Institutional Award for Undergraduate Student Training Grant

The Institutional Award for Undergraduate Student Training, offered by the American Heart Association, supports qualified research institutions in providing meaningful research experiences for undergraduate students. This three-year award enables institutions to apply for funding for two to five students annually, promoting diversity in science and enhancing mentorship opportunities. Institutions are encouraged to develop robust recruitment plans and ensure effective support for participants, while adhering to strict budget guidelines and reporting requirements.

Background
This is an institutional award to qualified research institutions that can offer a meaningful research experience to undergraduate college students. A program director applies on behalf of the institution, with an internal selection process outlined, in which the sponsor/student pairs apply together for one of the awards from the institution.
The institution must include a student recruitment plan that is open to students at any school. A sponsor/student team may be located at any non-research undergraduate institution if there is a letter from the sponsoring institution assuring support for the project and responsibility for the student’s work.Preference should not be given to current students of the sponsors' laboratories.The institution is strongly encouraged to recruit students from groups that are underrepresented in science.
The institution may apply for support for two to five students per year. The request must be justified by the institution, based on how many students they can effectively manage.
This is a three-year award that supports two to five students per institution, per year. Renewal is based on satisfactory interim reporting from students, sponsors, and the program director.
The American Heart Association permits the use of a large language model (LLM – e.g., ChatGPT) or an artificial intelligence tool to generate and/or edit content in research proposals submitted for funding. This information must be disclosed at the time of submission. Disclosure of this information does not impact peer review. Should this information not be disclosed accurately, and use of these tools is identified, the proposal may be administratively withdrawn.
Statement of Purpose
To encourage students from all disciplines to consider research careers.
This is an institutional award, made to qualified institutions that can offer a meaningful research experience that supports the mission of the American Heart Association to undergraduate college students.
Budget
Trainee Stipend/Salary: $6,000 per student for the 10-week research experience. Institution may request support for two to five students per year. Maximum stipend support: 5 students per yr x $6,000 per student x 3 yrs = $90,000
Travel: Up to one conference @ $3,000 per student = $45,000 maximum
Travel support is for attendance at a national conference. (Attendance of AHA Scientific Sessions is strongly encouraged, and students are encouraged to explore Scientific Sessions early-career day workshops.) International travel is permitted and does not require prior AHA approval.A faculty mentor MUST attend with the student. If a student does not attend/participate in a scientific conference during the term of his/her research experience or within six months following the completion of the research experience, the $3,000 will be forfeited by the program director/institution.Award duration: Three years.
Administrative Coordination: $10,000 per year x 3 yrs = $30,000 maximum. Program Director may request up to $10,000 per year at their discretion. The funds may support the program director and/or other administrators.
Total Stipends: $36,000 - $60,000.
Total Award Maximum: $165,000.
Annual payment will be made to the institution for disbursement to the students. Faculty sponsor and institution assume fiscal responsibility. The institution may supplement the award amount. The award does not constitute an employee-employer relationship between the student and the American Heart Association. Direct use of award funds to pay tuition is prohibited.

Eligibility

The program director is the applicant for this award. At the time of application, the program director must:possess a demonstrated track record of providing mentoring to student researchers; be a full-time faculty member at the level of assistant professor (or equivalent) or above; provide a detailed description of institutional support that is available to sponsors and students; list potential sponsors, along with brief details about their background and nature of work; outline how potential student awardees will be identified and recruited; provide the procedure that sponsor/student teams will follow to compete for AHA funds granted to the institution;submit a plan for obtaining annual feedback from current and former trainees to assess the quality and effectiveness of the fellowship experience.
You must be a member of this organization to apply for this award - become a member. Join or begin the membership process well before the deadline. The AHA expects all mentors associated with training/mentored research awards to maintain active AHA membership, as well.

Ineligibility

No mentor support, laboratory supplies, or indirect costs are allowed.