AHA's Commitment to Research
Funding research is a cornerstone of the American Heart Association’s lifesaving mission - a pillar of our foundation and a key to our future. Since 1949, the AHA has made significant annual investments in research which have led to breakthroughs in cardiovascular and stroke discovery, translation, and clinical application through more 49,000 funded projects. At our core are 12 Essential Elements that guide the AHA's research vision. This year's significant milestones include:
Invested in scientific research since 1949. The AHA is the largest nonprofit, non-governmental supporter of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular research in the U.S.
Currently being supported by the AHA. These total $479M in research funding. Of those, 868 were activated in 2022-23, accounting for $178M of funding.
Number of peer volunteers who evaluated 3,775 proposals for AHA funding during the 2022-23 fiscal year.
AHA Funding Opportunities
Funding research is a cornerstone of the American Heart Association’s lifesaving mission and a key to our future. AHA has been funding scientific research since 1949 and continually adds new timely, mission-related programs.
Application Resources
Tips and tools for preparing and submitting a proposal for research funding. Resources include step-by-step application instructions, live webinars, videos, fact sheets, and helpful web sites.
Research Portal
View current data on investigators, institutions, awards, and resulting publications funded by the AHA since 2001.
Analytic Opportunities
Teams can access the AHA Precision Medicine Platform to collaborate and analyze data that includes Get With The Guidelines® and Research Goes Red for the power of machine learning in a secure cloud computing environment.
AHA Research History
See the results of the AHA's more than $5.7 billion investment in research, both historic and recent.
Success
Rates
Success rates are the percent funded of the total number of full proposals submitted. These figures should not be used to predict future program performance.
SURE Scholars Program
A unique summer research program for underrepresented college students interested in STEM careers.
Research Insider Signup
Monthly e-newsletter encompassing the latest funding opportunities and news.
Research News
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New $2 million research initiative will study heart and brain health in people with autism
To learn more about the unique cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health needs of people with autism, a new $2 million research initiative is being funded by the American Heart Association(link opens in new window), celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service(link opens in new window) as the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, and Autism Speaks(link opens in new window), founded in 2005 to create an inclusive world for all individuals with autism throughout their lifespan.
The pre- and post-doctoral fellowship awards will aim to empower and nurture the next generation of researchers and practitioners in the field of autism, with a focus on cardiovascular and brain health. -
New research funding awarded to assess the role of race in predicting heart disease
People with heart disease may receive different care because of how race is interpreted in health risk calculators and other tools that help clinicians make treatment decisions. The American Heart Association, a global force for healthier lives for all celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service, awarded four new grants this month to support scientific research that will evaluate the use of race in predicting heart disease risk and in turn help develop tools that are free of bias.
The newly funded principal investigators join six previous awardees who are part of a two-year scientific research strategy(link opens in new window) funded by a grant from the Doris Duke Foundation to study the complex issue of how race and ethnicity factor into clinical care algorithms and risk prediction tools. The grants are $50,000 each.
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New pediatric heart transplantation research grants
Scientific researchers in Missouri and Virginia have been awarded nearly $1.4 million each in grants to study ways to extend the life expectancy and improve the quality of life for children with a transplanted heart(link opens in new window). These two research awards mark the latest round of funding for a joint $3 million scientific research initiative between the American Heart Association, celebrating 100 years of lifesaving service(link opens in new window) as the world’s leading nonprofit organization focused on heart and brain health for all, and Enduring Hearts(link opens in new window), the only non-profit organization solely dedicated to funding pediatric heart transplant research. -
SFRN Inflammation Research Awards
Research teams from Northwestern University Chicago Campus, University of Michigan and University of Pittsburgh will lead a $15 million project dedicated to studying inflammation’s role in cardiac and brain diseases. The American Heart Association’s Strategically Focused Research Network (SFRN) on Inflammation in Cardiac and Neurovascular Disease(link opens in new window) aims to better understand the body’s response to inflammation and crosstalk between the heart and brain, as well as how to prevent or treat inflammation-driven cardiovascular diseases. -
More than half million dollars in research grants awarded for CHD
Five promising scientific researchers will advance their work to better understand and treat the most common birth defect in the U.S., congenital heart defects (CHDs), thanks to joint financial support from the American Heart Association and The Children’s Heart Foundation's Congenital Heart Defect Research Awards program.
Announcements
- Stroke Images: Piloting the collection of neuroimages with clinical data - due May 29, 2024
- Predoctoral Fellowship - due Sept. 4, 2024
- Postdoctoral Fellowship - due Sept. 5, 2024
- Institutional Award for Undergraduate Student Training - due Sept. 11, 2024
- AHA Institutional Research Enhancement Award (AIREA) - due Sept. 12, 2024
- Career Development Award - due Dec. 5, 2024
- Research Supplement to Promote Diversity in Science - due Feb. 6, 2025
Get With The GuidelinesĀ®
Meet your data submission requirements while tracking and reporting on your hospital's performance.
This tool is a hospital-based quality improvement program designed to close the treatment gap in cardiovascular disease, stroke, and resuscitation. It includes modules in coronary artery disease, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke and resuscitation. Each program provides physicians and healthcare providers with materials, information and tools based on relevant evidence-based guidelines.
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- Access to apply for a research funding award(s)
- Free online access to AHA Scientific Journals
- Affiliate with one or more of our 16 Scientific Councils
- Discounts on Scientific Conference registration and online courses
2024 Holidays
AHA offices will be closed: | Altum/Proposal Central will be closed: | |||
Jan. 1 | Sept. 2 | Jan. 1 | July 4 | |
Jan. 15 | Nov. 28 & 29 | Jan. 15 | Sept. 2 | |
May 27 | Dec. 23-27 | Feb. 19 | Oct. 14 | |
July 4 | May 27 | Nov. 28 & 29 | ||
June 19 | Dec. 23-27 |