Minority Resident Hematology Award Program Frequently Asked Questions

Applicants who did not participate in the MMSAP program but are in an ACGME- or Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)-approved residency program in the United States or Canada, as well as residents in an ACGME- or RCPSC-approved residency program in the United States or Canada who have already matched into a hematology-oncology fellowship program, will be considered for this award program.

While prior research experience is not required, the review committee does take past research experience into consideration. However, if you do not have past research experience, but have a strong track record of leadership and service, you will be considered favorably.

 

No. All eligibility requirements must be met by the application deadline. If you do receive permanent residency in time, ASH encourages you to apply for the MRHAP next year.

 

Applications are made available in August of each year for funding to start in early summer of the following year. Resident physician trainees in the United States must be enrolled in an ACGME-accredited internal medicine, pathology, or pediatric residency program, and resident trainees in Canada must be enrolled in a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC)-accredited internal medicine, pathology, or pediatric residency program. Resident physicians who have applied to or matched into a hematology-oncology fellowship program and MMSAP alumni in one of the three aforementioned residency programs are encouraged to apply.

 

All letters of recommendation must be included with your application packet. All applications must be submitted through the online awards system. ASH will not accept letters sent by mail. For those who want to include an address on the letters, please address the letters to:

Committee on Promoting Diversity
American Society of Hematology
Attn: MRHAP
Washington, DC 20036

This letter is meant to serve as a professional reference for the applicant. Applicants are encouraged to identify someone who knows them reasonably well, both as a resident and as an individual. While the review committee does not have a specific set of criteria for what these letters should include, the letter may emphasize qualities that make you a terrific candidate for the MRHAP, particularly those qualities that are not articulated elsewhere in your application.

 

The committee wants to know if you understand what you will be doing in the lab. You should be able to understand and describe your role in the research project before showing up on your first day. Being able to articulate the research you will be involved in is the first step of your research experience. The committee recommends sitting down face-to-face with your research mentor a few times before submitting your application or having a few phone conversations. Part of the research experience is also being able to communicate with and build a relationship with your research mentor; and this begins with the application stage.

In addition, you are expected to write the description of your research project in your own words. The committee looks unfavorably on applications in which the applicant has not written their project description in their own words.

Ask your mentor. The Society encourages you to build a relationship with your research mentor, and this is a great way to begin that relationship. Otherwise, applicants may email [email protected] to confirm their research mentor's ASH membership status.

Please note: ASH will not provide applicants with a list of ASH members.

This letter is meant to address your project and your role in the project, your involvement in writing the project description, your qualifications, the environment you will be working in, and the other planned activities you will participate in, including lab meetings and conferences. Your research mentor must also provide information about his/her prior mentoring experience.