Hematology Career Planner

• Finding a mentor is important for all hematologists. Mentors can guide you in selecting a specialty, diagnosing a tough medical case, or determining where to start your practice. They also provide a personal connection to someone more experienced outside of your instructors. Read ASH’s explainer for more guidance on how to find the right mentor.

• ASH Medical Student Physician-Scientist Award: This year-long award allows first-, second-, and third-year medical students to gain experience in hematology research under the mentorship of an ASH member and to learn more about the specialty. See full details and application requirements.
• ASH Hematology Inclusion Pathway (HIP) Medical Student Award: This award provides first-, second-, or third-year medical students in the US, Canada, and Mexico with an honorarium to conduct blood science research under the mentorship of an ASH member. See full details and application requirements.
• ASH HONORS (Hematology Opportunities for the Next Generation of Research Scientists) Award: This award provides research funding for first-, second-, and third-year medical students as well as first- and second-year medical residents. See full details and application requirements.

Tip: Sign up for Virtual Office Hours for advice before submitting your awards application!

• Become an ASH member as a medical student (free!) and get access to special members-only benefits.
• Attend the ASH annual meeting and meet hematologists and trainees from all backgrounds and research areas. Participate in ASH-a-Palooza, plus other special trainee resources to make the most of your meeting experience.
• Consider joining the ASH Trainee Council to advise ASH on the unique needs of medical students preparing for hematology careers.

• Listen to the Hematopoiesis podcast and/or read the series articles for real-world examples of hematology case studies submitted by trainees.
• Watch ASH’s “Blood Detective” video series on YouTube for stories of how hematologists save lives.
• Prepare for the hematology section of your United States Medical Licensing Exam using ASH's Medical Student Hematology Course Learning Objectives.

• Apply for the Careers in Hematology Advancement Mentorship Program (CHAMP), a year-long opportunity for first- or second-year pediatric and adult hematology/oncology fellows to be matched with an external mentor who specializes in classical or malignant hematology. See full details and application requirements.
• For more guidance on forming a mentor-mentee relationship, read ASH’s explainer or download the Hematology Mentorship Guidebook Pamphlet pdf.

• Hematology Inclusion Pathway (HIP) Resident Award: This award supports first- and second-year medical residents from a workforce that reflects the patient population it serves in hematology across the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Participants receive funds to conduct blood science research under the mentorship of an ASH member. See full details and application requirements.
• ASH HONORS (Hematology Opportunities for the Next Generation of Research Scientists) Award: This award provides research funding for first-, second-, and third-year medical students as well as first- and second-year medical residents. See full details and application requirements.

Tip: Sign up for Virtual Office Hours for advice before submitting your awards application!

• Become an ASH member as a Resident or update your membership from medical student. Get access to special members-only benefits.
  • Fellows who reside outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico may be eligible for ASH International membership – see if you qualify.
• Attend the ASH annual meeting and meet thousands of hematologists and trainees from all backgrounds and research areas. Participate in ASH-a-Palooza, plus other special trainee resources to make the most of your experience.

Consider joining the ASH Trainee Council to advise ASH on the unique needs of medical students preparing for hematology careers.

• Register for the ASH Hematology Review Series, which is designed for fellows preparing to take the internal medicine hematology certification exam or those desiring a comprehensive update of hematology standards of care.
• Apply for the ASH Hematology-Focused Fellowship Training Program (HFFTP), which pairs comprehensive classical hematology training with career-enhancing education in transfusion medicine, sickle cell disease, hemostasis/thrombosis, and more.
• Apply for the ASH Quality Improvement Training Institute (QITI), a 16-month hybrid educational program which aims to build clinician leadership in quality improvement and advance hematologic care.

• Apply for the HIP Fellow Award, which provides a honorarium of $100,000 over a two- or three-year period to guarantee protected time for clinical or laboratory-based hematology research projects, to develop additional skills in the conduct of research, generate preliminary data, and present their research at the ASH Annual Meeting.
• Apply for the Research Training Award for Fellows (RTAF), designed to encourage junior researchers in hematology, hematology/oncology, and other hematology-related training programs to pursue careers in academic hematology. This award is open to both MD and MD-PhD researchers between their second and fifth year of fellowship.

