The Leclezio – de Vries Lecture

Recognising socially responsive research, with an emphasis on community participation

The Leclezio - de Vries Lecture

This award of free registration and a prize of £100 (or equivalent) is made to a junior researcher of the Society and will be decided by the Scientific Committee. The prize and certificate will be awarded during the AGM of the society. Please indicate if you wish to be considered for this award when submitting your abstract

Petrus J de Vries

Petrus de Vries succeeded Patricia Howlin as Chair of the SSBP in 2008, and stepped down in 2017. At the 2018 Annual General Meeting (AGM), the SSBP membership recommended that a named lecture or prize be instituted in gratitude for Petrus’ longstanding commitment and tireless work on behalf of the Society

Area of Research

The Leclezio-de Vries Lecture recognises work in the area of socially responsive research, with a particular emphasis on community participation. Petrus de Vries requested the lecture be in honour of Loren Leclezio, who was his first MSc and then PhD student at the University of Cape Town. She was a student member of the SSBP from 2012 and was on the organising committee of the 2013 SSBP conference in South Africa. Loren sadly died in 2018, very shortly after receiving her PhD. She was passionate about participatory research that would make a significant difference to the lives of families and communities of people living with Tuberous Sclerosis Complex or other rare diseases.

Eligibility Criteria

Priority for the award will be given to younger rather than senior and well-established researchers
- This award would normally be for researchers below the level of senior lecturer/associate professor.
Priority may also be given to applicants from a Low- or Middle-Income Country
Applicants must be current members of the SSBP
Applicants must submit an abstract for oral presentation by 31st May 2023

For further advice or to confirm your eligibility, please email conference@ssbp.org.uk.

Closing date for applications: 31st May 2023.

Applicants should indicate whether they wish to be considered for the Leclezio – de Vries lecture on their abstract submission form.

Award Procedure

The award will be launched at the 2019 SSBP conference, with a winner selected from among the abstracts submitted. Future abstract submission forms will have a box to indicate that the submitting author believes their abstract to fall within the remit of the Lecture as listed above, and that they are eligible to be considered for the award.

The award will be judged by the Organising Committee of each Research Symposium who will make a recommendation to the SSBP Executive Committee at least 1 month prior to the SSBP Research Symposium. Once approved by the SSBP Executive, the successful candidate will be invited to present the Lecture. The award winner will receive free registration for the current SSBP Research Symposium along with a prize of £100 (or equivalent) and an award certificate – both of which will be presented to the winner during the SSBP Research symposium.

What our members and conference attendees have to say about the SSBP.

Attending the 2018 SSBP conference in Melbourne was an excellent opportunity for me to network with and learn from passionate and experienced professionals in the neurodevelopmental disability space.

As a full-time student, financial constraints can mean that conferences are often out of range.

Therefore, I was thrilled and very grateful to be awarded a student bursary, which was really

beneficial in assisting me in being able to attend my first conference and give a poster presentation.

The conference was extremely well organised and a highly valuable learning experience for me!

SSBP Student Bursary holder 2018