ASH Bridge Grant Key Information

Program Benefits

The ASH Bridge Grant is a $150,000 award designated for ASH members who applied for an NIH R01 grant or equivalent. The $150,000 ASH Bridge Grant budget allows for the following expenses: Principal Investigator (PI) salary and fringe benefits, travel (if well justified), salary and fringe benefits for research personnel, research supplies, and equipment (up to $10,000 if required and justified by the applicant).

Eligibility Requirements

To be considered for an ASH Bridge Grant, the applicant must:

• Have submitted to the NIH in the past 18 months (as of the application deadline) a hematology-related R01 or R01-equivalent application. This includes investigators applying for their first R01.
  • Please note: The 18-month timeframe begins the date your R01 is reviewed.
• Be the Principal Investigator or co-Principal Investigator.
• Be an ASH member in good standing and plan to maintain membership for the duration of the award term.
• Hold a faculty position at an academic institution or the equivalent position at a non-profit research organization. Employees of independent research institutions are eligible to apply if they have a faculty-type appointment and the institution is allowed to independently apply for and receive NIH funding.
• At the time of award activation, have available no more than $500,000 annually in other research funding. This amount does not include the applicant's salary/fringe or funding from within the institution or drugs donated by pharmaceutical companies to clinical trials.
  • If the R01 that serves as the base of the Bridge Grant application is funded by the NIH prior to award notification, the applicant must decline the ASH Bridge Grant if awarded.

Exclusions to Eligibility:

• Individuals eligible to apply for the ASH Scholar Award are not eligible to apply for the ASH Bridge Grant.
  • If you have never received an R01 or equivalent, have never received an ASH Scholar Award in the Junior Faculty level, or have fewer than 13 years of research experience since your terminal doctoral degree, you might be eligible for the Scholar Award. The ASH Scholar Award and Bridge Grant have the same deadline so ensure that you are applying to the correct award by contacting awards@hematology.org.
• Individuals cannot hold two active ASH awards concurrently. If the other ASH award ends before the Bridge Grant begins, you may apply but there can be no overlap.

Supported Research

Applicants must submit proposals to conduct research in hematology. Proposals that fall within any of the categories discussed below are encouraged:

• Basic Research
• Translational Research
• Patient-Oriented Clinical Research
• Outcomes-Based Research

For additional details on eligible research categories, please consult the Research Definitions page.

Application Process

The Bridge Grant application, as well as all supporting documents outlined below, must be submitted through ASH’s online awards portal.

All applications must include the following:

• Completed Application Form
• Completed Budget Supplemental Form
• Applicant’s NIH Biographical Sketch
• Institutional Commitment Letter
• Specific Aims Page from Original R01
• First-Year Budget from R01

For more information on required Bridge Grant materials, please see the ASH Bridge Grant Required Documents Checklist

Standard Bridge Grant Applications must include the following:

• Complete Summary Statement from Original R01 (Scores unredacted)
• Response to Critiques from Original R01

Modified Bridge Grant applications must include the following:

• Research Strategy

If you are having trouble completing your application online, please email awards@hematology.org to request assistance. An Awards Department staff member will be happy to walk you through the process.

Evaluation, Selection, and Notification

ASH will perform a preliminary review of the application and all required materials in order to confirm eligibility and completeness. All eligible applications will be reviewed by the Bridge Grant study section based on the scientific merit of proposed research and the applicant's qualifications. Award winners will be notified in July.

If you are selected to receive an award, you will have to affirm that the R01 you submitted to the Bridge Grant has not been funded and that your available resources remain below $500,000.

Terms and Conditions

As a condition of acceptance of the ASH Bridge Grant, it is required that the award recipient cite support from the American Society of Hematology in any publication, poster, or presentation describing research conducted during the period of the award.

ASH will pay the award in one installment of $150,000. Awards are non-transferable between individuals or across institutions.

The following expenses are allowable in the $150,000 ASH Bridge Grant budget:

• PI salary (the percent effort and related salary from the unfunded R01 should be retained) and fringe benefits
• Travel, if well justified
• Salary and fringe benefits of research personnel
• Research supplies
• Equipment (up to $10,000 if required for and justified by the applicant)

Final Report
Bridge Grant recipients are required to submit to ASH a final progress report within 60 days of the end of the award period. ASH will send an email containing the final financial report template and the link to the survey. Award recipients should be prepared to provide information on, but not limited to, the following topics:

• Number of extramural grants applied for and obtained during the grant period
• Number of patents submitted and awarded during the grant period
• Number of publications submitted and published during the grant period
• Final financial report describing actual expenses and variances to budget

Reallocation, Extension, and Deferral
All reallocation, extension, and/or deferral requests and justifications must be sent to awards@hematology.org.

• Requests for fund reallocation from one expense category to another must include the dollar amount, which categories are impacted, and a justification as to why the change is necessary. The salary from the ASH award to the investigator must remain within +/- 10% of the original budget proposal submitted with the application.
• Funded researchers may apply for no-cost extension for up to one year.
• Requests to defer commencement of the award for up to three months will be considered. Deferral requests should be noted in the award application, emailed to ASH staff following application but before notification, or emailed within 10 business days of the award notification.

Termination
An award will be terminated if the applicant moves to a non-research position, leaves the institution at which they worked at the start of the award, or is dismissed from the institution.

Questions?

For questions about the ASH Bridge Grant, please contact awards@hematology.org or visit the ASH Bridge Grant Frequently Asked Questions page.