Physician-Scientist Career Development Award

About the Award

ASH developed the Physician-Scientist Career Development Award to immerse medical students between their first and second and third years or third and fourth years of school in a one year, full-time research experience in hematology.

Under the mentorship of outstanding faculty, medical student recipients of the ASH Physician-Scientist Career Development Award will experience in-depth exposure to hematology, thereby enhancing the likelihood that the funded students will ultimately pursue a career in hematology.
 

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Award Amount

The award is for a one-year period, generally July 1 through June 30. Up to five awards will be awarded per year.

The total amount of the award is $42,000. The award is comprised of $28,000 to support the trainee, a $5,500 research allowance for supplies, $5,500 for insurance and educational expenses (including one course), and $3,000 for meeting attendance.

Awards will be paid directly to the participating institution of the mentor, not to the mentor or the recipient. Indirect costs (i.e., facilities and administration costs) are not allowed.

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Timeline

September 1, 2013 Application Due
November 2013 Award Notification
July 1, 2014 Award Activation

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Eligibility

Eligible applicants must:

  • Submit a complete application.
  • Be a first or second year medical student actively enrolled in a US or Canadian LCME or AOA COCA accredited medical school, and be in good standing relative to their course work, at the time of application.
  • Be between their 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd or 3rd and 4th year of medical school at the time the research is done.
  • Not be currently enrolled in a combined MD-PhD program. Students who earned a PhD prior to medical school will be considered on an individual basis if the field of PhD study lies outside of biomedical science.
  • Be planning an investigative career in laboratory, translational, or clinical hematology research.
  • Propose a project that may take place at the institution where the applicant is in medical school or at another institution with sufficient activity in hematology research and education as judged by the award study section.
  • Propose a research project in hematology which will be exclusive to the applicant and will be conducted within the mentor’s lab.
  • Have a research mentor who is an active ASH member at the time of application and remains a member for the duration of the award period. The mentor will oversee the progress and work of the award recipient, will assist in completing the program application, aid the recipient in their research, and ensure that the recipient meets all deadlines, including those for award reports. The mentor must have active research funding in hematology from NIH or an equivalent organization.
  • Propose a research mentor who is a member of ASH in good standing at the time of Letter of Intent submission, and for the duration of the award period.
  • Not have any other concurrent funding for a similar experience.
  • Agree to spend more than 80% of his/her time conducting research during the one-year experience. Some clinical shadowing of hematologists or related providers during the year is allowed.
  • Plan to conduct the research at an institution that will allow for continued enrollment in medical school and/or will provide an alternative mechanism for the student to maintain health, dental, and vision insurance during the award time period (up to $5,500 in funding is provided for premiums for this insurance).

No more than one award will be made to a student working with one mentor.

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Additional Mentoring

ASH believes a multiple mentorship model is important for researchers regardless of their career stage. Therefore, the applicant may include a second mentor in his/her application to provide advice and support principally about career development but also for research questions. If the study section believes a second mentor is needed but the application does not include a second mentor, members of the study section will be responsible for identifying an appropriate mentor and facilitating contact.The additional mentor will coordinate with the research mentor to the extent that is feasible and desirable.

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Application Process

  • Applications MUST be submitted electronically to training@hematology.org by 11:59 pm, Eastern, September 1, 2013.
  • Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
  • The file should be named in the following format: Physician-Scientist Career Development Award Last name-First name Application 2014.pdf
  • Only ONE submission will be accepted. No updates, revisions, changes, or additions will be accepted or considered.
  • All submissions MUST include the required documents listed below, in the order below, and be submitted as one PDF file to be accepted or considered.
    • Complete Physician-Scientist Career Development Award Application Form
    • Project proposal (3 page limit, including figures, at 12 point font with .5 inch margins), and references (1 page limit at 12 point font with .5 inch margins)
    • Applicant career development plan (1 page limit at 12 point font with .5 inch margins)
    • Applicant Biosketch - Standard NIH format (4 page limit)
    • Mentor Letter of Support stating the support the applicant will receive from the mentor and the mentor’s institution (2 page limit at 12 point font with .5 inch margins).
    • Mentor Biosketch - Standard NIH format (4 page limit)
    • Institutional Letter of Support from a dean of the home institution of the applicant, or an appropriate leader of the institute where the research will be conducted, confirming that if accepted the applicant will continue to be enrolled in medical school and/or insurance will be maintained during the award period (1 page at 12 point font with .5 inch margins).
     

An email from ASH will be sent to the applicant within one business day of receiving the application to confirm receipt. If an email is not received, the applicant should notify ASH staff immediately. Failure to notify ASH could result in the application not being reviewed.

Any submission that does not follow the application requirements, is not formatted correctly, is lacking information, has incorrect information, or is lacking required documents will be deemed ineligible and will not be reviewed by the study section. There will be no appeals or consideration for additional or further review once an application has been determined to be ineligible.

