Council on Hypertension Advisory and Mentoring Program (CHAMP)

Administered by the Trainee Advocacy Committee (TAC)

This is an in-person event

Participants

Mentees

Definition: Any member of the AHA Council on Hypertension who applies to be trained/counselled by a mentor.
Categories:
- Undergraduate Students
- Graduate/Medical Students
- Postdoctoral Fellows/Residents
- Junior Faculty (within 5 years of their initial appointment)

Note: Due to the popularity of this event, and the costs associated with holding it, we will limit the number of mentee-mentor pairs to 40. Priority will be determined on a “first-come-first-served” basis based on application submission date.

Mentors

Definitions: Any member of the AHA Council on Hypertension who leads a lab and agrees to meet and guide junior Council members (“mentees”) who seek mentoring in CHAMP and do not have significant funding from the NIH.
Categories:
- Both Junior and Senior independent Principal Investigators are welcome to register as mentors

The Matching Process

After the application deadline, the TAC will review the pool of mentee and mentor applicants and recommend a mentee-mentor match based on mutual interests/fit.
Specific mentor requests are acceptable, and the TAC will do their best to fulfill these requests during the matching process. However, specific requests are not guaranteed.
Initial mentee-mentor match notifications/introductions will be made via email in late-August. The email will contain information on how to make the most out of your first initial meeting at the fall Council on Hypertension Scientific Sessions meeting.
Initial face-to-face meeting will be held at the Hypertension Conference on Friday, September 5, 2025, from noon–1:30 p.m. EDT in Baltimore, Maryland.

Participation Requirements

Participants must be active members of the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Hypertension at the Trainee/Early Career level (Mentees) or at the Premium Professional/Premium Professional Plus level (Senior Mentors). To become a member of the AHA please visit AHA Professional Membership.
Commit to attending the CHAMP luncheon at the Hypertension Scientific Sessions.
Upon registering for CHAMP, mentees with existing primary mentors (e.g., graduate students, postdoctoral fellows) acknowledge that they have consulted with their primary “day-to-day” mentor about participating in CHAMP, and that the primary mentor is supportive of their participation.

NOTE: Participation in CHAMP does not imply an opportunity to work in a mentor's laboratory. The benefit of this program is that mentees are able to leverage mentor experience and expertise in the field of hypertension. It is not meant to be a bridge into a mentor's laboratory.

Commitment

Both mentees and mentors participating in CHAMP commit to attending the annual Hypertension Scientific Sessions conference. Further development of the relationship, and subsequent mentoring (e.g., telephone calls, emails, video conferences), should be initiated and driven by the mentee.

Resources

The TAC has assembled and developed if necessary online resources on mentoring topics such as, but not limited to:

Effective mentoring relationships
Career development
Publications and CV development
Grant planning and writing
Negotiation
Scientific independence
Management of expectations
Scientific Integrity
Becoming a supervisor

Communications
Internationalization
Interpersonal skills
Managing people
Personal effectiveness
Researcher development
Presentation skills
Time management
Work-Life integration

Application Requirements

Required Documents/Uploads for Mentees:

Curriculum Vitae
Head & shoulder photograph (.jpeg, jpg, or .tiff format)
Current Clinical and/or Research Activities and Professional Experience (1 page limit: ¾” margins, Arial 11 pt. font)
Personal Statement about your career goals and what you hope to accomplish by participating in CHAMP (1 page limit: ¾” margins, Arial 11 pt. font)

Complete online application and upload required documents at: