American Society of Hematology

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Research Training Award for Fellows

The application cycle for the Research Training Award for Fellows is now closed.

Audience	Award Amount	Purpose
Junior Investigator award for second and third-year fellows in the United States or Canada.	$50,000	To allow fellows in training the benefit of protected time for research for one year
Senior Investigator award for fourth and fifth-year fellows in the United States or Canada	$50,000	To allow fellows in training the benefit of protected time for research for one year

Newly revised for 2013, the ASH Research Training Award for Fellows (RTAF) is designed to encourage junior researchers in hematology, hematology/oncology, or other 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. Awards are targeted to two separate groups of researchers: a Junior Investigator RTAF and a Senior Investigator RTAF.

The goals of this program are to:

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

Support

The ASH Research Training Award for Fellows will grant $50,000 for a one-year period to two groups of fellows. The Junior Investigator RTAF is for second- and third-year fellows (at the time of the award), and the Senior Investigator RTAF is for fourth- or fifth-year fellows (at the time of the award) who are not yet eligible for the ASH Scholar Awards (fellow category) in the United States or Canada.

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.

Timeline

All letter of intent and application submissions will be sent a confirmation email. If you do not receive a confirmation email, please contact the ASH Training Associate at training@hematology.org, or at 202-552-4928.

Letter of Intent due (received by 11:59 PM ET)	December 14, 2012
Applications due (received by 11:59 PM ET)	February 6, 2013
Finalists interviews by study section in Washington, DC	April 12, 2013
Award notification	April/May 2013
Award activation	July 1, 2013

Eligibility Requirements

Newly revised for 2013

ASH Membership
RTAF applicants are required to be members of ASH in good standing at the time of Letter of Intent submission, and for the duration of the RTAF program. If your 2013 dues have not been paid by 11:59 pm, Eastern, December 14, 2012, your application will be deemed ineligible. New applications should be submitted no later than November 16, 2012 to be processed.

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 membership@hematology.org.

Junior Investigator Award
First and second-year fellows may apply to fund research in years two and three of fellowship. Eligible applicants must propose research focused on a hematologic condition (solid tumor projects are not eligible).

At the time of letter of intent, the applicant must:

Possess an MD or DO. MD-PhDs, DO-PhDs and PhDs are ineligible unless the PhD is in a non biomedical field. National Institute of Health employees are ineligible for this award.
Continue to maintain ASH membership and remain members of ASH for the duration of the RTAF award term.
Be a first or second-year fellow in an ACGME or RCPSC accredited hematology, hematology/oncology, or hematology-related fellowship program in the United States or Canada.
Have fewer than 24 months of hematology research experience.
Remain a fellow during funded research period. Fellows cannot have faculty appointments as instructors or lecturers.
Plan to pursue an investigative career in hematology research.
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 in a hematology related field then a supporting letter from an ASH member is required. (Additional mentors can be recommended by members of the study section. Members of the study section will facilitate the contact.)
Have clear and documented support of an established mentor. This person should have funding (funding may be NIH, federal, foundation, or private) or be recognized through national clinical leadership (if the project is clinical). The mentor must remain funded during the award period.
Provide documented support from the program director for dedicated research time during the award period.
Not hold a position as an Assistant Professor or Lecturer.

At the time of the award (July 1) 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 second or third-year fellow in an ACGME or RCPSC accreditedhematology, hematology/oncology, or hematology-related training program in the United States or Canada.
Continue to maintain ASH membership.
Not have any other career-development funding during the award period. Including but not limited to foundation and NIH career development, K12, K23, K01 K 8, T32, ASCO YIA Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Clinical Scholar awards, etc.
Not be accepted in the Clinical Research Training Institute or the Translational Research Training in Hematology programs during the research period of the awarded project.

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 clinical or laboratory 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.

Senior Investigator Award
Third and fourth-year fellows may apply to fund research in years four and five of fellowship. Eligible applicants must propose research focused on a hematologic condition (solid tumor projects are not eligible).

At the time of letter of intent, the applicant must:

Possess an MD or DO. MD-PhDs, DO-PhDs and PhDs are ineligible unless the PhD is in a non biomedical field. National Institute of Health employees are ineligible for this award.
Continue to maintain ASH membership and remain members of ASH for the duration of the RTAF award term.
Be in the third or fourth-year of a hematology, hematology/oncology, or hematology-related fellowship in the United States or Canada.
Have fewer than 36 months of hematology research experience
Remain a fellow during the funded research period. Awardees cannot have faculty appointments as instructors or lecturers.
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) or have a mentor recognized through national clinical leadership (if the project is clinical). 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 in a hematology related field then a supporting letter from an ASH member is required. (Additional mentors can be recommended by members of the study section. Members of the study section will facilitate the contact.)
Provide documented support from the program director for dedicated research time during the award period.
Secure a document from appropriate institutional leaders that states that at least 75 percent of the applicant’s full-time professional efforts will be devoted to research during the funded period.
Not hold a position as an Assistant Professor or Lecturer.

At the time of the award (July 1) the applicant must:

Have completed two years of training within a hematology, hematology/oncology, or hematology-related training program in the United States or Canada.
Be a fourth or fifth-year trainee in a hematology, hematology/oncology, or hematology-related training program in the United States or Canada.
Continue to maintain ASH membership.
Not have any other career-development funding during the award period. Including but not limited to foundation and NIH career development, K12, K23, K01 K 8, T32, ASCO YIA Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Clinical Scholar awards, etc.
Not be accepted in the Clinical Research Training Institute or the Translational Research Training in Hematology programs during the research period of the awarded project.

