Established Investigator Award for Clinical Hypertension

• All applicants for the award must be active professional members of the Council on Hypertension by the time of application submission. If you need to become an Professional Member, you should do so before submitting your abstract and award application materials. Join or renew today!
• Hold a doctoral degree (e.g., MD, PhD, DO, DVM, or equivalent).
• Hold a full-time faculty or staff scientist position (or equivalent).
• Be appointed to the Associate Professor level or equivalent (e.g., Associate Professor, Research Associate Professor, Research Scientist, Staff Scientist)
• Be within 15 years of their initial faculty appointment.
• Individuals holding the rank of Full Professor (or equivalent) are not eligible to apply.
• Previous awardees are not eligible to re-apply for the award in subsequent years.

Members of the Council on Hypertension Awards Committee are not eligible to apply or to write letters of support for applicants.

• Applicants must submit an abstract for presentation at Hypertension Scientific Sessions and provide their unpublished manuscript or manuscript in preparation at the time of application.
• The applicant must be the first or last author and must be the presenting author, although the manuscript may have co-authors. The presenting author of an accepted abstract must be registered for the meeting.
• Only one manuscript per candidate will be considered.
• Previous winners are not eligible to re-enter the competition in subsequent years.
• 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 Hypertension Scientific Sessions. The abstract must comply with the Abstract Submission Guidelines as outlined by the Scientific Sessions Program Committee.
• Notwithstanding the above, the Association’s officers have the discretion to determine eligibility for the award in extraordinary circumstances when there is an issue relating to policy, positions or other potentially controversial issues relating to the positioning or perception of the Association.
• Each recipient of council-sponsored awards, regardless of award category, is eligible to receive only one council-sponsored award each year per scientific meeting.

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

• Policies and Guiding Values
• Code of Ethics
• 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:

• Scientific merit of the abstract
• Quality and originality of the manuscript
• Candidate's curriculum vitae and bibliography
• Candidate statement
• Letter from the candidate's sponsor

• June 24, 2026, 6 p.m. (CT) – You must have submitted an abstract to Hypertension Scientific Sessions.
• June 30, 2026 – Deadline to have an active Professional Membership with the Council on Hypertension.
• July 3, 2026, 6 p.m. (CT) – Deadline to apply for this award in the Council Awards System.
• August 2026 – Applicants are notified of their award status. Only those with an accepted abstract will be considered for selection.

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:

• Abstract: A copy of your submitted abstract. This abstract must be submitted through the Hypertension Scientific Sessions website before the abstract submission deadline.
• Unpublished Manuscript: An unpublished manuscript or manuscript in preparation based on independent research to be presented in the submitted abstract. (35-page limitation, including references, tables, and figures.)
  • The applicant must be the first and presenting author, although the manuscript may have co-authors.
  • The work covered by the submitted abstract must not have been presented at a national or international meeting before presentation at the American Heart Association’s scientific event. If so, the abstract must be withdrawn.
• Curriculum Vitae and bibliography
• Candidate Statement: The candidate statement should outline and provide clear examples of how the candidate meets the criteria:
  • Novelty and innovation of science
  • Track record of the individual including peer reviewed publications
  • How this funding will impact the individual’s career trajectory
• Letter of Support: A letter detailing the contributions of the candidate and any co-investigators to the design and research work. This statement must be written by the candidate’s immediate supervisor, division head, department chair, or institute director. Supportive statements highlighting the candidate’s relevant qualifications and strengths as a researcher are also encouraged. For multi-authored manuscripts, the supervisor should indicate that the applicant is the most suitable candidate for the award among all co-authors, providing a rationale for this opinion.

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. Professional Members who are creating an online profile for the first time should make sure to register using their membership identification numbers.

An active Professional Membership is required of all applicants for this award. To be eligible to apply, applicants must be professional members at the Premium Professional or Premium Professional Plus tier. Membership must be completed online. Please note that membership processing may take 3–5 days; do not wait until the proposal deadline to Join or Renew.

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 log in to apply for an American Heart Association Council Awards. Please note that the grant maker named American Heart Association is for Research Awards and is a separate funder.
4. To apply for "Established Investigator Award for Clinical Hypertension," 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 "Hypertension Scientific Sessions Established Investigator Awards."
   • Apply Now: Click the "Apply Now" button.
   • Choose Award: Within application, select "Established Investigator Award for Clinical Hypertension"
   • For more detailed information on ProposalCentral, also included are additional materials on specific ProposalCentral functionality.
     1. How to Create an Application in ProposalCentral (PDF)
     2. How to Register a ProposalCentral User (PDF)
     3. How To Add Publications in ProposalCentral (PDF)

• Complimentary registration to Hypertension Scientific Sessions
• An engraved plaque
• $10,000 honorarium
• One (1) ticket to the Hypertension Scientific Sessions Awards Banquet