Apply for the ASH HONORS Award

The ASH HONORS Award is a flexible research experience conducted over a span of two to 12 months. Applicants must have at least 12 continuous months left before completion of their medical degree or resident program.

This award is part of the universal application. See more information below.

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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.
• If applying as a medical student, be actively enrolled in an MD/DO or MD/DO-PhD program in the United States, Canada, or Mexico.
  • Find the application in the Universal Medical Student Flex Award. Fill out either application to be considered for two awards if you fill out the HIP question!
    • This applies to HONORS Medical Student level and HIP Medical Student Flex.
• If applying as a medical resident, have an MD/DO or MD/DO-PhD or equivalent and be actively enrolled in an internal medicine, pathology, or pediatric residency program in the United States, Canada, or Mexico.
  • Find the application in the Universal Medical Student Flex Award. Fill out either application to be considered for two awards if you fill out the HIP question!
    • This applies to HONORS Resident level and HIP Resident.
• 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 or residency at the time of award activation.
• Any visa, citizenship and/or U.S. work authorization restrictions applicable to receiving the ASH Award are the responsibility of the applicant.

The following individuals are not eligible to apply:

• HONORS award alumni at certain career levels (individuals can only receive the HONORS award once as a medical student and once as a resident)
• Medical Student Physician Scientist Award Alumni (for the medical school level)
• Eligible applicants may not hold other ASH awards during the HONORS Award term.

Please note: Conducting your research at an institution other than your home institution may involve a "visiting researcher fee." Be sure to discuss this potential fee with your research mentor to understand it fully and to arrange a plan for covering this expense if needed.

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.

Application Process

The HONORS Award application is part of ASH’s universal application process. This application, along with all supporting documents outlined below, must be submitted through the ASH online awards system, as well as all supporting documents outlined below, must be submitted through the ASH online awards system. Full application details can be found here.

• NIH Biographical Sketch of the applicant (SciENcv)
• Applicant Research Proposal
• 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

Evaluation, Selection, and Notification

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 to the applicant as indicated on the application. Funds are paid directly to the awardee and are non-transferable. If the funding needs to be sent to your institution for visa or institutional rules, an exception can be requested.

As a condition of acceptance of the ASH HONORS Award, it is required that:

• All funds must be used to provide the award recipient with an honorarium. Indirect costs (e.g., facilities and administration costs) are not allowed. Violation will result in the revocation of the award funds.
• Any visa, citizenship and/or U.S. work authorization restrictions applicable to receiving the ASH Award are the responsibility of the applicant.
• The recipient cite support from the American Society of Hematology in any publication describing research conducted during the award period.
• The recipient responds to all requests from the Society for information about the recipient’s career progress following his/her award period.

Changing Mentors

Please contact [email protected] if you need to change primary mentors. This must be approved by the chair of the ASH subcommittee.

Final Report

HONORS Award recipients are required to submit a final report within one month of completing their project. The report must be sent to [email protected].

Please note: Failure to submit the final report will render the applicant ineligible for the $1,000 travel award as well as future ASH funding.

Travel Award

Travel awards are intended to reimburse recipients for some of the costs associated with attending the ASH annual meeting (e.g., flight, hotel, and incidentals) and, therefore, will only be issued to those attending the annual meeting in-person. ASH provides HONORS Award recipients with complimentary registration for the ASH annual meeting for virtual or in-person attendance. The travel award is non-transferable. The $1,000 travel award and complimentary registration are provided for the two consecutive ASH annual meetings that occur after the award begins on July 1.

Award recipients are responsible for making hotel and travel arrangements for each meeting.

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 [email protected].

Questions?

For questions about the ASH HONORS Award, please contact [email protected].