Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award

The Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award recognizes talented early career investigators in training (pre-doctoral and post-doctoral) in arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology, as well as peripheral vascular disease, who are members of the ATVB Council or PVD Council and have potential to become future leaders.

Criteria

The applicant must

• Be a member of the American Heart Association (membership number required to complete award application).
• All applicants for the award must be members of the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology or the council on Peripheral Vascular Disease.
• Candidates include pre-doctoral trainees and post-doctoral fellows (PhD, DSc, DVM, MD, etc.) actively conducting research in ATVB- or PVD-related fields. Candidates with over five years' post-doctoral training or with an instructor or faculty appointment at the award application date are not eligible.
• Applicants must submit an abstract describing new, unpublished work to Vascular Discovery 2025 and be the first author of the submitted abstract. Abstract must meet the annual conference criteria and be selected for presentation.
• Previous winners are not eligible to apply.
• Finalists from previous years are eligible to reapply if they were not selected as a winner. However, they must re-apply with a different abstract to be considered.
• 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 April 22, 2025. The abstract must comply with the AHA Abstract Submission Guidelines as outlined by the Vascular Discovery program committee.
• Be present at the Vascular Discovery 2025 Scientific Sessions to qualify for this award.
• An individual may not compete for similar early investigator awards from ATVB or PVD councils at Vascular Discovery or American Heart Association Scientific Sessions with the same abstract submission.
• There are no citizenship requirements.

Judging Criteria

Prizes will be designated on the basis of scientific merit, quality, and originality of the abstract presentation. Finalists for the award will present his/her submission during an oral competition at the conference. The finalist must be presenter of his/her submission and no alternates or proxy will be allowed.

Prize

• The finalists will present their abstracts during an oral competition the Vascular Discovery Scientific Sessions. The winner will receive an engraved plaque and $1,000 to defray travel costs. Other finalists will each receive a plaque and a $500 travel stipend.

How to Apply

The applicant must

1. Submit an original abstract to the Vascular Discovery 2025 Scientific Sessions and applicant must be the first author of the submitted abstract. The abstract must be in accordance with the rules and regulations for submitting abstracts and must have been submitted by the abstract submission deadline.
2. Select the Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award during the abstract submission process.
3. The following must be submitted by uploading into the abstract submission system (at the “Award Application Materials Upload” step):
   1. A cover letter declaring the application for the Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award.
   2. A complete curriculum vitae, including bibliography, and clear documentation demonstrating that the applicant is a pre-doctoral trainee or post-doctoral fellow actively conducting research in ATVB- or PVD-related fields at the time of application (PhD, DSc, DVM, MD, etc.). Candidates with over five years post-doctoral training or with an instructor or faculty appointment at the award application date are not eligible.

Winners

• 2024 Carrie B. Wiese, PhD
• 2023 Yannick Cyr, PhD
• 2022 Qian Ma, PhD
• 2021 Mabruka Alfaidi, MD

Current and Past Chairs of the Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award Selection Committee (2020 – Present)

• 2024 – 2026: Phillip Owens, PhD, Chair; Hanrui Zhang PhD, Chair-Elect
• 2022 – 2024: Marit Westerterp, PhD, Chair; Phillip Owens, PhD, Chair-Elect
• 2020 – 2022: Elizabeth Tarling, PhD and Marit Westerterp, PhD, Co-Chairs

The History of the Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award Selection Committee

The Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award Committee was established in 2020 by the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology at the Vascular Discovery: From Genes to Medicine Scientific Sessions.The founding chairs of the committee, Drs. Elizabeth Tarling and Marit Westerterp, served from 2020 to 2022, and played a pivotal role in creating the award. The goal of the award was to highlight outstanding trainees who show exceptional promise in cardiovascular research, with the potential to become future leaders in the field.

From 2022 – 2024, Dr. Marit Westerterp chaired the committee, with Dr. Phillip Owens as chair-elect, continuing the mission of recognizing and supporting talented trainees within the ATVB council. In 2024, to enhance the exposure of the finalists, this award underwent several major advances, such as collaborating with the PVD Council to allow PVD members to apply and transitioned from a poster competition to oral presentation.

As of July 2024, Dr. Phillip Owens assumes the role as chair, with Dr. Hanrui Zhang serving as chair elect. In this year, the award was also renamed from the original ATVB Investigator in Training Award to the ATVB & PVD Investigator in Training Award, to finally, the Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award to honor Dr. Ghosh’s significant contributions to cardiovascular research and her commitment to mentoring the next generation of scientists. More details on Dr. Ghosh’s legacy can be found here.