Marie Cowan Promising Early Career Investigator Award

• Applicants must be active in research and 5-10 years past completion of a terminal degree in nursing (PhD, DNP).
• The applicant must be a junior nurse investigator actively engaged in biobehavioral/physiological cardiovascular and stroke nursing research.
• To be eligible to apply, applicants and their sponsors must be AHA professional members of the Council of Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing (CVSN). Membership must be completed online. Please note that membership processing may take 3–5; do not wait until the proposal deadline to Join or Renew.
• Applicant must hold a full-time position.
• Applicants should not apply for the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing's Martha Hill Early Career Investigator Award in the same year they apply for this award.
• Past recipients of this award are not eligible to compete again.
• There are no citizenship requirements.
• Awardee must agree to attend the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions and the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing annual dinner, to accept the award.

• The candidate must be the first author of the submitted article.
• The article must be scientifically sound, timely, original, and feature a robust research design, clearly aligning with the goals of the American Heart Association and the Council on Cardiovascular and Stroke Nursing. It should be a reprint of a published, data-based, peer-reviewed article or, if unavailable, an indexed, peer-reviewed, and publicly available article.
• Candidates may be self-nominated or nominated by others.

Applications will be judged by a panel of accomplished researchers, scientists, clinicians and academicians representing the breadth of cardiovascular sciences.

• AHA Policies and Guiding Values
• Code of Ethics
• AHA’s Peer Reviewer Certification Statement (PDF)

Contacting the judging panel, including but not limited to phone calls, emails, social media messages, or any other form of communication, before submitting your application or during the review process will result in disqualification.

Applications will be judged on the following:

• Evidence of excellence in biobehavioral/physiologic cardiovascular nursing research.
• Evaluation of a published, data-based, peer-reviewed article focused on biobehavioral/physiologic cardiovascular nursing research.
• The letters of nomination and recommendation that outline the current and projected contributions of the applicant to biobehavioral/physiologic cardiovascular nursing research and that provide evidence that the applicant is embarking on a sustained program of productive research.

Please read these instructions carefully. The review committee will not consider incomplete applications.

Electronic submission through the Council Awards Application System is mandatory. Hard copies of any part of the application will not be accepted.

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

• Curriculum vitae (with bibliography) or biosketch in NIH format
• Reprint of a published, data-based, peer-reviewed article focused on biobehavioral/physiological cardiovascular nursing research
• Letter of Nomination on electronic letterheads and with a signature that outlines the current and projected contributions of the applicant to biobehavioral/physiologic cardiovascular nursing research and provides evidence that the applicant is embarking on a sustained program of productive research.
• Letter of Recommendation or Candidate Statement (if self-nominating) written on electronic letterhead with a signature.

Visit the Council Awards Application System to complete an application.

A username and password previously set up through online registration at Professional Heart Daily (PHD) will be necessary to access the 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.

An active AHA Professional Membership is required of all applicants for this award. If you are joining the AHA to apply, please wait for your AHA member number to arrive from AHA Member Services via e-mail before creating an online profile and starting your application file. We suggest that new members join the AHA no later than one week prior to the application submission deadline for the member ID number to be processed and delivered in time for the application deadline. The membership number will be required on the award application form.

1. Click the link for the Council Awards Application System.
2. Sign in with your Professional Heart Daily username and password.
3. Follow these instructions to set up your profile in ProposalCentral. Setting up your ProposalCentral profile will only need to be done the first time you login to apply for an American Heart Association Council Awards. Please note that the grant maker named American Heart Association is for AHA Research Awards and is a separate log in.
4. To apply for award, follow these steps:
   • Create New Proposal: Start by selecting "Create New Proposal."
   • Filter by Grant Maker: Choose "American Heart Association Council Awards."
   • Select Program: From the Programs list, select "Scientific Sessions Cardiovascular Nursing Awards"
   • Apply Now: Click the "Apply Now" button.
   • Choose Award: Within the application, select the award.

For more detailed information on ProposalCentral, also included are additional materials on specific ProposalCentral functionality.

• How to Create an Application in ProposalCentral (PDF)
• How to Register a ProposalCentral User (PDF)
• How To Add Publications in ProposalCentral (PDF)

The winner will receive:

• $500 honorarium
• Complimentary registration to Scientific Sessions
• Complimentary council dinner ticket, and recognition and presentation of a plaque at the council dinner