Celebrating Karen Kidd, Recipient of the SETAC Founders Award
Congratulations to Karen Kidd on receiving the SETAC Founders Award. The honour is the Society’s most prestigious global award and recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the development of science, including:
- Promoting the application of interdisciplinary environmental sciences in managing environmental stressors.
- Participating in scientific interpretation and communication of exposure to and effects of environmental stressors, ecological risk assessment and/or management, and solutions for global environmental problems.
- Providing forums for communication and interactions among professionals on a multi-sector, interdisciplinary, and multinational basis on environmental issues.
- Developing principles and practices for sustainable environments, considering appropriate ecological, economic, and social aspects.
An internationally renowned researcher in water pollution and its effects on fish and other aquatic life, Prof. Kidd is the Jarislowsky Chair in Environment and Health at McMaster University. The Karen Kidd Lab generates new knowledge on how diverse human activities affect the structure and function of freshwater and marine ecosystems.
The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry is a not-for-profit, worldwide professional organization composed of more than 16,000 individuals and 85 partner organizations in more than 90 countries dedicated to advancing environmental science and environmental management.
Prof. Kidd received the award during the Society’s European annual meeting earlier this month.
Thank you so much for profiling my Founder's Award from the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC). Below is what I said upon receiving the award.
"I am so very thrilled to be receiving the Founder’s award from SETAC, a society that has been my scientific family since I was a graduate student. It is amazing to be recognized this way by a group that has supported my career through all its stages.
I remember my first SETAC meeting as a graduate student and how excited and nervous I was to be there. I remember being in awe of the breadth and depth of science there was, and I loved meeting and hanging out with my science heros. One of them was (and still is) Derek Muir and I have had the great fortune of working with him since I was a graduate student. Derek, thank you so very much for leading this nomination. A very big thank you also to those that wrote letters of support Marlene Agerstrand, Ake Bergman and Wayne Landis. I also thank my family for their unconditional love and unwavering support and cheerleading throughout my career.
I am still really excited about coming to SETAC meetings like this one in beautiful Vienna as I know it will be full of cutting edge science, and will bring new ideas, motivation, and collaborations, sometimes from casual conversations over coffee.
This is a very tough time for science in the US and my heart goes out to the scientists there, especially our SETAC colleagues. Please keep them in your thoughts in the months to come.
At SETAC meetings and workshops I gained wonderful colleagues, friends, experiences and inspirations that have shaped the path I took and what I have been able to accomplish.
My warmest thanks to my colleagues, students, and postdoctoral fellows for the many wonderful years, fascinating and fulfilling projects, and support. I have learned so much from you and it has been a privilege to share the journey. They say that it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a SETAC to raise a scientist. Thank you so very very much to all of you in SETAC for being my village, and for this incredible honour."