Earl G. Young Resident Prize for Clinical Research

Earl J Young, MD

Dr. Earl G. Young of Minneapolis was a founding member of the Western Trauma Association and its 14th President. He died of a myocardial infarction, Monday, February 27, 1989, while skiing at Snowbird during the 19th Annual Meeting of the Association.

Dr. Young received his medical degree from the University of Rochester, N.Y. and Ph.D. in surgery from the University of Minnesota. He completed advanced training in cancer research at Harvard, a fellowship in cardiovascular surgery at Baylor University in Houston and studied microvascular surgery at the University of California–San Diego.

He was a clinical professor of surgery at the University of Minnesota Medical School, and a practicing general and vascular surgeon at the Park-Nicollet Clinic in Minneapolis from 1960. He was nationally known and was actively involved in research and education throughout his career. In 1988, one year before his untimely death, he received the Owen H. Wangensteen Award for Academic Excellence from the University of Minnesota Health Science Center. It was awarded by an unprecedented unanimous vote of all 72 surgical residents.

– Dr. John Najarian characterizes Earl at a memorial service in his honor at the University of Minnesota.
Earl Young Resident Prize for Clinical Research

The Earl Young Resident Prize for Clinical Research was established after the death of one of the Founding members of the Western Trauma Association. This prize is a continuation of Dr. Young’s profound interest in the training of residents and his commitment to ongoing research. It is given each year to stimulate resident clinical research. Abstracts eligible for this award are submitted to the Program Committee for resident prize status and presentation at the annual meeting of the Western Trauma Association. A manuscript must be submitted to the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery in advance of the meeting for consideration of publication. The manuscript and presentation are judged with first and second place cash prizes and recognition given at the annual WTA annual banquet. The first place resident’s name is listed in the annual meeting program book.

Earl G. Young Award Recipients

Competition Guidelines

Resident Paper Competition Rules:

  • Eligibility: Any resident or fellow who has completed the work being presented while in an official ACGME/AAST training program. The presenter may have completed training at the time of the presentation.
  • Requirements: The paper must not have been presented (in part of whole) at another major regional/national/international meeting (as an oral presentation, video presentation, poster or quick shot), nor submitted/published in any journal in either abstract or full manuscript format, with the following exception:
    • Abstracts that have only been or will be presented by the resident first author as part of their local, state, regional or national ACS Committee on Trauma Resident Paper Competition, and that otherwise meet the criteria outlined above, ARE eligible for submission. While presentation at WTA and COT meetings is allowed, in such cases, like all WTA presentations, it is mandatory that the manuscript be submitted to the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery and not elsewhere.
  • Manuscript: All abstracts accepted for presentation must have a manuscript submitted electronically in a Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery format to the Publications Committee Chair by January 15th.
  • Acceptance: Due to the number of qualified applicants, only the top-rated abstracts will be entered into the competition.  Some Earl Young and Ernest E. Moore qualified abstracts will be selected to be presented at the meeting but will not be part of the final competition.  You will be notified with your abstract acceptance if your paper is part of the competition.
  • Sponsorship: The sponsorship of an Earl Young or Ernest E. Moore Competition is not to be taken lightly. The sponsor of the paper must be a Western Trauma Association member in good standing. The sponsor and/or the senior author is expected to be present when the paper is given.

If the manuscript is not submitted by the deadline, it will not be considered eligible for the competition. The senior author and/or sponsor will be banned from submitting an abstract for one year for failure to adhere to these rules.

By submitting an abstract, you certify that the information contained in the presentation and manuscript represents original work that has not been previously published, and will not have been presented or be under consideration for publication at a regional, national or international meeting prior to the dates of this meeting. Poster presentations and ‘quick shots’ are considered prior presentations.

Earl Young Resident Clinical Research Competition

  • You must indicate on the abstract submission form if you’d like to be considered for the Earl Young Resident Clinical Research Competition.  Clinical research addresses common clinical problems in trauma and critical care that affect everyday diagnosis or management. The research should involve human subjects and can be retrospective or prospective.
  • The Residents’ Paper competition was begun in 1991 as a tribute to Dr. Young’s memory and his “spirit of inquiry, love of learning and commitment in service to mankind. The award is given to the best Clinical Research resident paper presented at the Annual Meeting.