner will be announced by the end of October 2024, with the shortlist then being published over the next few weeks.
Who can enter?
Anybody involved in cancer research! It does not matter whether you’re a first year PhD student or a senior Professor – this is a prize with no limit on your experience, or lack of it. We will choose the winner and shortlist based on what we judge to be the best written blog post.
What can I write about?
Your blog post can be about anything relevant to the theme, but we are looking for articles that other cancer researchers will find interesting, entertaining, relatable or thought-provoking. For example:
- Personal anecdotes: Share stories of how curiosity has driven individual scientists or research teams to make groundbreaking discoveries.
- Curiosity vs. routine: Discuss the balance between routine, hypothesis-driven research, and curiosity-driven exploration. How can the latter complement and enhance traditional research methodologies?
- Unintended benefits: Examine instances where research driven by curiosity in one area unexpectedly benefited cancer research.
- Building blocks: Describe how basic research, driven by curiosity, lays the foundation for applied cancer research and clinical applications.
- Inspiring future generations: Offer insights on how to inspire and nurture curiosity in young researchers and students. How were you inspired by past research?
- Challenges and rewards: Reflect on the challenges researchers face in maintaining curiosity in the face of funding pressures, publication demands and career milestones.
However, don’t let these limit you! Anything that’s a part of your life as a cancer researcher and feels fitting to the topic of ‘Keep Research Curious’ could be a topic for an article.
If you would like some inspiration, then please see the library of shortlisted articles from our previous Science Communication Prizes.
The EACR’s Scientific Officer, Alexandra Boitor, has also authored articles in The Cancer Researcher on this same theme, which you can read here and here. Perhaps our recent podcast episode about the role of curiosity in cancer research will inspire your imagination, too!
Submit your entry to us by email by 30 September 2024. Any questions? Email us!
Terms and conditions
- You should be the original author of the blog post you submit.
- There is a noticeable difference between blog posts and articles written by humans, and those generated by AI. You may use AI writing tools for assistance such as planning and proofreading, however we value originality and personality and the final work should be your unique voice as a cancer researcher and a human, and should not be authored by AI.
- Co-authors are allowed but one person should be listed as the lead author. The prize is limited to one free conference registration. This would be offered to the lead author, who can choose to pass it to a colleague. All co-authors should give their consent to enter the article in the competition.
- You can enter more than one post.
- You can submit a post that you’ve already used elsewhere as long as you acknowledge this on entry.
- If you choose to send accompanying images please make sure you have the rights or permission to use them. Please indicate if an image was generated with AI.
- We will publish the winner and shortlisted entries on The Cancer Researcher, and we may make selective edits with the author’s final agreement. The authors will be fully credited and will retain all copyright.
- The prize of one free registration is for any EACR virtual or in-person conference held before the end of 2025. It must be redeemed by the end of 2025.
