Alexander Leaf Award

The Alexander Leaf Distinguished Scientist Award for Lifetime Achievement was established by the Society in 2002, both to honour the work of Dr. Alexander Leaf and his support for ISSFAL, and to create an award for future use to recognise and reward excellence in the areas of research of relevant to ISSFAL core interests.

Eligibility Criteria

  • Degree Requirement: No formal degree requirement. 
  • Contributions: Nominees will have made a significant and sustained contribution to the science of lipids and health. In addition, distinguished service to ISSAL will be considered.
  • Society Membership: Nominees must be members in good standing with ISSFAL.
  • Re-nomination: Candidates may be considered in subsequent years if they continue to meet the eligibility criteria, regardless of previous selections. 

Nomination Process

  • Call for Nominations: In August of the year preceding the next ISSFAL Congress, the Chair will contact Nominations and Awards Committee members and Board Members to solicit nominations from them for the Award. Committee members may nominate based on their own knowledge and/or by informally consulting their professional network. 
  • Submission Requirements: Each nomination should be accompanied by a short supporting statement from the nominator.
  • Submission Deadline: Nominations should be received by the Chair by 30th September.
  • Review Process:  The Chair will organize the nominations into a form to be circulated to the Committee (e.g. into a single Word document or PDF). 

Award Selection

  • The Committee will rank the nominees and identify the lead nominee by mutual agreement by 30th October.
  • The Chair will notify the ISSFAL President and Secretary of the Committee’s ranking and lead nominee by 15th November.   
  • The President and Secretary will notify the ISSFAL Executive Committee of the Nominations and Awards Committee lead nominee. The ISSFAL Executive Committee will make the final decision on the award winner. While the Committee typically follows the lead nominee's recommendation, they reserve the right to select a different candidate.

Award Details

  • Prize: The award covers hotel accommodation during the Congress, economy class airfare to and from the Congress, and includes a plaque presented at the awards ceremony.
  • Notification: The President will notify the winner and their nominator, and will confirm the awardee's acceptance.
  • Announcement: The awardee will be announced at the Biennial Congress, in the ISSFAL Newsletter, on the ISSFAL pages of PLEFA, the ISSFAL website, and social media. 

 

The 11th recipient of the Alexander Leaf Award is former ISSFAL President (2006-2009) Michel Lagarde, PhD of the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA - Lyon, France).  The award was presented at the 15th International Congress, 2-5 July 2023 in Nantes, France.  
  The 10th recipient of the Alexander Leaf Award is Susan Carlson, PhD of University of Kansas Medical Center.  Presented at the 14th International Congress held online in 2021.  The award was presented by previous recipient of the award and ISSFAL President Maria Makrides.
Click here for the presentation.

The Ninth Recipient of the Alexander Leaf Award was Maria Makrides of the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute & School of Medicine (SAHMRI), The University of Adelaide, Australia. Presented at the 13th Biennial Congress in Las Vegas, USA. Presenting the Award to Dr. Makrides are ISSFAL President (right) Dr. Richard Bazinet and ISSFAL Immediate Past President Dr. Tom Brenna.
The Eighth Recipient of the Alexander Leaf Award was Michael Crawford, Professor at the Imperial College, London, UK. Presented at the 12th Biennial Congress in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
The Seventh Recipient of the Alexander Leaf Award was Andrew Sinclair, Professor of Nutrition Science, School of Medicine, Deakin University. Presented at the 11th Biennial Congress in Stockholm, Sweden.
The sixth recipient of this prestigious award, presented at the 10th Congress of the Society, held in Vancouver in May 2012, was Dr. Robert Gibson, Director of FOODplus Research Centre of Adelaide, Australia.

In the photo, ISSFAL President Susan Carlson presents Dr. Gibson with his award in Vancouver.

The fifth recipient of this prestigious award, presented at the 9th Congress of the Society, held in Maastricht in May 2010, was Dr. Norman Salem of Martek Biosciences (now DSM Nutritional Products LLC).

In the photo from left to right are President-Elect Susan Carlson, Norman Salem, President Philip Calder and Congress Local Organizing Chair Jan Glatz.
The fourth recipient of this prestigious award, presented at the 8th Congress of the Society, held in Kansas City in May 2008, was Dr. Art Spector, Emeritus Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Iowa, USA.

The picture shows Art holding his award, with to the left, President of ISSFAL, Dr. Michel Lagarde; next to Michel is Past President Dr. Norman Salem, and on the right is Vice-President and President-Elect Dr. Philip Calder.
The third award in this series was made at the Society's 7th Congress, held in Cairns, Australia in July 2006. The recipient of the third Alex Leaf Award was Dr. William Lands, and the photo below shows him accepting the award from the Past President of the Society Norman Salem Jr (right- a former work colleague), watched by Philip Calder, the current Vice President and President-Elect on his left, and to the left of Philip, Society President Michel Lagarde.

The second award in this series was made at the Society's 6th Congress, held in Brighton,UK in July 2004. The recipient of the second Alex Leaf Award was Dr. Jorn Dyerberg.

The photo shows him receiving the award from the then Society President Norman Salem, Jr.
The first time this award was presented was the 2002 Congress of the Society, held in Montreal, Canada in May 2002. The first winner of the award was Dr. Alexander Leaf, and the picture below  shows him accepting the award from the then President of the Society, Art Spector, while the picture to the left shows the plaque he received.