American Heart Association Funding Opportunities Annie Oliveto Annie Oliveto Director of Research

Who We Are AHA is the largest funding source for CVD/Stroke research other than the NIH. Founded in 1924—close to $3 billion spent on research, $1 billion in the last 10 years alone. Last year AHA spent $152 million in research, $11.8 was through the Western States Affiliate. AHA spends more on research (by percentage) than any other non-profit health organization.

Research Funding Donor Dollar 25% 75% National CenterWestern States Research Allocation 21% 15%

Breakthroughs Funded by AHA The first artificial heart valve. Techniques and standards for CPR Implantable pacemakers to regulate irregular heartbeats. Heart-lung machine Cholesterol inhibitors On top of research innovations, the AHA has created programs to implement science: Get With the Guidelines, medical journals, conferences, professional and public education

Breakthroughs Still Needed in CVD Research Obesity and cholesterol reduction Modify behaviors leading to CVD and Stroke Diabetes and heart disease Congenital heart defects CVD/ Stroke in African Americans and other ethnic groups Strategies to understand and treat heart failure Gene studies Abnormal heart rhythms

Breakthroughs Still Needed in Stroke Research Stroke Treatments Brain Imaging Techniques Stroke Risk Factors, Education & Awareness Stroke and Dementia Recovery from Stroke Gene and Protein Research

AHA’s Research Focus Training and career development of beginning scientists Support of cutting edge basic and clinical science

What Kinds of Research Do We Support? The AHA supports research that is broadly related to the cardiovascular area and stroke.

Life Cycle of a Research Application Application submitted Research completed Findings translated Critique developed $ Funded Idea Begins Assigned to Reviewers Peer Review Rank Ordered List Developed Reports Published

Western Review Consortium Peer Review Committees Brain, Cardiorenal, Lung, Respiration, Surgery Behavioral Science, Epidemiology & Prevention, CV Regulation, Cardiac (Patho) Physiology, Radiology & Imaging CV Development, Immunology & Microbiology, Basic Cell & Molecular Biology Lipoproteins & Lipid Metabolism, Thrombosis, Vascular Wall Biology Cell Transport and Metabolism, Cellular CV Physiology & Pharmacology, Molecular Signaling

Undergraduate Student Research Program Encourages research careers related to the cardiovascular or cerebrovascular areas. $4K – 10 weeks Medical Student Research Award Provides an opportunity to explore a research career related to the cardiovascular area or stroke. $600/wk – 8-12 weeks Western States Affiliate Promotes Careers in Research STUDENT RESEARCH PROGRAMS

Western States Affiliate Promotes Careers in Research FELLOWSHIP AWARDS Predoctoral Fellowships - Undergraduate Students Initiates careers in cardiovascular and stroke research and supports doctoral dissertation projects. $18,500/yr – 2-3 years Postdoctoral Fellowship - PhD and MD trainees Initiates careers in cardiovascular and stroke research, and furthers research training while obtaining significant research results. $30K-46K/yr – 2-3 years

GRANTS Beginning-Grant-In-Aid – Beginning Scientists Promotes independent status and supports high quality research projects. $70K/yr – 2-4 years Grant-In-Aid -- Independent Investigators Supports the most innovative and meritorious research. $70K/yr – 2-4 years *AHA National offers Scientist Development Grants, Fellow to Faculty, Established Investigator Awards and Clinical Research Awards

Did you know that the AHA Funds: Behavior Studies Biomedical Ethics Cardiac Rehabilitation Clinical Trials Compliance Coping Strategies / Stress Mgt Depression Epidemiology Exercise / Physical Activity Familial Aggregation / Genetic Epidemiology Health Care Utilization/Cost Effectiveness Health Promotion/Prevention Human Nutrition (Behavioral and Preventive Aspects) Obesity Nutrition Outcomes Research Preventive Cardiology Quality of Life Social Support Systems Stroke Weight Control

HUMAN EMBRYONIC or FETAL STEM CELLS AND HUMAN FETAL TISSUE or HUMAN CLONING Ineligible for funding: Cloning of humans as asexual reproduction or cloning of humans intended as sources of tissue or organs to harvest are not acceptable. Ineligible for funding: Derivation or use of human stem cells from in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment embryos or fetal sources. Use of human fetal tissue. Areas Ineligible for AHA Funding

FATAL FLAWS Common Mistakes Made When Applying for Funding

FATAL FLAWS by Investigators No demonstration of expertise or publications in approaches, low productivity No collaborators recruited or no letters from collaborators Unnecessary experimental detail Not enough detail on approaches, especially untested ones Not enough preliminary data to establish feasibility, nor any correlative or descriptive data Feasibility of each aim not shown Little or no expertise with approach Lack of appropriate controls Not directly testing hypothesis

FATAL FLAWS Significance Not significant nor exciting nor new research Lack of compelling rationale Incremental and low impact research Innovation is not always necessary, but the results should have compelling significance Little demonstration of institutional support Little or no start up package or necessary equipment

FATAL FLAWS Resubmissions Insulting the reviewers Only responding to specific reviewer concerns and not other aspects that may be newly criticized Just changing the name or submitting a previous project as new Do not send the same or similar application for review without indicating that it is a resubmission AHA allows 2 resubmssions + Original allowed

DEADLINES Take them seriously! ~5% are administratively withdrawn each year (NIH and AHA) Technical problems? Call before the 5:00 pm deadline. Applications received after 5:00pm are administratively withdrawn. Acknowledgement of receipt should be received within 24 hours after electronic submission. READ the acknowledgement for possible errors in electronic upload of your application.

Late Applications Contact AHA staff before deadline if experiencing problems with the electronic website. Late paper copies may be accepted for genuine reasons and if electronic submission was on time.

Administrative Withdrawal Late electronic or paper copies Modifications after deadline Format issues: – –type size – –characters per inch (CPI) – –lines per page – –exceeding page limits

Streamlined Review “Triage” Removes noncompetitive applications from the review process Applicants receive critiques, but not scores Applies to fellowships and grants 40% of consortia applications can be triaged

PREDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP APPLICANTS Describe undergraduate/ graduate research activities:   research participation programs   student-originated study programs   research gained through summer or part-time employment   research within course work and/or outside of the classroom Summarize, stating problems studied and conclusions reached

Technical Support  Request technical assistance from AHA  Seek advice on administrative issues from your grants management specialist

Questions and Answers Annie Oliveto