Last Update: September 2009

If your research will be conducted in one of the following states, you are eligible to apply to the Great Rivers Affiliate:  Delaware, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia

• Begin your application early to allow all parties time to complete the process. 
• The applicant must submit the completed application to the grants officer selected in the application.  It is the applicant's responsibility to contact the grants officer and/or monitor the status of his/her own application.
• The grants officer is the only person who can submit an application to the AHA.  Check with your grants officer for his/her internal institutional deadline.  Allow plenty of time for your grants officer to review and reject or submit the application to the AHA. 
• Once the application is submitted to the AHA by the grants officer, it cannot be changed or modified in any way.  It will go to peer review as received unless it is withdrawn.
• Refer to Related Items at right of this screen for useful information.
  

Objective
To promote the independent status of promising beginning scientists.

Science Focus
Research broadly related to cardiovascular function and disease, stroke or to related clinical, basic science, bioengineering or biotechnology, and public health problems.

Disciplines
Proposals are encouraged from all basic disciplines, including multidisciplinary efforts, as well as epidemiological and clinical disciplines that bear on cardiovascular and stroke problems.

Target Market and Eligibility

• Faculty/staff members initiating independent research careers.
• At application, applicants must hold a M.D., Ph.D., D.O. or equivalent doctoral degree and must meet institutional requirements for grant submission.
• At activation, applicants must hold a faculty/staff rank up to and including assistant professor (or equivalent), but may not have more than four years experience at the assistant professor level (or equivalent).
• Awards are not intended to supplement or duplicate currently funded work.
• A sponsor is not required, although it is important that applicant's department head provides assurance that the applicant has the institution's support.

Citizenship

At time of application, must have one of the following designations:

• U.S. citizen
• Permanent resident 
• Pending permanent resident. Applicants must have applied for permanent residency and have filed form I-485 with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and have received authorization to legally remain in the United States (having filed an Application for Employment Form I-765)
• E3 Visa -specialty occupation worker
• H1-B Visa -- temporary worker in a specialty occupation
• J-1 Visa -- exchange visitor
• O-1 Visa -- temporary worker with extraordinary abilities in the sciences
• TN Visa -- NAFTA professional

Awardee must meet American Heart Association citizenship criteria throughout the duration of the award.

Percentage of Effort
None specified

Budget Items
Project-related expenses, such as salaries of essential technical personnel, supplies, equipment, volunteer subject costs, publications and travel.

Equipment - the PI must use equipment for at least six months.

Computer Equipment -- Up to $2,500; must be justified in the application

Travel-- $1,500 per year.

Indirect Costs  -- Up to 10 percent of the amount requested for salary and project support, a maximum of $6,000.

PI Salary-- Up to $30,000 per year for PI salary, not to exceed 50 percent of the award amount

Other Salary -- May include salary support for technical personnel with or without doctoral degrees excluding faculty/staff members.

Note: Collaborating investigators are not permitted to receive salary from grant funds.  Special consultative services from individuals may be requested, provided the costs and circumstances are fully justified.

Annual Award Amount
$66,000 per year.

A maximum of $60,000 per year for salary and project support. Investigator may add up to $6,000 per year in indirect costs. Indirect costs shall not exceed 10 percent of the total amount requested.

Award Duration
Two years

Peer Review Criteria

1. Future Independence of Investigator: Is there demonstrated evidence that the award will promote independent status for the applicant?  The award is not intended to provide enhanced funding for professional personnel working on the research program of an established scientist.
   
   
   
2. Significance: Does this study address an important problem broadly related to cardiovascular disease or stroke?  If the aims of the application are achieved, how will scientific knowledge or clinical practice be advanced?  What will be the effect of these studies on the concepts, methods and technologies that drive this field?
   
   
   
3. Approach: Are the conceptual framework, design, methods and analyses adequately developed, well integrated, well reasoned and feasible (as determined by preliminary data), and appropriate to the aims of the project?  The assessment of preliminary data should be put into perspective such that bold new ideas and risk-taking on the part of beginning investigators are encouraged rather than stymied.  Does the applicant acknowledge potential problem areas and consider alternative tactics?
   
   
   
4. Innovation: Is the project original and innovative?  For example: Does the project challenge existing paradigms and address an innovative hypothesis or critical barrier to progress in the field?  Does the project develop or employ novel concepts, approaches, methodologies, tools or technologies for this area?
   Investigator: Is the investigator appropriately trained and well suited to carry out this work?  Is the work proposed appropriate to the experience level of the principal investigator and other researchers?  Does the investigative team bring complementary and integrated expertise to the project (if applicable)?
   
   
   
5. Environment: Does the scientific environment in which the work will be done contribute to the probability of success?  Do the proposed studies benefit from unique features of the scientific environment, or subject populations, or employ useful collaborative arrangements?  Is there evidence of institutional support as demonstrated in the department head letter?

Applicants should never contact reviewers regarding their applications.  Discussing scientific content of an application or attempting to influence review outcome will constitute a conflict of interest in the review.  Reviewers should notify the AHA if an applicant contacts them.

Location of Work
AHA awards are limited to nonprofit institutions within the geographic boundaries of the Great Rivers Affiliate.  Such institutions include: medical, osteopathic and dental schools; veterinary schools; schools of public health; pharmacy schools; nursing schools; universities and colleges; public and voluntary hospitals; and other nonprofit institutions that can demonstrate the ability to conduct the proposed research.  Applications will not be accepted for work with funding to be administered through any federal institution or work to be performed by a federal employee, with the exception of the Veterans Administration.

Restrictions

• The amount of other research funding available to the principal investigator, at the time of award activation, may not exceed $150,000 per year (not including PI salary/fringe and intramural funding).
• At the time of award activation, no more than four years may have elapsed since the applicant's first faculty or staff appointment at the assistant professor level or its equivalent.
• Awards are not intended to supplement or duplicate currently funded work.
• An individual may hold only one Association award at a time, even when the proposals are scientifically distinct.*
• An applicant may submit only one affiliate application per deadline.
• An individual may hold a Beginning Grant-in-Aid only two times.
• Investigators who have held/or currently have an AHA Scientist Development Grant are not eligible to apply for a Great Rivers Affiliate Beginning Grant-in-Aid.
• The same or similar application submitted for the fourth time will be administratively withdrawn.**

Applying to National and an Affiliate
If eligible, an applicant may simultaneously submit applications for affiliate and national awards.  If both are funded, the applicant must choose one award.  A person cannot hold more than one association award concurrently unless there is a stated exception.  The proposed research plan may need to be adjusted based upon different length of award and dollars available.  The deadline dates may be different for each submission.

Interim Reporting and Progress Assessment
Interim progress reports are required annually for all continuing multiple year awards.  Second-year funding is contingent upon satisfactory progress in the first year.  Progress reports must include narrative description of research findings, abstracts, publications and names of trainees (optional).

Evaluation
Publications, citations by others, ability to attract ongoing research funding, faculty/staff advancement, contribution of association support to career advancement.

Success Rate (January 2009 deadline)
# Applications Reviewed: 124
# Applications Awarded: 18
Success Rate: 15 percent

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*Exception: An investigator may hold two association grants (affiliate and national) concurrently if (all three apply): 1) there will be no more than six months remaining on the initial award; 2) the projects have no overlap in specific aims; and 3) there is no budgetary overlap between the two projects.

**An applicant who is unsuccessful in a competition may resubmit the same or similar application three times (the original plus two resubmissions).