Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator Award
Named for Terry J. Housh, PhD, FNSCA, the Outstanding Young Investigator Award recognizes up-and-coming researchers in the industry. Dr. Housh, Director of the Exercise Physiology Laboratory and a Professor in the Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has received recognition within the NSCA with the Boyd Epley Award for Lifetime Achievement, Educator of the Year, Outstanding Sports Scientist, President’s Award, and Editorial Excellence Award.
Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator Award Eligibility
Each nominee will be asked to fill out a criteria sheet that details career accomplishments and contributions to strength and conditioning research.
The criteria sheet assigns points to a variety of professional achievements, letters of recommendation, volunteer involvement with the NSCA, and other activities related to strength and conditioning research.
NSCA Members in good standing may nominate other NSCA Members or themselves.
Nominations are open August-December
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
| Current NSCA Member for 2 consecutive years*, and 3 years total membership |
| Nominee is active member and contributor to NSCA |
| Working as sports scientist researcher |
| No more than 7 years have passed since the conferral of the nominee's Doctorate degree (PhD, MD degree, or equivalent) |
| Cover letter, resume or CV, and criteria worksheet received |
| Award not previously received |
Additional requirements listed in the General Awards Criteria, include but not limited to, nominee must be nominated by a member in good standing and nominees will be sent a criteria sheet to fill out that must be returned before the required deadline.
*Consecutive membership is counted back from the date the award is to be conferred.
How Awardees are Selected for the Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator
Gathering Nominations
Nominations are gathered August–November each year. Any nomination received before the established deadline will be accepted for review of eligibility. Nominees will be notified of their nomination along with a request to complete the award criteria sheet.
Eligibility Verification and Points Tally
NSCA Headquarters will verify eligibility and minimum category requirements have been met. The overall points for each nominee will be tallied, and qualified nominees will be notified. The Awards Subcommittee of the NSCA Research Committee (RC) will select the top three nominees.
Voting by Industry Leadership
- The top five nominees based on overall points will be sent to the Awards Subcommittee Chair, who will then produce a summary of each candidate that will include a brief description of the accomplishments of each candidate in the areas listed in the Awards Criteria Sheet (Publications in NSCA & Applied Exercise and Sport Science Publications, Presentations at NSCA and other Conventions, Certification/Education and Research-related service).
- The summaries of the nominees will be sent to the entire RC and past award winners for a vote of the top awardee for each award. If a current member of the RC is nominated, they will be recused from the voting process and all correspondence of that particular award, but are still eligible for nomination and award. If a current member of the RC is also a past winner they shall vote only as an RC member.
- Voting will occur in a weighted manner with 40% contributed by past winners of the award and 60% weight given by RC members. As such, the total weight of the past winners (40%) will be divided by the number of past winners who agree to participate in the voting, and the resulting percent will contribute the weight of each past winners vote. Similarly, the total weight of the RC members (60%) will be divided by the number of Committee members (7), and the resulting percent (approximately 8.57%) will contribute the weight of each Committee member to the voting. The sum of the vote percentages from past winners and Committee members will determine the award winner. The chair of the Awards subcommittee will keep record of the entire voting process and will then forward the selected winners for each award to the Board of Directors. If there is a tie, two names for the award will be forwarded to the Board of Directors recommended for dual recipients.
Awardee Notification
- The Subcommittee Chair will notify the Board of Directors of the selected recipient(s).
- The NSCA Headquarters will notify the recipient of the award, send regret notifications, create a Press Release announcement of the winner, and verify attendance at the National Conference awards banquet.
If there are no qualifying nominees, the award will not be given.
Award Timeline
August 1 – Nominations open.
November 30 – Nominations close and nominees are contacted to submit award requirements.
January – Nominees are required to have all materials submitted and NSCA staff will evaluate that eligibility requirements have been met before submitting to the Committee, SIG, or Task Force.
February – Committee, SIG, or Task Force should vote and decide the winner and will submit the winners name to the National Office.
March – Notifications to nominees will be sent by the National Office and press announcements will be coordinated.
July – Award conferred at the National Conference Awards Banquet.
Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator Recipients
Congratulations 2026 Terry J. Housh Outstanding Young Investigator
Drew Gonzalez, PhD, CSCS, TSAC-F
Dr. Drew Gonzalez is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Sam Houston State University, where he directs the Occupational Performance and Nutrition Laboratory. He earned his PhD in Exercise Physiology from Texas A&M University, where his research focused on the intersection of exercise physiology, nutrition, and occupational performance in tactical populations. Dr. Gonzalez’s research bridges sports nutrition, clinical physiology, and occupational performance, with a primary focus on improving firefighter health, readiness, and resilience. His body of work includes more than 70 peer-reviewed manuscripts, nine book chapters, and 150 conference abstracts, with many projects addressing tactical athlete health, readiness, and cardiometabolic outcomes. He also serves as NSCA Texas State Director and Chair of the Nutrition, Metabolism, and Body Composition SIG.
2025 Winner
Jennifer Fields, PhD, CSCS
2024 Winner
Dimitrije Cabarkapa, PhD, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D
2023 Winner
Brandon Roberts, PhD, CSCS,*D, TSAC-F,*D
2022 - Timothy Suchomel, PhD, CSCS,*D, RSCC
2021 - James J. Tufano, PhD, CSCS,*D
2020 - Gerald T. Mangine, PhD, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, TSAC-F,*D
2019 - Jonathan M. Oliver, PhD, CSCS*D
2018 - Nathaniel D.M. Jenkins, PhD, CSCS and Brad Schoenfeld, PhD, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, TSAC-F,*D, FNSCA
2017 - Rhodri S. Lloyd, PhD, CSCS,*D
2016 - David H. Fukuda, PhD, CSCS,*D
2015 - Abbie E. Smith-Ryan, PhD, CSCS,*D, FISSN
2014 - Sophia Nimphius, PhD, CSCS,*D
2013 - Jacob Wilson, PhD, CSCS,*D
2012 - Del Pui-Lam Wong, DPhil, CSCS,*D
2011 - Eric D. Ryan, PhD, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
2010 - Brian Schilling, PhD, CSCS, FNSCA and Moh H. Malek, PhD, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D, FNSCA
2009 - Jared W. Coburn, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA and Travis Beck, PhD
2008 - William P. Ebben, PhD, CSCS,*D and Matthew R. Rhea, PhD, CSCS
2007 - Mike R. McGuigan, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA
2006 - Jeffrey M. McBride, PhD, CSCS
2005 - Nicholas A. Ratamess Jr., PhD, CSCS and Joel T. Cramer, CSCS,*D, NSCA-CPT,*D
2004 - Jeff S. Volek, PhD, RD
2003 - Lee Brown, EdD, CSCS,*D
2002 - Tammy K. Evetovich, PhD, CSCS
2001 - G. Gregory Haff, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA, Jeffrey R. Stout, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA and Lymperis P. Koziris, PhD, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
2000 - Joseph P. Weir, PhD, FNSCA, Jay R. Hoffman, PhD, FNSCA and Travis Triplett-McBride, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA
1999 - Avery Faigenbaum, EdD, CSCS, CSPS, FNSCA
1998 - Andrew Fry, PhD, CSCS,*D, FNSCA
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