Cournand and Comroe Early Career Investigator Prize in Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation

Sponsored by the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation (3CPR)


Applicants must submit abstracts to Scientific Sessions 2024. Abstract submission will open on April 10, 2024.

To qualify for this Scientific Sessions 2024 award, you must meet the following deadlines:

  • May 31, 2024 – Deadline to have an active AHA membership with this Council.
  • June 6, 2024, 6 p.m. (CDT) – Deadline to submit your science to Scientific Sessions 2024.
  • June 10, 2024, 11 p.m. (CDT) – Deadline to apply for this award in the Council Awards Application System.

The Cournand and Comroe Prize in Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative, and Resuscitation acknowledges the research and accomplishments of early career investigator members of the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative, and Resuscitation and encourages them to continue their research in biomedical sciences. The winner will be announced at the competition during Scientific Sessions in November.

Award Recipients

Award Recipients
Year Awardee
2023 Sarah-Eve Lemay, MSc
Unravelling the Role of Deoxyhypusine Synthase-Mediated Hypusination Of eIF5A in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
2022 Lloyd David Harvey, MD, PhD
Genetic Control of Lysosomal Dysfunction Reprograms Sterol Metabolism in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
2021 Sasha Z. Prisco, MD, PhD
Intermittent Fasting Enhances Right Ventricular Function in Preclinical Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
2020 Malik Bisserier, PhD
Lung-targeted SIN3a gene therapy as a promising strategy to restore BMPR2 expression in pulmonary arterial hypertension
2019 Taijyu Satoh, MD, PhD
Novel Rodent Model of Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension (EIPH) in Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction
2018
Lai-Ming Yung, PhD
ActRIIA-Fc Rebalances Activin/GDF and BMP9 Signaling to Attenuate Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension
2017 Nobuhiro Kikuchi, MD, PhD
Selenoprotein P Promotes the Development of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension-A Possible Novel Therapeutic Target
2016 Ling Wang, MD, PhD
Five-Coordinate H64Q Neuroglobin as a Ligand-Trap Antidote for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning
2015 Alexander Rothman, MA, MSc
MicroRNA-140 Regulates Disease Phenotype in Experimental PAH and Identifies SMURF1 as a Novel Therapeutic Target
2014 Ke Yuan, PhD
Activation of the Wnt/Planar Cell Polarity Pathway is Required for Pericyte Recruitment During Pulmonary Angiogenesis
2013 Roxane Paulin, PhD
Mitochondrial Suppression Due to Loss of Sirt3 Deacetylase Activity Causes Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension
2012 John Ryan, MB, MCh
Augmenting Mitofusin-2 in Females With Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Increases Mitochondrial Fusion, Reduces Smooth Muscle Cell Hyperproliferation and Regresses Experimental Disease
2011
Hirofumi Sawada, MD
Reduced BMPR2 Increases GM-CSF mRNA Translation by Inhibiting eIF2α Mediated Stress Granule Formation and Propensity to Pulmonary Vascular Disease
2010 Thenappan Thenappan, MD
A Central Role for CD68(+) Pulmonary Intravascular Macrophages in the Etiology of Hepatopulmonary Syndrome: Syndrome Reversal by Macrophage Depletion
2009 Dechaboon Changsirivathanathamrong, MBBS
Kynurenine Is a Novel Contributor to Hypotension in Human Sepsis
2008 Paul Chan, MD
Long-Term Effects of a Rapid Response Team on Hospital-Wide Code Rates and Mortality

Eligibility Criteria

  • Candidates must be working in an area of research related to pulmonary, perioperative, resuscitation, or critical care biology.
  • Abstract must be submitted to one of the categories for presentation at Scientific Sessions in which the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative, and Resuscitation is the lead/primary sponsor. View a list of Council Awards and Travel Grants Available by Abstract Category and Community (PDF). Make sure that your abstract has been submitted in a category listed under the award for which you want to apply.
  • Applicant must be active in research and within 10 years of completion of terminal degree or highest certificate (e.g., MSc, PhD), or within 10 years of completing medical fellowship or residency, as of the award application date. Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, instructors, and research associates are welcome to apply.
  • All applicants for the award must be members of the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation (3CPR). If you need to become an AHA Professional Member, you should do so one week prior to the application submission deadline for your member status to be processed in time for the application submission deadline. Learn more about AHA Professional Membership.
  • An individual may not compete for similar early career investigator awards from the other American Heart Association Scientific Councils for the same conference.
  • Only one manuscript per candidate will be considered.
  • The applicant must be the first and presenting author, although the manuscript may have co-authors. The presenting author of an accepted abstract must be registered for Scientific Sessions. Additional information about registration and fees may be found on the Scientific Sessions website.
  • Previous winners and finalists are not eligible to re-enter the competition in subsequent years. However, applicants may apply for a different award program in which they haven't previously been a winner or finalist
  • Abstracts associated with a published manuscript can be presented an AHA scientific event if the manuscript was published after the time the abstract was submitted to the event, however the abstract will not be published as a part of the journal publication.
  • 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 Scientific Sessions.
  • The abstract must comply with the General Abstracts Submission Guidelines (PDF) as outlined by the Committee on Scientific Sessions Program.
  • Abstracts eligible for this award must be based upon projects that adhere to the American Heart Association’s policies governing all research awards, regardless of whether the project was funded by the American Heart Association. These policies include (but are not limited to) research using human subjects or animals and stem cell research.
  • Notwithstanding the above, the AHA Officers have the discretion to determine eligibility for the award in extraordinary circumstances when there is an issue relating to AHA policy or positions or other potentially controversial issue relating to the positioning or perception of the AHA.

Evaluation Criteria

Panels of distinguished researchers, scientists, nurses, clinicians, and academicians representing the breadth of cardiovascular disease and stroke will judge applications. Applications will be judged on the:

  • Scientific merit of the abstract.
  • Quality and originality of the manuscript.
  • Letter from the candidate's sponsor and any other included reference letters.
  • Oral abstract presentation at Scientific Sessions (finalists only). The finalist must be the presenter of his/her submission and no alternates or proxy will be allowed.

How to Apply / Required Documents

Electronic submission through the Council Awards Application System is required. Hard copies of any part of the application cannot be accepted.

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

  1. AHA abstract in accordance with AHA rules and regulations for submitting abstracts to Scientific Sessions. Please note that this abstract must first be submitted through the AHA's Scientific Sessions website before the abstract submission deadline. Visit Scientific Sessions to submit your abstract before submission of this award application. Your abstract control number will be needed on the award application form.
  2. 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 AHA scientific event. If so, the abstract must be withdrawn. 
  3. Curriculum vitae and bibliography.
  4. A letter of support 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 manuscripts, 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. Inclusion of additional support letters does not guarantee higher consideration of an application, but can be beneficial.

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.

For more detailed information on ProposalCentral, also included are additional materials on specific ProposalCentral functionality.

Prize

Finalists for the early career investigator award competitions will be announced in August and will present their research results at Scientific Sessions in November. Each finalist must present their abstract in-person at Scientific Sessions. Virtual presentations or an alternate (proxy) presenter will not be permitted and will result in disqualification from the award.

  • Each finalist will receive one complimentary ticket to and recognition at the council reception where they will be presented with an engraved award plaque. The winner will be announced at the reception.
  • The winner will receive a $1,500 honorarium; up to four remaining finalists will each receive a $1,000 honorarium.

Questions

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Scientific Sessions: November 16–18, 2024
McCormick Place Convention Center | Chicago, Illinois