The ASH Research Training Award for Fellows (RTAF) is designed to encourage junior researchers in hematology, hematology/oncology, or hematology-related training programs to pursue a career in academic hematology. The RTAF awards $50,000 to fellows in training so they will have protected time for research and is to be used primarily for salary support for the applicant.

Goals of this program are:

• To encourage and enable fellowship programs to provide time for research (clinical, basic science, or translational)
• To promote mentorship of hematology trainees by outstanding faculty members
• To produce, on a yearly basis, clinician scientist candidates for academic track positions
• To provide bridging funds for trainees who need more time to generate sufficient expertise to be competitive when applying for K award funding

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Support

The ASH Research Training Award for Fellows will grant $50,000 for a one-year period to third- and fourth-year trainees (at time of the award) in training who are not yet eligible for the ASH Scholar Awards (fellow category).

The Research Training Award for Fellows is intended to be used primarily for salary support for the applicant. However, up to $5,000 may be allocated for research supplies and reagents, and up to $1,000 may be allocated for travel to the ASH annual meeting (no other meetings are eligible for this allocation). Each of the non-salary support portions of the proposed budget must be accompanied by a clear justification.

Awards will be activated on July 1 and conclude on June 30 of the year following activation. Monies cannot be used toward salary/benefits for the mentor or toward an institution's overhead or indirect costs. Payments will be made to the appropriate financial officer of the institution.

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Application and Eligibility Requirements

To verify your membership status, please log on to the membership section of the ASH website. If you need assistance with your username and password, please contact an ASH Customer Relations Representative at SFranklin@hematology.org.

All applicants MUST be Associate or Active members of ASH at the time the letter of intent is submitted, and remain members of ASH for the duration of the RTAF award term. Applicants must be an MD or DO. Those with dual MD/PhD or DO/PhD may also apply.

Letter of Intent Requirements

Letters of intent for the 2012 award cycle must be received by 11:59 p.m. ET on September, 15 2011.

Applicants must submit a letter-of-intent that includes the following:

1. A completed Letter-of-intent form  
2. A 350-word (maximum) abstract describing the proposed research project (References do not need to be included.)
3. Your curriculum vitae so your eligibility can be confirmed.

• Letters of intent must be submitted electronically to training@hematology.org by 11:59 p.m. ET on September 15, 2011.
• Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
• All submissions MUST include the required documents listed above, in the order above, and be submitted as one PDF file.
• The file should be named in the following format: RTAF Lastname-Firstname LOI 2012.pdf.

Letters of intent that are not formatted correctly, that contain incorrect documents, or that are missing required documents will not be considered.

Only those who have fulfilled the letter of intent requirements will be invited to apply.

Application Requirements

If you have fulfilled the letter of intent requirements and been selected to apply, ASH staff will contact you via email with instructions and a copy of the application form.

Application deadline has been extended to November 15, 2011.

At the time of application the applicant must:

• continue to maintain ASH membership,
• have completed at least four months, but fewer than 18 months, of post-doctoral hematology or a hematology-related research training,
• not have any other career-development funding at the time of the award
• plan to pursue an investigative career in hematology research
• have clear and documented support of a funded mentor (funding may be NIH, federal, foundation, or private) and documented support from the program director for dedicated research time during the award period. The mentor must remain funded during the award period.
• have a mentor who is an ASH member at the time the letter of intent is submitted, and remain members of ASH for the duration of the RTAF award term. If the mentor is not an active ASH member, a letter of support from an ASH member must be included.
• document that at least 75 percent of the applicant’s full-time professional efforts must be devoted to research during the funded period.

Applications must be received electronically to training@hematology.org by 11:59 p.m. ET on November 15, 2011.

• Applicants must submit a completed application form with all required documents.
• Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
• All submissions MUST include the required documents listed above and be submitted as one PDF file.
• The file should be named in the following format: RTAF Lastname-Firstname Application 2012.pdf.
• Applications that are not formatted correctly, that contain incorrect documents, or that are missing required documents will not be considered.

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Selection

If selected, at the time of the award (July 1, 2012) the applicant must:

• have completed one year of clinical training within a hematology, hematology/oncology, or hematology-related training program in the United States or Canada,
• be a third- or fourth-year trainee in a hematology, hematology/oncology, or hematology-related training program in the United States or Canada (or if the applicant is in a two year training program, be a second or third-year trainee),
• continue to maintain ASH membership.

The selection of award winners will be made by members of the Research Training Award for Fellows Study Section. Criteria for selection include:

• A focus on hematology research
• The qualifications and experiences of the applicant. Factors to be considered include, but are not limited to the potential for future independent investigation and commitment to a career in hematology research.
• Quality of the mentor and the plan for mentor/applicant interaction and career development
• The significance, feasibility, and originality of the proposed hypothesis, research, and methodology
• Availability of institutional resources to support the proposed project

Ten finalists will be selected to be interviewed by the RTAF Study Section. All finalists for the award must be available for face-to-face interviews with the Study Section in February or March. The interviews will focus on determining the applicants' commitment to hematology and potential for success.

ASH will not select more than one awardee per fellowship program per year. Additionally, ASH will not grant more than one award per medical school per year.

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Timeline

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Questions?

Questions regarding this application and the ASH Research Training Award for Fellows should be directed to the ASH Training Manager, at training@hematology.org or 202-552-4910.

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RTAF Recipients

2011 Research Training Award for Fellows Recipients
Dan Landau, MD, Dana Farber Cancer Institute and Broad Institute, Boston, MA
Aaron Logan, MD, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA
Timothy Olson, MD, PhD, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Vikram Paralkar, MD, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Elie Traer, MD, PhD, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR 

2010 Research Training Award for Fellows Recipients
Alan Hanash, MD, PhD, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Holbrook Kohrt, MD, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Kenji Morimoto, MD, UCLA. Los Angeles, CA
David Sykes, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Annette Von Drygalski, MD, PharmD, Moores UCSD Cancer Center, La Jolla, CA

2009 Research Training Award for Fellows Recipients
Omar I. Abdel-Wahab, MD, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY
Daniel Aaron Pollyea, MD, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Janice M. Staber, MD, University of Iowa and Clinics, Iowa City, IA
Sascha Tuchman, MD, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
Laura E. Hogan, MD, NYU Medical Center, New York, NY

2008 Research Training Award for Fellows Recipients
Dale Bixby, MD, PhD, University of Michigan Hospital, Ann Arbor, MI
Jonathan Gerber, MD, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Nicole Hasbrouck, MD, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Stephanie Massaro, MD, MPH, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT

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