• Join ASH as an Associate Member or update your membership from Resident ember. Get access to special members-only benefits.
  • Fellows who reside outside the U.S., Canada, and Mexico may be eligible for ASH International Associate membership – see if you qualify.

Attend the ASH annual meeting and meet thousands of hematologists and trainees from all backgrounds and research areas. Participate in ASH-a-Palooza, plus other special trainee resources to make the most of your experience.

• Access your ASH Fundamentals for Hematology Benefits, including access to the ASH Hematology Review Series. This series helps fellows prepare for the internal medicine hematology certification exam, or those needing a comprehensive update of hematology standards of care.
• Apply for the ASH Quality Improvement Training Institute (QITI), a 16-month hybrid educational program which aims to build clinician leadership in quality improvement and advance hematologic care.
• Subscribe to ASH publications (included in your ASH membership) to stay current on the latest hematology research, clinical guidance, and more.
• Prepare for the ABIM Certification Exam by registering for the ASH Hematology Review Series. This program includes on-demand lectures and live study sessions leading up to the fall Board Exams.

• Search for and identify mentors, recognizing that there are different types of mentors (research, career, coach).
  • Interview senior faculty who have achieved your professional or personal goals.
  • Establish expectations by discussing career direction (interest in similar projects), support (money, space, ancillary staff), and availability (frequency of meeting, revision of grant proposals and manuscripts).
  • Learn the “invisible ladders” in academic medicine: salary, compensation, promotion, publication, and grant.
• Decide on academic career “tracks” early on. Some options to consider include:
  • Clinical investigator and trialist
  • Outcomes and epidemiologic researcher
  • Physician scientist with a laboratory
  • Master clinician and physician educator
• Pave the road towards a successful research team.
  • Work on short-term, achievable projects that may lead to publications (e.g., retrospective studies, case series, review articles, and meta-analyses).
  • Plan on long-term projects that can be completed during research time.

• Choose a dissertation mentor and a laboratory.
  • Select lab rotations to evaluate if the mentor can develop your research interest.
  • Critically evaluate your criteria and preferences for mentor selection.
  • Meet and talk to lab members and gather information on graduation timeline, funding sources, publication records, and life after graduation.
  • Choose a lab where you will be satisfied spending the next four to five years.
• Identify a research project.
  • Figure out potential projects during lab rotations.
  • Outline a thesis project by the middle to end of your second year, and evaluate if research goals are realistically achievable within the PhD timeline.
  • Determine your interest among basic, translational, and clinical projects.

• Apply for the ASH Graduate Hematology Award, which provides funding for students conducting research on hematology-focused projects and is open to doctoral students in their first, second, or third year of graduate school at the time of application.
• Apply for the HIP Graduate Student Award, available for students conducting research on blood science-focused projects. The award provides an annual honorarium of $40,000 for a two-year period that can be used for a tuition/salary/honorarium of up to 70% of the award's value, research, training-related expenses (including health insurance), and travel to the ASH annual meeting.

• Join ASH as a graduate student member.
• Attend the ASH annual meeting.
  • Submit an abstract by the deadline in early-August.
  • Attend special trainee events to make the most of your annual meeting experience.

• Prepare for qualifying exams and thesis proposal.
• Take scientific writing courses and enroll in the ASH Grant Writing Workshop through ASH Academy.
• Attend institutional/departmental seminars and enroll in the ASH Journal Club, a monthly live virtual series.

Decide on academic versus non-academic career paths early.

• Academic route: Look for postdoc positions outside your institution, and continue to build connections.
• Non-academic route: Identify postdocs or positions in industry, scientific writing, editing, consulting, patent law, etc.
• Alternative career paths: Meet and talk to people outside academia who have achieved similar professional or personal goals.

Publish in one of ASH’s peer-reviewed journals.

• Start early by organizing the figures and result section, fill in required gaps by continuing experiments, and then finish the introduction and discussion.
• Work on short-term achievable projects that can lead to likely publications, even if they are smaller.
• Consider writing one or two review articles or commentary on your research related topic with a research advisor or a collaborator.

