Meet the 2026 Awardee: Erik R. Svendsen, PhD, MS
Erik Svendsen, PhD, MS is the Founding Director of the Division of Environmental Health Science and Practice (DEHSP) in CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health. For over two decades, Dr. Erik R. Svendsen has consistently led multidisciplinary scientific teams within environmental public health. He initially served as an epidemiologist within the US EPA where he led air pollution research teams and served as a content matter expert for several national public health initiatives. He has held academic appointments at multiple public health and medical institutions over the past 20 years. His research related to public health recovery and research of environmental public health disasters has become well recognized. Dr. Svendsen has been an advocate and international leader, consulting with and supporting the recovery of communities impacted by global environmental health disasters. He served in various leadership roles within the Terrorism and Inhalation Disaster Section of the American Thoracic Society, including being elected Chair of the Section for 2019-2020.
Description
The award will be given to an individual who has made outstanding scientific and scholarly contributions to areas related to the TID mission. Awardees will be presented with a framed certificate at the ATS International Conference. Nominations of diverse candidates (by gender, race/ethnicity, country, area of focus and primary occupation) are highly encouraged.
Eligibility
- Associate or full professor (5 or more years from reaching the associate professor level) or equivalent
- Outstanding contributions to research, education and/or training in areas broadly related to TID
- Nominees must be a TID member at the time of award (may join upon nomination)
- Nominations must include a cover letter (<2 pages) from an ATS member describing the candidate’s qualification and accomplishments and why the award is appropriate. Letters can be co-signed by more than one nominator. Self-nominations are allowable.
- Nominee's curriculum vitae must be included in the submission.
- Previous awardees are not eligible for the same award
- Applications will be reviewed by the TID Executive Committee with exclusion, as appropriate, of members who may have a conflict of interest.
Scoring Criteria
Applications will be reviewed and scored based on the following criteria. Domains of excellence in research/teaching/mentoring and overall impact will receive greatest weight. Applications (cover letter and CV) should highlight the following domains:
- Excellence in research, teaching, or/and mentoring.
- Scholarly Contributions to Inhalational Disaster studies
- Leadership service (academia, industry, professional societies [both ATS and outside ATS])
- Participation in the TID Section (Administrative, Committees, Workshops, etc.)
- Overall impact/impression of dossier submitted for award application.
Note: Award nominations will be carried over for 3 years.