Seed Grant Research Program
“...my research experiences that were made possible by the AMA Foundation...have been defining moments in my decision to pursue a combined academic and clinical career.”
—Andrew Dhanasopon
2007 Seed Grant recipient
An increasing number of young physician scientists are experiencing difficulty finding the resources and support to do research. Consequently, fewer physicians are choosing careers in research which is a terrible loss to medicine.
To address this trend, the AMA Foundation established the Seed Grant Research Program in 2000 to encourage medical students, physician residents and fellows to enter the research field. The program provides $2,500 grants to help them conduct small basic science, applied, or clinical research projects. These funds will round out new project budgets, rather than sustain current initiatives.
Grant amounts and timeline
In 2010, grants of $2,500 will be awarded in the following four research categories: Cardiovascular/Pulmonary Diseases, HIV/AIDS, Leukemia and Neoplastic Diseases. The application deadline for the 2010 program has already passed and recipients will be announced in March. The grant period and project duration is up to one year from the date of the grant check.
Eligibility and funding restrictions
Seed grant funds cannot be used for salary or stipend, indirect/administrative costs, to hire a consultant or contractor, and solely for travel expenses. Seed grants will not be awarded to any applicant who has previously received an AMA Foundation seed grant in the research category in which they are applying. Applicants must be a medical student, physician resident or fellow of an accredited US medical school or institution; they must also be either a US citizen or a permanent resident of the US. Projects must be applicant-conceived, rather than ongoing research of their mentor or Principal Investigator.
Recipient information
Upon completion of their projects, all grant recipients must submit a Final Report Form. Forms should be sent to the AMA Foundation office via mail, e-mail or fax.
In their own words
“The AMA Foundation seed grant provided me with a unique opportunity to perform clinical outcomes research and the financial resources necessary to present this work in a national forum. Over the last year, I have learned how to ask a focused question, collect the pertinent data, perform the appropriate statistical calculations, analyze the results and present this work as both a formal oral presentation and in manuscript form.”
—Nasreen Ilias, MD
2007 Seed Grant recipient
“I thank the AMA Foundation for giving me this opportunity and helping me realize how satisfying conducting research can be.”
—Pooya Iranpour
2008 Seed Grant recipient
“This grant gave me an opportunity to enhance my independence in project construction and completion, which ultimately helped me to grow as a scientist.”
—Kellie V. Rosinski
2008 Seed Grant recipient
Contact
If you have questions about the Seed Grant Research Program, please e-mail or call (312) 464-4200.
Donate now
Donate to the Seed Grant Research Program to help physicians and physicians-in-training make important scientific discoveries and gain valuable research experiences.
