Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia Early Career Investigator Abstract Award

Award submission for Scientific Sessions will reopen in spring 2025.

• Applicant must be active in research and within 10 years of completion of terminal degree or highest certificate (e.g., MSc, PhD), or within 10 years of completing medical fellowship or residency, as of the award application date. Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, instructors, and research associates are welcome to apply.
• All applicants and applicant sponsors for the award must be members of the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia (CVSA). If you need to become an AHA Professional Member, you should do so no later than one week prior to the application submission deadline for your member account to be processed in time for the application submission deadline. Learn more about becoming an AHA Professional Membership.
• Abstract must be submitted to one of the categories for presentation at Scientific Sessions in which the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia is the lead/primary sponsor. View a list of Council Awards and Travel Grants Available by Abstract Category and Community (PDF). Make sure that your abstract has been submitted in a category listed under the award for which you want to apply.
• An individual may not compete for the CVSA Vivien Thomas Early Career Investigator Award or similar early career investigator awards from the other American Heart Association scientific councils during the same scientific meeting.
• Only one application per candidate will be considered.
• The applicant must be the first and presenting author, although the abstract may have co-authors. The presenting author of an accepted abstract must be registered for Scientific Sessions. A manuscript is not required for this application. Additional information about registration and fees may be found on the Scientific Sessions website.
• Previous winners and finalists are not eligible to re-enter the competition in subsequent years. However, applicants may apply for a different award program in which they haven't previously been a winner or finalist
• Abstracts associated with a published manuscript can be presented at an AHA scientific event if the manuscript was published after the time the abstract was submitted to the event, however the abstract will not be published as a part of the journal publication.
• Applicants must adhere to the AHA Embargo Policy.
• The work covered by the abstract must not have been presented at a national or international meeting or world congress before the date and time of presentation at Scientific Sessions.
• The abstract must comply with the General Abstracts Submission Guidelines (PDF) as outlined by the Committee on Scientific Sessions Program.
• Abstracts/manuscripts eligible for this award must be based upon projects that adhere to the American Heart Association’s policies governing all research awards, regardless of whether the project was funded by the American Heart Association. These policies are available here and include (but are not limited to) research using human subjects or animals and stem cell research.
• Notwithstanding the above, the AHA Officers have the discretion to determine eligibility for the award in extraordinary circumstances when there is an issue relating to AHA policy or positions or other potentially controversial issue relating to the positioning or perception of the AHA.

Electronic submission through the Council Awards Application System is required. Hard copies of any part of the nomination cannot be accepted.

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

• Curriculum vitae
• A copy of the abstract that has been submitted for presentation to Scientific Sessions in accordance with AHA rules and regulations for submitting abstracts to Scientific Sessions. The candidate should be the first and presenting author on the abstract. Note your abstract control number received after submission to Scientific Sessions as it will be needed on your award application form.
• Candidate's personal statement (no longer than one page, double-spaced), outlining the following:
  • The applicant should provide a synopsis of their current research and future career aspirations.
  • How receipt of the CVSA New Investigator Award will enhance future long-term goals.

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.

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)

Finalists for the early career investigator award competitions will be announced in August and will present their research results at Scientific Sessions in November. Each finalist must present their abstract in-person at Scientific Sessions. Virtual presentations or an alternate (proxy) presenter will not be permitted and will result in disqualification from the award.

• Each finalist will receive one complimentary ticket to and recognition at the council dinner where they will be presented with an engraved award plaque. The winner will be announced at the dinner.
• The winner will receive a $1,000 honorarium; up to four remaining finalists will each receive a $750 honorarium.

• Join or renew as an AHA Professional Member
• Submit your application in the Council Awards Application System
• Instructions for ProposalCentral, Council Awards platform

• Council Awards Application System (ProposalCentral) Help Desk: [email protected]
• Council Awards: [email protected]
• Member Services: [email protected]
• Password/Login: [email protected]
• Abstract Submission: [email protected]