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.

Letter of Intent Requirements

Letters of intent for the 2013 award cycle must be received by 11:59 PM ET on DECEMBER 14, 2012.

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

A completed Letter of intent form
A 350-word (maximum) abstract describing the proposed research project (References do not need to be included.)
Your NIH Biosketch (4 page limit)

Letters of intent must be received electronically to training@hematology.org by 11:59 PM ET on DECEMBER 14, 2012.
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 2013.pdf.

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

Please Note: Any letter of intent which does not follow the letter of intent requirements, is not formatted correctly, is lacking information, has incorrect information, or is lacking required documents as outlined here, will be deemed ineligible and will not be reviewed by the study section.

There are no appeals, or consideration for additional or further review once a letter of intent has been determined to be ineligible.

Application Requirements

Those who have fulfilled the letter of intent and eligibility requirements, and been selected to apply, will be contacted by ASH staff via email with instructions and a copy of the application form.

Applications for the 2013 award cycle must be received by 11:59 PM ET on FEBRUARY 6, 2013.

At the time of application the applicant must:

Continue to maintain ASH membership.
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 a member of ASH for the duration of the RTAF award term.
Document that at least 75 percent of the applicant’s full-time professional efforts be devoted to research during the funded period.

Applications must be received electronically to training@hematology.org by 11:59 PM ET on FEBRUARY 6, 2013.

Applicants must submit a completed application form with all required documents.
Only electronic submissions will be accepted.
All submissions MUST include the required documents, and be submitted as one PDF file.
The file should be named in the following format: RTAF Lastname-Firstname Application 2013.pdf.
Applications that are not formatted correctly, that contain incorrect documents, or that are missing required documents will not be considered. Applicants must meet all of the eligibility requirements.

Please Note: Any application which does not follow the letter of intent requirements, is not formatted correctly, is lacking information, has incorrect information, or is lacking required documents as outlined in this document, will be deemed ineligible and will not be reviewed by the study section.

There are no appeals, or consideration for additional or further review once an application has been determined to be ineligible.

Finalist Interview

Ten to twelve 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. 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 training institution per year.

Terms and Conditions

The funds awarded must be used for the research project specified in the application submitted to American Society of Hematology (ASH) in strict compliance with the budget included with the application, or any subsequent budget approved by the Society. This award is intended to be used as the primary salary support for the applicant. Additional award money from other grants may be used to supplement any balance of the recipients’ salary not covered by the Research Training Award for Fellows. Monies cannot be used toward salary/benefits for the mentor or toward an institution's overhead or indirect costs.

All awards will be activated on July 1, 2013. The award concludes on June 30, 2014. Payment will be made to the appropriate financial officer for the institution as indicated on the proposed budget form. The institution will be responsible for distributing the funds to the program director in accordance with the budget submitted with the application.

Change Requests
In the event the awardee transfers to another institution during the funding period, continuation of the funding at the new institution may be allowed with the prior approval of the Society. To obtain permission, the awardee must make a request in writing to the Society ninety (90) days before the transfer occurs.

The Research Training Award for Fellows is primarily for salary support; however, up to $5,000 may be used for supplies and $1,000 for travel to the ASH Annual Meeting. Any requests to reallocate monies from the original budget must still fall into these funding categories.

All transfer requests must be sent to the attention of the Training Manager at ASH Headquarters.

Requests for budget reallocation will be reviewed by the Chair of the Research Training Award for Fellows Study Section, the Chair of the Committee on Training Programs and if needed the ASH Treasurer. The budget reallocation will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

completeness of request
reasons for request
assurance that progress is being made in the research project
submission of request in advance of the change

Unused 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 financial report. A check made out to the American Society of Hematology must be sent along with a copy of the final financial report to the Training Manager at ASH Headquarters.

Award Reporting

Final Report
The Research Training Award for Fellows recipients are required to submit a final written report (not to exceed 4 pages) and to complete an ASH survey within 30 days of the end of the award period. The report is to detail how the funds were used over the award period, and should include a summary of the work performed and reprints of publications written by the fellow during the term of the award. This report must be sent to ASH Headquarters to the attention of the Training Manager.

Failure to submit the final report will render the applicant ineligible for future ASH funding. The recipients will be expected to cite support from the American Society of Hematology in any publication describing research conducted during the period of the award.

The final reports are evaluated by the ASH Committee on Training Programs. At times it may be necessary for the committee to follow up with recipients after the final report has been submitted. Research Training Award for Fellows recipients are responsible for being responsive to these requests.

Program Evaluation

The American Society of Hematology’s mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting the blood, bone marrow and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems by promoting research, clinical care, education, training and advocacy in hematology. In order to measure the effectiveness of the ASH Research Training Awards for Fellows program to support this mission, the Society will conduct an annual, comprehensive review of the program and its participants. This cannot be done without the assistance of all award recipients. Therefore, all current recipients are required to respond to surveys sent at the end of each year and all past recipients are required to respond to the Society’s requests for information on their career progress following the active award.

RTAF Recipients

2012 ASH Research Training Award for Fellows Recipients
Vivian Chang, MD, UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA
Mathew Cherian, MBBS, Washington University, St. Louis, MO
Gabriel Ghiaur, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Jessica Heath, MD, Duke University Hospital Program, Durham, NC
Alexander Ungewickell, MD, PhD, Stanford University, Stanford, CA

2011 ASH 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, 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

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.