The Andrea Patenaude Scholarship provides funding for a psycho-oncology professional from a Low and Middle Income Country (LMIC), as defined by the World Bank to attend the IPOS Congress for continuing education and professional networking. The scholarship has been established by the Patenaude family in honor of the late Dr. Andrea Patenaude who worked tirelessly to build capacity for psychosocial oncology in LMICs worldwide, as well as working to reduce hospital detention and treatment abandonment.

This scholarship is open to any professional employed by a hospital, healthcare facility, non-government organization or university in a LMIC providing psychosocial care in an oncology setting or undertaking research in the field of psycho-oncology. The scholarship recipient is expected to share key learnings from their attendance at the IPOS Congress with colleagues upon return to their home country, thus furthering the practice and research of psycho-oncology in LMICs. The scholarship is open to nominees of all levels of experience and is assessed based on their achievements relative to opportunity and the potential impact on the recipient’s local community.

The nominee shall provide a personal statement outlining how they meet these criteria and their ability to implement key learnings into everyday practice upon return. The successful recipient is expected to provide a brief report for inclusion in the IPOS newsletter outlining the impact of the scholarship for their local community.

 The scholarship will provide the following: 

• FREE 2024 World Congress Registration (IPOS will process registration of winner).
• Travel Reimbursement: this includes return economy-class airfare (winner is to book their own flight and submit for reimbursement within 30-days AFTER the congress) 
• 5 Nights Accommodation (booked and paid for by IPOS) 
• Reimbursement of meal expenses (up to $50 USD per day for five days) and reimbursement of ground transportation and incidentals. 
• A one-year IPOS membership (2024 or 2025). 

• IPOS nomination form
• Personal statement from nominee outlining the potential impact of the award on the recipient’s local community, their achievements and their intentions to implement key learnings into their community.
• One letter of recommendation from a health professional known to the applicant specifying why the nominee meets the award description above.

Nomination process and winner recognition:

• Past recipients of this scholarship are not eligible to re-apply.
• Nominations are kept confidential and reviewed by the IPOS Awards committee. All nominees are notified of the results by email.
• There is only one recipient of this scholarship.
• The winner will be announced online, email and during the Congress Awards Ceremony.
• There is no award handed out or formal speaking opportunity provided for this scholarship.
• The recipient may be called to the stage for recognition purposes.
• The recipient of this scholarship must submit expenses (receipts) to the IPOS for reimbursement within 30-days after the congress.
• The recipient will need to provide IPOS with brief report of the benefit of the scholarship that will be shared with the IPOS Board, Awards Committee and family of Andrea Patenaude.

Evaluation Process:

• A panel of three seasoned IPOS members will review all nominees. After review and discussion, the panel will put their recommendation to the Awards Committee chair for consideration. If the panel cannot come to a consensus, the top three candidates will be proposed to the Awards Committee chair for final review and selection.
• The following criteria will be used in the evaluation process:

Andrea Farkas Patenaude (1946 –2018)

Andrea Farkas Patenaude, a long time member, volunteer and voice for IPOS. Andrea was well known in the pediatric and adult psycho-oncology areas of practice. She was a vital voice in communicating the importance and needs of psychologists can have in cutting-edge medical care.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Andrea received her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in 1967 (University of Chicago) and her doctoral degree in 1973 (Michigan State University). In 1984 , Andrea became the Director of the Pediatric Oncology Psychology Program at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI). In 1995, she became the Director of Psycho-Oncology Research in Pediatric Oncology and Center for Cancer Genetics and Prevention. She was also an Associate Professor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School.

Andrea firmly believed that psychologists should address the emotional challenges that medical advances could generate. She was a leader in efforts to study the psychological impact of cancer genetics testing for TP53 and BRCA1/2 in children and adults. 

Andrea was a revered mentor of several generations of graduate and postgraduate students, many of whom have become leaders in the psycho-oncology field. 

Author of two influential books on cancer genetics and many book chapters, collaborator in national and international studies and task forces in genetics and psycho-oncology, she published more than 70 peer-reviewed articles, most recently as a leader and coeditor of the Standards for the Psychosocial Care of Children with Cancer. She was on the editorial boards of Pediatric Blood and Cancer and Psycho-Oncology.