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Through the ASH Global Research Award, the Society intends to:

• Support the hematology-focused careers of ASH members who are trainees or early-career investigators based in countries other than the United States or Canada.
• Foster an inclusive scientific community by supporting leaders from all regions of the world.
• Offer a funding structure that accommodates a wide array of innovative, project-based, hematology-related applications.
• Provide support for training, including training in the conduct of clinical trials and research.
• Support malignant and non-malignant hematology projects.

The award length may vary from six months to three years, depending on the proposed project need. The award amount is also intended to be flexible. The amount requested in each application will be assessed to determine whether it is appropriate for the project and for the costs of the region. Payments are made in equal quarterly amounts throughout the award.

• For projects of one year or less, the applicant may request up to $100,000.
• For projects of more than one year, the applicant may request up to $150,000. 

Supported Projects

The following types of projects will be considered:

• Hematology research, including basic, translational, patient-oriented, and outcomes-based research
• Requests for training at other institutions by trainees or early-career investigators, pilot studies, collaborative projects, and other proposals for career development

Examples of potential projects include, but are not limited to:

• Projects advancing the diagnostic capabilities or therapeutic care delivery of hematological illnesses in developing regions
• Projects addressing hematological illnesses of high incidence and impact in the applicant’s home region
• Projects incorporating cross-disciplinary collaborations aimed at enhancing regional scientific and care capabilities for hematologic illnesses
• Projects enhancing career development of individuals who will play future leadership roles in regional scientific and care delivery roles for hematologic illnesses

Applicants must submit proposals to conduct research in hematology. Proposals that fall within any of the categories discussed below are encouraged:

• Basic Research
• Translational Research
• Patient-Oriented Clinical Research
• Outcomes-Based Research

For additional details on eligible research categories, please consult the Research Definitions page.

Mentorship

The Global Research Award requires that all applicants have a local mentor and a global mentor. The global mentor must be in a region or country outside of the applicant’s region or country of residence. One of the two mentors must be an ASH Active or International member.

Applicants who are invited to submit a full proposal will be asked to collaborate with both mentors in the development of their application. The nature of the mentor relationship will be defined by the applicant and mentors, as the program will maintain a flexible approach to mentorship. However, the global mentor is expected to interact with the award recipient and local mentor at least four times per year for at least three years. ASH will periodically engage the mentors to ensure that program mentorship objectives are being met.

Request Assistance in Identifying a Mentor

Applicants will be asked about their mentorship needs during the letter of intent process. Applicants can indicate that they have already identified their required mentors, or they may request assistance in doing so. ASH will work to identify mentors for invited applicants in response to requests in the letters of intent.

Eligibility Requirements

You are eligible to apply for this award if you meet the following requirements:

• You are based in a country other than the United States or Canada.
  • If you are a U.S. or Canadian citizen who wishes to conduct research outside of the U.S. and Canada, you might now be eligible for the ASH Scholar Award.
  • If you are not a US or Canadian citizen and are temporarily training in the US or Canada, you can apply to the Global Research Award only if you have an academic position at an institution in your country for you to return to once your studies complete in the US or Canada.  An example includes that you are studying in the US during a joint fellowship between a US University and your home institution.

• You have an MD, PhD, or MD-PhD (or its equivalent). At the letter of intent due date:
  • MD graduation may be no more than 16 years prior to application, or the applicant may have no more than 10 years of post-doc experience after PhD graduation.
    • Examples of MD equivalents include MBBS, BMBS, MBChB, MBBCh, etc.
  • Applicants holding both MD and PhD degrees must be within 16 years of MD graduation.
  • PhD applicants should have at least one year of experience.

• You are or will be an ASH member in good standing at the time of award activation and plan to maintain membership for the duration of the award term. ASH members eligible for this award include:
  • Early-career International members
  • International Associate members
  • Active and Associate members who reside in Mexico and otherwise meet the training and professional experience criteria outlined above

• If you are not a US or Canadian citizen and are temporarily training in the US or Canada, you can apply to the Global Research Award only if you have an academic position at an institution in your country for you to return to once your studies complete in the US or Canada. An example includes that you are studying in the US during a joint fellowship between a US University and your home institution.

Not an ASH member yet? Take the first step. Applicants from low and middle human development countries (per the United Nations Human Development Index ) can apply for a grant to cover the cost of a one-year ASH membership. This can be found on the letter of intent form.

There are no limits on the number of applicants allowed per institution or laboratory; however, in the interest of programmatic balance, only one award per institution or laboratory will be granted each year.

Additionally, there are no limits to the number of applicants from an individual country; however, in the interest of programmatic balance, the study section will take into consideration the number of active awards a country has at one time, including recipients from previous cycles.

Investigators who are principally employed by pharmaceutical or biotechnology companies are not eligible to apply.

If you are not eligible for the Global Research Award, please consider the ASH Visitor Training Program.

Requests for Exception

Individuals who do not meet the aforementioned eligibility criteria may submit a request for exception with a justification for extenuating circumstances. Examples include but are not limited to:

• Exceptions for applicants in regions where hematology-focused training programs are limited but there is a proposal for a hematology-related project
• Exceptions for applicants who exceed the maximum years post-graduation but have extenuating circumstances

ASH requires applicants to submit a letter of intent (LOI) via the online awards system. The LOI is mandatory and competitive. Please answer the questions completely.

As part of the LOI, applicants must submit the following (in English):

• A 700-word narrative of the proposed project, including:
  • Key project goals
  • Description of the project and scientific focus/relevance
  • Description of approach 
• A 200-word description of initial plans for the overall mentorship team 

• A 200-word description of the applicant’s career level, addressing the following topics:
  • Where the applicant is in his/her career
  • What the applicant’s level of training is relative to the training structure of his/her home country
  • What the applicant’s plan is for completion of training

• A 200-word description of the funding amount requested and how the applicant intends to spend it

• A 100-word description of the project timeline

• Applicants Curriculum Vitae (or equivalent)

Results for the letter of intent review will be sent in January. If you have not heard about your letter of intent by February, please email [email protected].

Evaluation, Selection, and Notification

Reviewers will assess all submitted letters of intent and select the applicants who will be invited to submit a full proposal. Based on requests made by the applicants, the program subcommittee will match and introduce the selected applicants to mentors. Invited applicants will be provided with any project-specific questions that should be answered in addition to the application questions.

ASH will review all completed applications submitted by the application deadline and will select the applicants to be funded. Application decisions and critiques will be sent to all applicants.