Robert W Hobson II MD Early Career Investigator Award

The Robert W. Hobson, II, MD Early Career Investigator Award recognizes excellence in basic or clinical science in early career investigators in vascular and endovascular medicine, vascular surgery, or vascular biology.

The purpose of this award is to encourage participation in the Council of Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) and AHA activities by providing travel funds to attend the Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine Scientific Sessions, present research in oral or poster format, and engage in discussion with senior investigators.

Criteria

• Applicants must be members of the Council on Peripheral Vascular Disease (PVD) (member number required to complete award application).
• Candidates include medical students, trainees/fellows, or PhDs and/or MDs in active research who have completed training only within the last four years; or PhDs and/or MDs who are still within in the first four years after their first faculty appointment, as of the award application date.
• Must be actively involved in research related to peripheral vascular disease (artery or venous).
• Winners are not eligible to compete in subsequent years.
• An individual may not compete for similar young investigator awards from other American Heart Association scientific councils during the same year for the same meeting.
• The work covered by the abstract must not have been published at the time of abstract submission or presented at a national meeting or world congress before the conference. The abstract must comply with the AHA Abstract Submission Guidelines as outlined by the Vascular Discovery Program Committee.
• Be present at the Vascular Discovery Scientific Sessions, to qualify for this award.
• There are no citizenship requirements.

Application Requirements

• Abstract must be submitted to one of the following categories for presentation at the Vascular Discovery Scientific Sessions:
  • Aortic Aneurysm Disease
  • Peripheral Artery Disease, Carotid Artery Disease and Stroke
  • Venous Thromboembolism and Lymphatic Diseases
• The applicant must be the first and presenting author, although the abstract may have co-authors.
• Only 1 application per candidate will be considered.

Judging Criteria

The applicant will be assessed on:

• The quality and originality of the submitted abstract.
• Letter from the candidate’s sponsor and any other reference letters, plus the candidate’s CV.

How to Apply

The applicant must:

• Submit an original abstract to the Vascular Discovery Scientific Sessions. The abstract must be in accordance with the rules and regulations for submitting abstracts and must have been submitted by the abstract submission deadline.
• Select the Hobson Award during the abstract submission process.
• The following must be submitted by uploading into the abstract submission system (at the “Awards Application Materials Upload” step):
  • A complete curriculum vitae, including bibliography, and clear documentation demonstrating that the applicant is within the first 4 years of an initial faculty appointment at the time of the award application date.
  • A letter detailing how much of the design and research work was done by the candidate and by any co-investigators. The candidate's immediate supervisor, division head, department chairman, or institute director must write this statement. In case of multi-authored abstracts, the supervisor should also indicate that among all the co-authors the applicant is the most appropriate candidate for the award and offer rationale for this opinion. Supportive statements of the candidate and his or her relevant qualifications as a researcher are also encouraged.
  • Though not required, up to two additional letters of support or reference from individuals familiar with the applicant, his or her background, or his or her research may be submitted.

Prize

The winner will receive a plaque and $1,000 award for conference travel. The award will be presented at the PVD Annual Business Meeting & Networking Luncheon at Vascular Discovery 2025 in Baltimore, Maryland.

Past Recipients

• 2024 Bowen Wang, PhD
• 2023 Frank M. Davis, MD
• 2022 Lucas Marinho, MD
• 2021 Michael Levin, MD
• 2020 Shirli Tay, BA
• 2019 A. Phillip Owens, III
• 2018 Alyssa Flores, BS
• 2017 Areck Ucuzian, MD, PhD
• 2016 Alicia N. Lyle, PhD
• 2015 Jose Diaz, MD
• 2014 Marlene Grenon, MDCM, MMSc, FRCSD
• 2013 Hana Totary-Jain, PhD
• 2012 Ngan Huang, PhD, MS