Since launching last May, Lions Talk Science has published over 30 blog posts written and edited by a bevy of talented, diverse graduate students at Penn State College of Medicine.

The blog has been featured in a publication by the Association of American Medical Colleges, received thousands of page views, and has been widely shared with local and national high school and college educators as well as the Pennsylvania Society for Biomedical Research. Posts are enjoyed by both the lay and academic communities thanks to strong support from our Medical Center and College of Medicine social media team.

We are thrilled to announce our 1^st Annual Blog Award, and we’re accepting submissions now! Whether you’ve written for the blog a dozen times or have yet to contribute, we want to read about your work!

The details:

• Your blog post must adhere to this prompt: “Discuss a common layperson’s misconception related to your field of study, and set the record straight.”

• The target audience for your blog should be the local Hershey community; assume a high school education or less, and keep the piece a reasonable length (400-600 words).

• Submissions are due two weeks from today (Monday, June 30). Please e-mail your entries in Word format to Lions-Talk-Science@psu.edu with the subject line “Blog Award Submission.” If you have not previously submitted to the blog, please also include an image of yourself and a short bio for our Contributors page.

Prizes and certificates will be awarded to 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place winners in the amount of $50, $25, or $10 to the Penn State bookstore or Starbucks (your choice!).

Our panel of judges includes:

1. Dr. Michael Verderame, Associate Dean for Graduate Studies
2. Dr. Kirsteen Browning, Assistant Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences
3. Jordan Gaines Lewis, 3^rd-year graduate student and Lions Talk Science Editor-in-Chief
4. Amanda White, Penn State alum and research tech

Please contact Lions-Talk-Science@psu.edu with any questions. Note: at this time, the contest is only open to Penn State College of Medicine students.

Happy writing!