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ASH Annual Meeting Event

Award recipients must attend the ASH annual meeting and attend an orientation breakfast. During the breakfast, members of the Committee on Training Programs and the Trainee Council will be available to discuss specific areas of research as well as give award recipients advice on specific meetings, sessions, abstracts, or posters at the annual meeting which may be related to their area of interest.

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Review Criteria

Criteria for review of the applications will include:

  • The significance and originality of the proposed study and hypothesis.
  • The appropriateness, feasibility, and adequacy of the proposed experiment and methodology.
  • A focus on hematology basic, translational, or health sciences research.
  • The qualifications and experiences of the applicant. Factors to be considered include, among others, the potential for future independent investigation and commitment to a career in hematology research.
  • The qualifications of the mentor both in terms of past mentorship in hematology and also ability to lead the medical student to a successful end product of a submitted manuscript within the year of research work.
  • The strength of the institutional letter of support as it pertains to the quality and level of support the applicant is to receive from the institution.

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Award Terms

  • The award is for a one-year period, July 1 through June 30 (off cycle exceptions can be allowed with explanation).
  • For recipients with two year projects, an interim progress report is required at the half way point.
  • Up to five awards will be awarded per year.
  • The total award amount $42,000. The award is comprised of $28,000 to support the trainee, a $5,500 for research allowance for supplies, $5,500 for insurance and educational expenses (including one course), and $3,000 to for meeting attendance.
  • Award recipients are required to attend the ASH annual meeting and attend the orientation breakfast. Funds to attend the ASH meeting will be paid from the funds allotted for meeting attendance.
  • Payments are made to the institution at which the recipient will conduct his/her research in two equal installments first on July 1 and then on January 1.
  • Depending upon curriculum requirements, it is the decision of each medical school as to whether or not the award recipient continues to be enrolled in medical school during the award period.
  • Recipients must be conducting research at an institution that will allow for continued enrollment in medical school and/or alternative mechanism for the student to maintain health, dental, and vision insurance during the award time period (up to $5,500 in funding is provided for insurance premiums for and educational expenses).
  • Recipients are to arrange for their own health insurance either through their institution or independently.
  • Award recipients are expected to attend the ASH annual meeting and attend the orientation breakfast.
  • At the conclusion of the award period, a final report is required highlighting the project’s progress and summarizing the usage of funds.
  • All recipients must agree to provide a permanent email address.
  • A record of award recipients will be kept and the contact information updated for at least 10 years after the award period.
  • Following the award period, recipients are required to respond to all requests from the Society for information on their career progress as outlined in the Final Report and Monitoring section.
  • Award funds cannot be deferred and are non-transferable.
  • No-cost extensions may be requested by a recipient if needed. The letter will need to be submitted by the mentor in writing to the Committee on Training Programs Awards Subcommittee chair asking for a no-cost extension. It will be at the discretion of the Committee on Training Programs Awards Subcommittee and the study section chair to approve of the request. Any requests should be mailed to ASH with attention to the Training Department or emailed to training@hematology.org.
  • For recipients granted a renewal, an interim progress report is required at the half way point.
  • Receipt of the Physician-Scientist Career Development Award does not include or require an ASH Annual Meeting abstract submission.
  • If selected for an award, the trainee will agree to cite support from the “American Society of Hematology (ASH)” in any publication or poster describing research conducted during the award period.
  • Any visa and citizenship restrictions applicable to receiving Physician-Scientist Career Development Award are the responsibility of the applicant.
  • All funds must be used to provide the award recipient a stipend and any supplies for the purposes of conducting the research submitted in the application. Indirect costs (i.e. facilities and administration costs) are not allowed for any Physician-Scientist Career Development Award. Violation will result in the revocation of the award funds.
  • All ASH funding not spent by the end of the award term must be returned to the Society within ninety (90) days of submitting the final report. A check made out to the American Society of Hematology must be sent to the attention of the Training Manager at ASH Headquarters.

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Additional Year Reapplication

Students making significant progress may submit a written request to renew the award for one additional year. Award renewal requests should be submitted at 9 months into the award period.These requests will be judged competitively against new award applications and on a case by case basis by considering the progress made during the first year of research.

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Final Report Monitoring

ASH Physician-Scientist Career Development Award recipients are required to submit a final written report (not to exceed 4 pages).This will include a summary of research, manuscript submissions during the award period related to the funded research, presentations (locally and nationally) of the funded research during the award period, and educational goals met. This report must be sent to ASH Headquarters to the attention of the Training Manager. Members of the ASH Training Awards Subcommittee will evaluate final reports.

For recipients with two year projects an interim progress report is required at the half way point.

Failure to submit the final report, or an interim progress report, will render the applicant ineligible for future ASH funding.

Following the award period, recipients are required to respond to all requests from the Society for information on their career progress.

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Questions?

If you have any questions or require any additional information regarding the Physician-Scientist Career Development Award, please contact training@hematology.org.

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