This issue of the journal sees the publication of the 3 papers placed first, second and third in the 2005 International Psychogeriatric Association (IPA) Research Awards in Psychogeriatrics. For the first time in the history of the awards (first presented in 1989 and awarded at each biennial IPA Congress thereafter), entries were limited to junior investigators within five years of the award of their terminal degree who were at no higher than Assistant Professor/Instructor level at the time of submission. The awards were judged by a panel of four comprising Bengt Winblad (panel chair and 12th IPA Congress chair), David Ames (editor International Psychogeriatrics), John O'Brien (deputy editor International Psychogeriatrics and 12th IPA Congress Scientific Steering Committee Chair) and Joel Sadavoy (then President elect of IPA). The field comprised 11 papers from nine countries (Canada, China (including the Special Administrative region of Hong Kong), Greece, Egypt, the Netherlands, Serbia and Montenegro, Spain, Uganda and the U.S.A.) and contained several papers which in a less competitive field would have been worthy recipients of an award. In addition to the three award winning papers, in an unprecedented decision the judges approved a special citation for a fourth submission entitled “Psychiatric disorders among the elderly on non-psychiatric wards in an African setting” by Noeline Nakasujja of Uganda for “Outstanding Research Endeavors undertaken in a previously un-researched field, in the face of unusual operational challenges.”