Quality Improvement Training Institute

Each participating team will be paired with an expert Quality Improvement (QI) coach to guide them in implementing a high-priority QI project.

The program will accept 5 multidisciplinary care teams, each mandated to include one ASH member in good standing. Up to 3 team members will be invited to join the in-person QI training workshops at ASH Headquarters in Washington DC. Additional team members may join virtual training workshop sessions. 

Mandatory in-person and virtual training workshops will provide intensive training, mentorship, and networking opportunities for participants. Explore more about the workshop curriculum. 

Participants will work on developing their own clinical quality improvement projects, refining them through interaction with faculty, coaches, and peers, and applying QI concepts. View detailed information about QI project requirements.

There is no fee to apply, and ASH will cover travel, lodging, and meal expenses for up to 3 team members participating in the in-person training workshops in Washington, DC.

To be eligible to be considered for participation in the QITI, applications should meet the following criteria:

• Applications are encouraged from teams including clinicians, researchers and/or trainees at all levels, in both academic and community settings.
• Applicants must be located in North America.
• Applicant project teams must include a minimum of 3 and maximum of 5 team members who can commit to attending all in-person and virtual workshops.
• At least one member of each participating team must be a current ASH member in good standing.
• Applicants are not required to be physicians or hematologists.
• The project submitted to QITI cannot be under consideration for or have been presented at any other similar clinical quality improvement training workshop.
• QITI project proposals must be related to improving hematologic care, and must directly involve clinical observation of human subjects. All hematologic conditions will be considered.
• QITI Project Proposals must include two distinct projects, which are feasible to implement within the 16-month program timeline.
• Applicants must have institutional support for participation in the program if selected. Applicants in their final year of training who plan to transition to another institution the following year are eligible to apply for QITI but must state in their application the feasibility of completing their proposed project at the new institution. A support letter from the new institution must be provided in addition to one from the current institution.

Teams selected to participate in the ASH QITI will be invited to join the program at no cost. There is no fee to participate, and ASH will sponsor travel, hotel accommodations and meals for in-person workshops.

ASH is committed to building and nurturing a hematology community and workforce inclusive of many perspectives, talents, and experiences by inspiring, recruiting, and supporting researchers and clinicians from a wide variety of backgrounds to improve the quality of hematology care. ASH welcomes and encourages engagement and participation of individuals with different backgrounds, experiences, demographics, practice settings (academic, community), practice focus (adult, pediatric), and practice experience (early career, mid- to late career).

Submissions should describe projects aimed at optimizing quality of care for hematologic conditions, with careful consideration of patient safety, timely access, cost - benefit analysis, and efficiency.

Required application materials include:

• Project team member roles, CVs and Bios
• Letter of institutional support from current institution or community practice (and one from future institution, if applicant is in their final year of training and plan to transition to another institution during the QITI program).
• Project narrative describing two distinct projects that are feasible to implement within the resources of the institutions, within the 16-month timeline. Each QI project should include planning, baseline data collection, and at least two planned tests of change. Examples of projects may include
  • Project 1: Improving diagnosis, Project 2: Improving Treatment
  • Project 1: Focus on one condition; Project 2: Focus on second condition
  • Project 1: Implementing project at site 1; Project 2: Expansion to site 2
• Team members must confirm availability to participate in the scheduled in-person 1.5-day meetings in Washington, DC as well as virtual meetings throughout the program.
• Competitive submissions will:
  • Demonstrate a gap in quality and an opportunity for measurable impact (baseline data is required)
  • Describe barriers and challenges and how they will be overcome
  • Provide details on opportunity for iterative changes that may be necessary to achieve success, including number of iterations anticipated and adjustment development/implementation.
  • Describe how the project involved collaboration or interaction across multiple departments
  • Highlight unique and/or existing change strategies that may be well suited for this project
  • Describe how your project concept addresses hematologic care quality
  • Describe if and how patient partners (if any) will be involved in the development and/or implementation
  • Identify a project sponsor and provide a letter of support indicating protected time to participate fully in the program

Applications are due to be submitted for consideration in the ASH Awards portal by midnight EST on January 5, 2026

As a condition of acceptance to the Quality Improvement Training Institute, you are required to:

• Adhere to all required deadlines.
• Attend all parts of the 16-month program:
  • March 2026: Virtual meeting via zoom
  • May 2026: In person 1 ½ -day meeting at ASH headquarters in Washington, DC
  • July 2026: Virtual meeting via zoom
  • January 2027: In person 1 ½ -day meeting at ASH headquarters in Washington, DC
  • March 2027: Virtual meeting via zoom
  • June 2027: In person ½ day meeting at ASH headquarters in Washington D.C
• Implement your two QI project(s) at your home institution according to your proposed timeline and plan.
• Give a PowerPoint presentation on your project progress at each workshop.
• Have regularly scheduled check-ins with your QITI Coach every 4-6 weeks.
• Complete the ASH Conflict-of-Interest (COI) form and abide by the ASH COI policyௗand Code of Conduct.
• Execute a confidentiality agreement
• Cite support from the American Society of Hematology in any publications resulting from the QITI project
• Respond to future inquiries from ASH regarding your career progression.
• Acceptance into QITI cannot be transferred or deferred.

Please note: ASH will pay for participants’ travel and hotel expenses to attend the summer workshop and spring meeting; however, travel, hotel, and incidental expenses associated with attending the ASH annual meeting are the responsibility of the participant and/or the participant’s academic institution.ௗParticipants should make airline reservations through EWA Travel, ASH’s official travel agent. Costs associated with implementing the participating teams proposed QI project will not be covered by ASH and are the responsibility of the participant and/or the participants academic institution.

• Anne Harvey, DNP – University of Utah
• Batool Saleem, PA – UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Brianna Costello – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• Ilona Grigoryan, PharmD, BCPS – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Ishan Tatake, MD – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Jason Freed, MD – Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
• Katie Gradick, MD – University of Utah
• Liam Heneghan, MD – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• Matthew Tucker, MD – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• Matthew Warner, MD – Mayo Clinic
• Meera Sridharan, MD, PhD – Mayo Clinic
• Michael Zimmerman, MD – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• Mingchun Liu, MD – Mayo Clinic
• Michele de Leon Juaregui, MD – University of Utah
• Monica Chintapenta, PharmD – UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Myra Wick, MD, PhD – Mayo Clinic
• Nicholas Noverati, MD – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
• Rachel Kupferman, MD – University of Utah
• Richard Godby, MD – Mayo Clinic
• Ronald Go, MD – Mayo Clinic
• Sara Dryden, MD – University of Utah
• Sarah Ryu, PharmD – UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Sasidhar Goteti, MD – University of Utah
• Savannah Brock, BSN – UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Sean Taasan, MD – UT Southwestern Medical Center
• Tara Rakiewicz, MD – Thomas Jefferson University Hospital

• Michael Keng, MD (QITI Director) – University of Virginia
• Tanya Thomas, DNP, APRN, AGCNS-BC, OCN – University of Virginia
• Menaka Pai, MSc, MD, FRCPC – McMaster University
• Rachael Grace, MD – Boston Children’s Hospital
• Ming Lim, MBBCh, MS – University of Utah