Winners of the 2017 EMCDDA scientific award will gather in Lisbon on 25 October for the seventh annual award ceremony hosted by the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA)(1).
The acclaimed writers will receive a non-monetary prize and present their articles during the conference Lisbon Addictions 2017, convening next week in the Portuguese capital (2).
The prize, inaugurated in 2011 by the EMCDDA and its Scientific Committee, celebrates scientific writing and distinguishes high-quality research in the field of illicit drugs. This year, close to 50 papers were nominated by members of the agency’s Scientific Committee, the Reitox national focal points, drug research societies with a European focus, peer-reviewed scientific journals and by EMCDDA staff. The 2017 winning articles, which will be presented at related sessions during the conference, are:
Category 1: Basic biological, neurobiological and behavioural research
‘Detection and activity profiling of synthetic cannabinoids and their metabolites with a newly developed bioassay’ (2016), primary author Annelies Cannaert, Pharm. D. (Belgium). Published in Analytical Chemistry 88(23): 11476–11485 (http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.analchem.6b02600)(3).
Category 2: Population-based and clinical epidemiology
‘The perfect storm: incarceration and the high-risk environment perpetuating transmission of HIV, hepatitis C virus, and tuberculosis in Eastern Europe and Central Asia’ (2016), primary author
Professor Frederick L. Altice, M.D. (United States). Published in The Lancet 388(10050): 1228–1248 (www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2816%2930856-X/…)(4).
Category 3: Markets and drug cultures
‘Cash and carry: the high cost of currency smuggling in the drug trade’ (2016), primary author Melvin Soudijn, PhD (The Netherlands). Published in Crime, Law and Social Change 66(3): 271–290 (https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10611-016-9626-6)(5).
Category 4: Demand reduction interventions
‘Sustained-release dexamfetamine in the treatment of chronic cocaine-dependent patients on heroin-assisted treatment: a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial’ (2016), primary author
Mascha Nuijten, PhD (The Netherlands). Published in The Lancet 387(10034): 2226–2234 (http://thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2816%2900205…)(6).
Chair of the EMCDDA Scientific Committee Dr Anne Line Breteville-Jensen says: ‘New scientific developments can broaden the EMCDDA’s understanding of the drugs phenomenon, helping it to innovate and keep pace with new challenges and threats. The EMCDDA scientific award allows us to showcase major advancements in the field of drugs and addictions and maintain an ongoing dialogue with the research and scientific community across the EU. The agency and its Scientific Committee congratulate the winners and applaud their robust contributions, both to our knowledge base as well as to policy and practice.’
