CVSA Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Groups Travel Grant

The American Heart Association’s Council on Cardiovascular Surgery & Anesthesia (CVSA) is offering a travel grant to underrepresented racial and ethnic early career investigators and students to attend AHA Scientific Sessions. The grant will serve to honor accomplished underrepresented racial and ethnic students and investigators while enabling them to get more involved in the AHA and in Scientific Sessions.

Eligibility Criteria

• All applicants for the CVSA Underrepresented Racial and Ethnic Groups Travel Grant must be members of the Council at the time of application. If you need to become an AHA/ASA Professional Member, you should do so no later than one week prior to the award deadline for your membership to be processed in time for the application submission deadline. Learn more about AHA Professional Membership.
• Applicant must be active in research and still be in training as an undergraduate or pre-doctoral student, or be active in research and within 10 years of completing medical fellowship (or residency as NIH states, MDs would be Fellows for 3–6 years of the 7–10), terminal degree or highest certificate (e.g., MSc, PhD), as of the award application date.
• The candidate from racial and ethnic groups that have been shown by the National Science Foundation to be underrepresented in health-related sciences on a national basis: This includes American Indians (Alaskan Natives, Eskimos and Aleutians), Native Hawaiians, and other Pacific Islanders, Blacks or African Americans and Hispanics or Latinos. Other candidates considered a minority are those from medically underserved populations with low socio-economic status and those living in rural areas to include whites.
• The candidate must be a U.S. citizen, a noncitizen national (born in American Samoa or Swains Island), or a U.S. permanent resident.
• Previous winners of this award are not eligible to apply.
• Each applicant for AHA council-sponsored awards, regardless of award category, is eligible to receive only one council-sponsored award per AHA conference per year. (For example, an Early Career Investigator Award finalist will not be eligible to receive a travel grant for the same meeting.)

How to Apply/Required Documents

Electronic submission through the Council Awards Application System is required by the application deadline date. Hard copies of any part of the application cannot be accepted.

**Candidates may apply for more than one travel award; however, an applicant is eligible to receive only one travel stipend.

Your application file should contain the following documents in PDF format:

• A letter of recommendation by a mentor, section chief or department chair, which includes the following:
  • Candidate's grounds for eligibility, including verification that he or she is part of a underrepresented racial and ethnic group as defined by the NIH and identification of the candidate's specific underrepresented racial and ethnic group.
  • Candidate’s key accomplishments to date (or other forms of demonstrated excellence and recognition in the case of very junior trainees)
  • Assessment of relevant scientific attributes (intellectual curiosity, drive, critical thinking, problem-solving)
  • Potential for future success as a competitive investigator

• Applicant’s personal statement (no longer than one page, double-spaced), outlining your research interests and long-term career goals and how receipt of the travel grant will enhance future long-term goals.
• Curriculum vitae and bibliography

Visit the Council Awards Application System to complete an application.

A username and password previously set up through online profile registration at Professional Heart Daily will be necessary to access the Application System. If you have not created an online profile yet, please visit Professional Heart Daily to create an online member profile before accessing the Council Awards Application System. AHA Professional Members who are creating an online profile for the first time should make sure to register using their AHA membership identification numbers.

Prize

• A grant will be awarded annually. Up to two winners will each receive up to $1,000 to help defray travel expenses to AHA Scientific Sessions to present his or her abstract.
• Reimbursement up to $1,000 will be made after eligible travel receipts (airfare, hotel, ground transportation) are submitted to the AHA after the meeting. Awardees will be required to pay their own registration costs for the meeting.

Questions