• Apply for the ASH Graduate Hematology Award, which provides funding for students conducting research on hematology-focused projects and is open to doctoral students in their first, second, or third year of graduate school at the time of application.
• Apply for the HIP Graduate Student Award, available for students conducting research on blood science-focused projects. The award provides an annual honorarium of $40,000 for a two-year period that can be used for a tuition/salary/honorarium of up to 70% of the award's value, research, training-related expenses (including health insurance), and travel to the ASH annual meeting.

• Attend the ASH annual meeting.
  • Submit an abstract by the deadline in early-August.
  • Attend special trainee events, including the ASH Trainee Council reception, to meet co-fellows and senior ASH members.
• Develop a collaborative network including co-trainees, post-docs, bioinformaticians, and statisticians.
  • Establish expectations and clarify authorship order if a collaborative project matures to the publication level.
  • Be cautious about getting involved in too many collaborative projects, and always prioritize your own thesis project.

Prioritize and make progress on your thesis project.

• Clearly outline a project proposal and plan timeline for achievement of each aim.
• Continue to build data and design experiments to ask hypothesis-driven questions.
• Aim to turn each project into a manuscript.
• Avoid having too many secondary projects that can become distractions.
• Consider summarizing results regularly to visualize a bigger picture by regularly presenting at lab meetings or departmental seminars.

Take courses on statistics, large data analysis platforms, or learn programming language if it is applicable to the research project.

• Update your CV constantly to maintain track of talks, posters, publications, and grants.
• Prepare your NIH biosketch for postdoctoral position application.

Attend career-development workshops and talks at your local institution and at conferences.

Apply for ASH-EHA Translational Research Training in Hematology, a unique, year-long training and mentoring program focused on helping early stage researchers, including senior postdoctoral fellows and junior faculty, gain the tools necessary to build successful careers in blood-related translational research.

Identify a research area you would like to pursue as a long-term career after transitioning to independence (consider translational research). Choose a mentor with a good track-record of supporting postdoctoral trainees.

• Evaluate the lab environment, scientific productivity, publication record, and funding sources during your lab visit. Contact previous trainees who recently graduated from the same lab.
• Evaluate institutional environment and resources critical for future grant applications.

Meet with your advisor on a weekly basis and discuss expectations for funding and think about grants early. Set a clear timeline for postdoc training (not more than five years).

Understand expectations that determine transition to an independent position.

• Academic tenured track: Enroll in the Strategies for Success in Academic Careers Series through ASH Academy.
• Independent group leader in industry: Publishing, applying for patents, designing therapeutic compounds, and developing your expertise can help you gain national prominence in an area relevant to your field of interest.
• Non-tenured track/teaching: Gain teaching experience to transition to an instructor position.
• Start looking for alternative career paths early if academia does not interest you.

Focus on your primary research project. Continue to build the research team and turn early results into abstracts. Turn those abstracts into small manuscripts, which you can then turn into grant proposals.

Work on smaller secondary projects that have high likelihood of publication.

• Consider reviews, meta-analysis, and feasibility projects.
• Turn each project into a manuscript before starting a new one.
• Avoid having too many secondary projects that can become distractions.

Apply for the ASH Scholar Award, which provides partial salary or other support during that critical period required for completion of training and achievement of status as an independent investigator.

If outside the U.S. and Canada, apply for the Global Research Award which supports hematologists between the end of their training and the beginning of their independent careers. This award provides funding for projects up to three years.

• Applicants from low- and middle-income countries can also be considered for the Explorer Pathway Program, a year-long career development program for individuals that provides training and resources to support applicant unique needs.

Apply for one of the ASH Abstract Achievement Awards as a postdoctoral fellow and earn the opportunity to present your work at the ASH annual meeting. Benefits vary by award.

Attend the ASH annual meeting.

• Submit an abstract by the deadline in early August.
• Apply for the Poster Walk by the deadline in early August.
• Attend special trainee events to make the most of your annual meeting experience.

Showcase your research by doing departmental, national, and international presentations as talks or posters. Keep a teaching dossier. Go to small meetings to develop your network and to get to know the leaders in your field.

• Enroll in the ASH Grant Writing Workshop and other courses through ASH Academy. Attend career-related talks about how to succeed in academia or industry.
• Obtain CME/MOC credits through ASH that can complement your research direction.
• Consider doing two short postdocs instead of one if your first postdoctoral experience doesn’t fit your needs.