CVIR Endovascular will offer a Young Investigator Award again this year to support young IRs in their research. With the July 31st deadline for applications coming up fast, we spoke to Prof. Warren Clements, who won the award in 2023, for his thoughts on what he feels stood out about his work, the challenges that young researchers face, and his words of encouragement for this year’s applicants.
CIRSE: What motivated you to apply for this award in 2023? What do you feel made your work stand out?
Clements: Progression within an academic career can be slow and difficult. Generally, the quality of one’s research is not always acknowledged or appreciated until the work has been cited over many years and made a wider impact, and it can be very hard to find opportunities to show research value outside of this well-trodden path.
I believe that opportunities CIRSE provides, such as the CVIR Endovascular Young Investigator Award, are really important to give validation of the quality of work that younger researchers are doing, encouraging them to continue to strive towards their strategic vision despite what can sometimes seem like slow progress. I felt personally that this award was a great opportunity to also show that research impact can still be had at an early career stage.
In particular, the paper that I put forward was a really important study to show that a lot more work is needed in my country (Australia) to improve awareness, understanding, and education for medical students about interventional radiology. It is imperative that IR is embedded within the governance of medical care. Initiatives to promote change have to be built into training from the beginning, and this paper proves this point. I hope that we can use this to make positive changes towards the integration of IR into medical training curricula across our country and also the world.
CIRSE: What kind of support do young researchers need when first starting out?
Clements: At an early stage, most research tasks can seem complex and insurmountable. However, the reality is that navigating things like study design, ethics committees, data collection, statistical analysis, and write-up, are actually not difficult at all. I believe that the most important quality of a researcher is personal motivation, and this can be best supported by good mentorship. CIRSE provides many valuable mentorship opportunities including the European Trainee Forum, internship programme, and the be inspIRed student programme. I would suggest that junior researchers find someone who has the time, interest, and motivation to help them. Use the resources of CIRSE (or your local society) and in turn, you can also pay it forward when you have established your career. Finally, make use of modern communication platforms such as X (formerly Twitter) or LinkedIn to showcase your work, these provide rapid dissemination of research to an active IR audience and provide a means to generate a broad research network.
CIRSE: Why did you choose the topic of prophylactic splenic artery embolization (pSAE) for your waiver paper?
Clements: This topic is of clinical and research interest to me for several reasons. Major trauma disproportionally affects younger patients who have many years ahead to live with the burden of their life-changing injuries. Without the option of splenic artery embolization, patients are faced with the prospect of a laparotomy and splenectomy. This means a lifelong risk of life-threatening infection known as overwhelming post-splenectomy infection (OPSI), requiring the patient to carry antibiotics with them at all times. There will also be a very visible abdominal scar for the rest of their life which has the potential for an adverse psychological impact. With prophylactic SAE, we significantly improve the likelihood of leaving their spleen in place whilst keeping splenic function, obviating the risk of OPSI, and with only a pinhole wound. The recovery is shorter than after major surgery, and the cost is far less. There are benefits at many levels for the individual, the hospital, and for wider society.
CIRSE: Do you have any words of advice for anyone who is considering applying for the award this year?
Clements: I would very much encourage all younger researchers who meet the criteria to apply for this award. My advice is to never think that your work isn’t important enough, or that you are invisible unless you are working in a major European centre. Don’t doubt the quality or magnitude of the impact you have had with your research, as it may just be yet to be fully realised. Take some agency and put yourself forward, you will then be taking steps in the right direction for your career.
CVIR Endovascular warmly invites young researchers to put themselves forward by applying for the 2024 Young Investigator Award. The winner will be recognized at the CVIR and CVIR Endovascular awards ceremony at the CIRSE Annual Congress and will receive a waiver for a review or original article on any topic within the journal’s scope to be published in 2025.
Don’t wait! The deadline for submissions is July 31, 2024. Click on the links below to learn more about the eligibility criteria and application process, or to read Prof. Clement’s paper, “A systematic review assessing incorporation of prophylactic Splenic Artery Embolisation (pSAE) into trauma guidelines for the management of high-grade splenic injury.”
