CVSA Surgery & Anesthesiology Mentoring Award

Sponsored by the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia (CVSA)


To qualify for this award, you must meet the following deadlines:

  • June 1, 2025 – Deadline to have an active AHA professional membership.
  • June 6, 2025, 6 p.m. (CDT) – Deadline to apply for this award in the Council Awards System.

The CVSA Surgery & Anesthesiology Mentoring Award is offered annually by the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia (CVSA) to honor one of its members who has actively guided junior researchers to build future generations of cardiovascular scientists and surgeons. This award recognizes a senior scientist who has a record of providing exceptional support for scientists in cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, anesthesiology and other related fields individually and globally through mentoring and advocacy.

The honoree will be recognized at the CVSA Council Dinner at Scientific Sessions in November.

Award Recipients

2024 Winner
  • Joseph Bavaria, MD, FACS, FRCS
Past Recipients

2020–2023 Recipients

  • 2023 Duke E. Cameron, MD
  • 2021 Linda Shore-Lesserson, MD, FAHA

2010–2019 Recipients

  • 2019 Joseph Woo, MD, FAHA
  • 2017 Frank Sellke, MD, FAHA
  • 2015 Nancy Nussmeier, MD, FAHA
  • 2014 Lawrence H. Cohn, MD
  • 2013 Pedro Del Nido, MD
  • 2012 Robert Guyton, MD
  • 2011 L. Henry Edmunds, Jr., MD
  • 2010 Hartzell V. Schaff, MD

2002–2009 Recipients

  • 2009 Jean McSweeney, PhD, RN, FAHA, FAAN
  • 2008 William A. Baumgartner, MD
  • 2007 William Pearce, MD
  • 2006 Shukri Khuri, MD
  • 2005 Timothy Gardner, MD
  • 2004 Sidney Levitsky, MD
  • 2003 Robert Thompson, MD
  • 2002 Richard D. Weisel, MD

Applicant / Nominee Eligibility

Applicants or nominees for this award must meet the following criteria:

  • Be a member of the AHA Scientific Council sponsoring this award. Your council affiliation will be validated during the application process. 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.
  • Be a senior scientist (full faculty status of five years or more) in one or more of the fields represented by the council.
  • Be working actively to build the careers of scientists in training under his or her supervision.
  • Be nationally known in the fields represented by the council.
  • Participated in activities that support the work and education of junior investigators in the science field.
  • Made significant contributions to the role of junior investigators in the field.
  • Current members of the CVSA Leadership Committee and the CVSA Mentoring Committee are not eligible to apply for or be nominated for the award.

Evaluation Criteria

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

Contacting the review 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.

Timeline

  • June 1, 2025 – Deadline to have an active AHA professional membership with the council sponsoring the award. 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.
  • June 6, 2025, 6 p.m. (CDT) – Deadline to apply for the award in the Council Awards Application System. This deadline will not be extended.
  • July 2025 – Nominator/Nominee is notified of their award status (selected or not selected).

Required Documents

Electronic submission through the Council Awards Application System is mandatory. Hard copies of any part of the application will not be accepted.

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

  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Letter of Nomination or Candidate Statement: Original letter drafted on electronic letterhead with a signature. The letter should outline and provide clear examples of how the candidate meets the criteria.
  • List of Mentees and Current Positions
  • Up to Three Optional Letters of Support from Mentees

How to Apply / Submit a Nomination

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.
  4. To apply for award, follow these steps:

Prize

  • Complimentary registration to Scientific Sessions
  • Two (2) complimentary tickets to the CVSA Council Dinner
  • An engraved plaque

Questions

November 7–10, 2025
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center | New Orleans, Louisiana

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