AHA's Second Century Clinical Fellow Research Education Program

Deadline: Thursday, April 13, 2023 

Important Notes:

• Proposals must be received no later than 3 p.m. Central Time on the deadline date. Early submission is encouraged.
• Before beginning a proposal, review the eligibility and requirements that apply to all AHA research awards at AHA Application Resources page.
• All proposals must be submitted electronically via ProposalCentral. The system will open several weeks prior to the proposal deadline to complete your proposal and upload documents. You can begin to create your documents now; please refer to the AHA Application Instructions (PDF). All submissions require a signature from a designated institutional representative.
• Applicants must be AHA Professional Members at the time of proposal submission. This must be done online. Join or begin the membership process well before the deadline.

Purpose

The American Heart Association recognizes the need to foster research, research-related opportunities, and ongoing optimal implementation of practice guidelines for clinical fellows. To help address this need, AHA is offering this Clinical Fellow Research Education Program. This program will provide funding for cardiology and select neurology fellows in accredited fellowship programs to attend an AHA scientific meeting (Scientific Sessions or the International Stroke Conference, respectively) and gain other training and experience integral to development of research acumen. This includes ACGME-accredited cardiology subspecialty programs and ACGME- or UCNS-accredited vascular/neuroendovascular/geriatric neurology subspecialty programs. Institutions are strongly encouraged to use funding for fellows from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine and science. Awards will be three years in duration and will support up to five fellows annually.  

The AHA has allocated $3.8 million for this program and anticipates funding approximately 80-100 awards.

 
Eligibility and Proposal Submission Requirements

Proposals will be accepted from institutions accredited as noted above. As with other American Heart Association research mechanisms, awards are limited to U.S.-based non-profit, non-federal institutions.

Applicants must be the program directors of the eligible training programs noted above. Funding can be assigned to fellows in any year of their training program, including during research time. 

Note: AHA strongly encourages submissions from less resourced institutions and those who primarily serve populations underrepresented in science and medicine.

• Description of how beneficiary clinical fellows will be identified; institutions are strongly encouraged to use funding for fellows from racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine and science (i.e., Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American/Alaskan Native, Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander), LGBTQ+ individuals, disabled individuals, or military veterans.
• Information about additional research education and enrichment experiences the clinical fellows will receive from the institution.
• Plan for obtaining feedback from fellows supported by this program on an annual basis, which will help to assess the quality and effectiveness of the experience.

Budget

Program directors may request funds to support up to five clinical fellows each year for a three-year grant period. Appropriate expenses will include: conference registration, airfare, hotel, food, ground transportation, parking, other relevant incidentals, and expenses for additional enrichment and training experiences. Note: Funds from this award may NOT be used to support AHA scientific conference attendance of any fellow who is funded via another AHA research funding mechanism (e.g., postdoctoral fellowship).

Although a detailed budget is not required for submission, applicant funding requests cannot exceed the following:

• Up to three fellows per year: $4,000 per year per trainee, inclusive of up to 10% indirect costs
• Four to five fellows per year: $3,500 per year per trainee, inclusive of up to 10% indirect costs

Total budget for a program requesting support for 3 fellows annually would be:

• 3 x $4,000 annually = $12,000 annually x 3 years = $36,000

Total budget for a program requesting support for 5 fellows would be:

• 5 x $3,500 annually = $17,500 annually x 3 years = $52,500

The maximum indirect cost rate is 10%.

Award Duration: Three years

Total Award Maximum: $52,500 is the maximum amount available to support five trainees per year, including indirect costs. Applications with fewer fellows must follow the per trainee allocation noted above.

Payments will be made to the institution. The applicant and institution assume fiscal responsibility. Institutional supplementation is highly encouraged for enrichment and other training-related activities, although it will not be part of the review criteria. The award does not constitute an employee-employer relationship between the award recipients and the AHA. Use of award funds to pay any tuition is prohibited.

Interim Reporting

After each year of the award, the program director must submit to AHA demographic and contact information for each fellow. Continued funding of the award and eligibility for subsequent awards will be contingent upon meeting these reporting requirements.
At the end of the three-year award, the program director will submit a final report that summarizes the experiences from the standpoint of the fellows. The final report must include a review of each selected fellow’s educational and career progression.

Review Criteria

Institutional Considerations

Priority may be given to submissions from less resourced institutions and those who primarily serve populations underrepresented in science and medicine.

Clinical Fellow Identification Plan

Is a procedure in place to identify the clinical fellows for this program, including plans for identifying fellows from underrepresented groups within the clinical fellow pool?

Training Program and Environment 

Are there planned activities and educational opportunities for the clinical fellows, in addition to those proposed in this mechanism?

Does the program propose a rigorous evaluation plan to assess the quality and effectiveness of this experience for participating fellows?