Apply for the ASH Medical Student Physician-Scientist Award

The Medical Student Physician-Scientist Award provides funding for medical students who have at least one year of medical school left as of the award start date to conduct a year-long hematology research project and to learn more about the specialty by working under the supervision of an ASH member. Students are required to take a year off from medical school during what would typically be their second, third, or fourth year.

Find the application in the Universal Yearlong Medical Student Award. Fill out either application to be considered for two awards if you fill out the HIP question. (This applies to Medical Student Physician-Scientist and HIP Medical Student Yearlong.)

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Eligibility Requirements

At the time of application, the applicant must:

Be an ASH member in good standing or have a membership application pending. To verify your membership status, please log in to your ASH account. Not an ASH member yet? Take the first step. Submit your membership application at least three weeks prior to the HONORS Award application deadline to allow sufficient time for processing.
Be actively enrolled in an MD/DO or MD/DO-PhD program in the United States, Canada, or Mexico.
Be working on a hematology project (e.g., adult hematology, pediatric hematology/oncology, hematopathology, blood banking/transfusion medicine) in either laboratory research or clinical investigation.
Have a research mentor at the institution where the research is being performed who is an ASH member in good standing. The mentor may be at the applicant’s home institution or from a different institution. The research mentor will assist in completing the program application, oversee the award recipient’s work, aid the recipient in his/her research, and ensure that the recipient meets all deadlines. A co-mentor is also allowed and only one mentor needs to be an ASH member.
Have at least 12 continuous months left before completion of their medical degree at the time of award activation.
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 term (up to $5,500 in funding is provided for premiums for this insurance).
Agree to spend more than 80 percent of his/her time conducting research during the one-year experience; some clinical shadowing of hematologists or related providers during the year is allowed.

Supported Research

Applicants must submit proposals to conduct research in blood sciences. Proposals that fall within any of the below categories 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.

Recipients may not hold other ASH awards during the award term, except abstract awards. Additionally, recipients may not have other career-development funding during the award period.

Application Process

The Medical Student Physician-Scientist Award application, as well as all supporting documents outlined below, must be submitted through the ASH online awards system. Full application instructions can be found here.

All applications must include the following:

NIH Biographical Sketch of the applicant (SciENcv)
Applicant Research Proposa
Applicant Personal Statement
Applicant Career Development Statement
NIH Biographical Sketch of the research mentor(s) (SciENcv)
Letter of recommendation submitted on official letterhead from mentor
Letter of recommendation on official letterhead from co-mentor (if applicable)
Institutional Commitment Letter

ASH has moved to a new awards system that is attached to our member database. Please ensure that your information is up-to-date and correct, as we will email you from the primary email address in the database. You can sign in to update your information here.

Evaluation, Selection, and Notification

Applications submitted by the deadline will be reviewed by the Medical Student Physician-Scientist Award study section. Applicants will be evaluated on the following criteria:

Commitment to Hematology / Interest 

Explain your interest in hematology related research and why you want to engage in this project.

Mentorship & Support

The mentor should describe the mentoring structure that will support the applicant’s success, including the primary and/or secondary mentor’s relevant experience, approach to mentorship, and planned meeting cadence.
The institutional letter of support should demonstrate that appropriate resources are available to support the student’s success.

Educational Value / Skills Development 

Briefly describe what you expect to learn through this project, including the hematology knowledge, practical skills, and experiences you will develop.
Explain how the project is structured to support your learning and how it aligns with your current career interests or exploration goals.

Feasibility and Project Value

The research proposal should address, as appropriate: background, significance, originality or innovation, hypothesis and specific aims, preliminary data (if available), research methods and feasibility (particularly with respect to the proposed timeline) and anticipated results and future directions.

Accepted applicants and their mentors will receive official notification of acceptance by April/May. 

There is no limit to the number of applications that an institution and its affiliates may submit. For purpose of fairness and balance, institutions will be limited in the number of awards granted. For this purpose, ASH’s definition of “medical school” encompasses all affiliate institutions (e.g., University of Washington would include the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Children's Hospital, etc.).

Terms and Conditions

All awards will be activated on July 1 and will conclude on June 30 of the following year. Payment will be made in one installment to the institution at which the recipient will conduct his/her research. Research award funds are non-transferable.

As a condition of acceptance of the Medical Student Physician-Scientist Award, it is required that:

All funds must be used to provide the award recipient with a honorarium and any supplies for the purposes of conducting the research submitted in the application. Indirect costs (e.g., facilities and administrative costs) are not allowed. Violation will result in the revocation of the award funds.
The recipient arrange for his/her own health insurance either through his/her institution or independently.
Any visa, citizenship and/or U.S. work authorization restrictions applicable to receiving the ASH Award are the responsibility of the applicant.
The recipient attend the ASH annual meeting, including the orientation breakfast. Funds to attend the ASH annual meeting will be paid from the funds allotted for meeting attendance.
The recipient cite support from the American Society of Hematology in any publication or poster describing research conducted during the award period.
The recipient respond to all requests from the Society for information about the recipients career progress following his/her award period.

Final Report
After the award period, recipients are required to submit a final written report (not to exceed four pages). The report should 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, educational goals met, and a summary of the usage of funds. The report must be emailed to awards@hematology.org. Members of the Oversight Committee will evaluate all final reports.

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

Applying for Second Year of Funding
Students making significant progress may submit a written request to reapply for one additional year of funding. Award renewal requests should be submitted by the award deadline. As part of the request, a joint letter must be submitted by the awardee and his/her mentor addressing the following:

Aims of the original grant application
Progress made on those aims
What will be performed during the additional year
How an additional year of funding is necessary from a career development perspective
Why a second year of funding is needed and why the awardee was denied other funding (if applicable)
Plans for future funding applications
Provide evidence of publications or publications under review
Provide comment from the institutional leader justifying the need for a second year of funding

Extensions
A no-cost extension may be requested, if needed. To request an extension, the award recipient’s mentor should submit a letter to the ASH Awards Department at awards@hematology.org.

Unused Funds
Any funding not spent by the end of the award term must be returned to the Society when submitting the final report. A check made out to “American Society of Hematology” must be sent to the address listed below:

American Society of Hematology - ASH - Administration
P.O. Box 37580 (Truist Lock box ID: 9478)
Baltimore, MD 21297-3580

Questions?

For questions about the Medical Student Physician-Scientist Award, please contact awards@hematology.org.