To be considered for the award, an individual's work in chiropractic researcher is judged on five criteria: originality; thoroughness/soundness; impact on other useful research; potential impact on clinical practice; and quantity.
The ballot handed out to FCER voters this year gave a good indication of how Dr. Lawrence not only met, but exceeded the criteria.
"While technically not a primary researcher, Dr. Lawrence in successfully editing four peer-reviewed journals lies at the very heart of research information. He also wrote a major portion of the chiropractic chapter for the first descriptive monograph to be issued by the Office of Alternative Medicine and is a regular reviewer for HRSA ... and his Yearbook of Chiropractic is an important compendium of significant research information to have been published each year."
In receiving this year's award, Dr. Lawrence joins a prestigious list of past winners: Drs. Reed Phillips; John Hsieh; Patricia Brennan; John Triano; William Meeker; Akio Sato; Joanne Nyiendo; and Howard Vernon.
"I'm both shocked and deeply honored by FCER's decision to name me 'Researcher of the Year,'" Dr. Lawrence began. "I would like to think this honor is testament not so much to what I do, but rather to the vast number of chiropractic researchers whose own work has made my task so much easier."
Dr. Anthony Rosner, PhD, FCER's director of research and education noted: "It is through the organization and presentation of the lion's share of significant research findings in his journals that the profession has been able to gain the validation and recognition that it enjoys today, which was unimaginable just 25 years ago."
Dr. Rosner added that Dr. Lawrence has no equal when it comes to the "years of service to the research community, and the stewardship of the profession's leading peer-reviewed journals."
Dr. Lawrence is the editor of the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological Therapeutics, the Journal of Chiropractic Technique, the Journal of Chiropractic Humanities, and the Yearbook of Chiropractic. It is through his efforts that JMPT became the first, and to date the only chiropractic research journal to be included in the Index Medicus, the National Library of Medicine's worldwide listing of biomedical journals.
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