The EHA-ASH Research Exchange Award is being offered in partnership with the European Hematology Association (EHA) to provide hematologists in training or early in their careers the opportunity to conduct research in another country. The intent of the program is to give both clinical and laboratory-based researchers an opportunity to establish new collaborations and experience research in a different environment.

This program will benefit not only the individual participants, but also each host institution, as it will build stronger ties between the North American and European scientific community.

Support

• New Increased Award Amount – The award amount of 75,000 Euro (use this conversion calculator to figure U.S. dollar equivalent) will be paid in one lump sum to the home institution to be spent in accordance with the budget submitted with the application. The award money should cover supplies, travel, housing, and a per diem.
• Indirect costs will not be covered.
• ASH and EHA will pay for the award recipients to attend either the ASH or EHA annual meeting in the year in which they conduct research abroad. Additional funding will cover airline travel, registration fees, and hotel accommodations for up to four nights.

Eligibility

As of the letter-of-intent deadline:

• Applicants must be an active member of either ASH or EHA.
• Applicants must hold a doctoral degree (for example, MD, PhD, DO).
• Applicants must be in a post-graduate hematology training program or actively engaged in laboratory or clinical research
• It is the applicant’s responsibility to secure a host institution, one home institution mentor, and one host institution mentor (mentors are not required to be members of ASH and/or EHA), and to secure the necessary visa for conducting the research experience
• If the applicant is from Europe, the host institution must be in North America, and if the applicant is from North America, the host institution must be in Europe.
• Award period is a maximum of two years.
• A minimum of 10 months must actually be spent at the host institution participating in the research experience.
• The host institution and host mentor must serve as a resource for the award recipient in relocating and finding temporary housing; this support will not be a part of the award.
• Awards will not be made two years in a row to the same host/home institutions.

Application Process

A letter of intent, followed by a full application, will be required. The applications will be reviewed by a study section that consists of an equal number of Award Committee members from the two organizations. The study section will focus solely on the scientific merit and quality of the applicants. Each member of this study section will have signed a conflict-of-interest disclosure form, prior to participation, to keep the review process free of bias. The study section's funding recommendations will be forwarded to the ASH and EHA officers who will make the final funding decision.

Please note that only those that submit a letter of intent will be eligible to submit a full proposal in September. Letters of intent should be e-mailed to Elisa Shea, ASH Awards Manager, and must be received by Friday, May 15, 2009.

Host Institutions

New this year, ASH and EHA are offering to help applicants identify a host institution in North America or Europe. The goal is to encourage trainees interested in the program, who do not have a host institution arranged, to apply. The Society is currently seeking host institutions in both North America and Europe to foster new collaborations.

Host institutions must:

• Host the visiting researcher in the facilities for a minimum of 10 months,
• Identify and provide a host mentor to work closely with the researcher on the proposed project, and
• Provide assistance in finding the researcher suitable housing accommodations for the duration of the award.

All institutions interested in becoming a partner of this program must complete the host institution form and submit it to Elisa Shea, ASH Awards Manager.

If a researcher is interested in applying but does not have a host institution arranged, the researcher may request to be matched with an institution by ASH staff. To request to be matched with an institution, e-mail Elisa Shea. In order to take advantage of the matching service, applicants must contact ASH by 5 p.m. EST on Friday, May 8, 2009, to allow ample time to process all requests prior to the letter-of-intent deadline.

Timeline

For more information about the EHA-ASH Research Exchange Award, please contact Elisa Shea, ASH Awards Manager, via e-mail or by phone at 202-776-0544.

2009 EHA-ASH Research Exchange Award Recipients Announced

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