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Bridge Award in Liver Diseases

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

Award Amount

$100,000

Award Term

One year

Award Type

Project-Based

Basic Science Research

Clinical / Translational / Outcomes Research

Career Level

Mid-Career Faculty

Junior Faculty

View the 2026 Request for Applications [PDF].

The Bridge Award in Liver Diseases program accepts applications two times each year (November and March).

Overview

The AASLD Foundation Bridge Award supports investigators who have recently submitted an NIH R or other federally funded equivalent award and have received competitive scores on their proposal, but were not funded, as they strengthen their proposal for resubmission to the NIH or other federal agency.

Notice of Special Interest

Additional dedicated funding to advance research activities in autoimmune hepatitis is available for the 2026 Awards cycle. Applications in autoimmune hepatitis are encouraged in all early to mid-career research award categories and the Pilot and Autoimmune Exploratory Research Award categories.

Award Details

Award Period: February 1, 2026 - January 31, 2027 (October Deadline) or July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 (March Deadline)
Total Award Amount: $100,000

Award funds of $100,000 will be provided in four quarterly installments of $25,000 over one (1) year.
Funds may only be used for PI salary support, technical support, laboratory supplies (excluding capital equipment), and limited travel support for the recipient.
PI salary support is limited to $20,000.
PI salary support or salary for technical support may include fringe.
Capital equipment is defined as items that cost $5,000 or greater, have a useful life of more than one year, and will not be expended or consumed in research.
PIs will receive complimentary registration for The Liver Meeting during their one-year grant term. Up to $2,000 of Award funding may be used for travel support to offset the PI’s costs to attend The Liver Meeting during their grant term and present an in-person progress update on their funded project to AASLD Foundation leadership.
No additional or indirect costs, registration fees, or travel expenses other than described above are allowed.

This grant is intended as bridge support. If the application is funded by the NIH/equivalent during the AASLD Foundation Bridge Award period, the applicant must notify the Foundation and any unspent funds at the start of the other award must be returned.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

Across these programmes, competitive applications share several common strengths that reviewers — typically members of the Research Awards Committee and external experts — look for: AASLD

✔ 1. Clear Relevance to Liver Health & Diseases

Proposals must address important questions in hepatology — including mechanisms, pathogenesis, diagnostics, clinical outcomes, therapy development, or disease management. Clear relevance to liver conditions drives reviewer interest. aasldfoundation.org

Tip: Frame the project around liver disease challenges (e.g., fibrosis, cholestasis, hepatocellular carcinoma, NASH/MAFLD, autoimmune liver disease).

✔ 2. Investigator Fit & Career Stage Alignment

Awards have explicit career stage eligibility (e.g., early career for Pinnacle or Bridge; trainees for fellowship travel). Applicants should ensure their credentials match the target award. aasldfoundation.org

Tip: Highlight career trajectory and how the award supports development toward larger federal or foundation grants.

✔ 3. Innovation & Impact Potential

Review panels prioritize projects with novel hypotheses, methodological rigor, strong rationale and potential to advance understanding beyond incremental gains. aasldfoundation.org

Tip: Clearly articulate research gaps, innovative approaches, and expected scientific or clinical impacts.

✔ 4. Feasible & Well-Justified Methods

Competitive proposals include robust design, defined aims, measurable outcomes, appropriate power considerations (if applicable), and a realistic timeline within the award period. aasldfoundation.org

✔ 5. Institutional & Mentorship Support

Especially for early career awards, evidence of institutional backing, mentorship plans, interdisciplinary collaboration and access to necessary resources strengthens competitiveness. aasldfoundation.org

Tip: Include letters of support detailing institutional commitment.

✔ 6. Budget Appropriateness & Justification

Budgets must align with award rules — e.g., limited PI salary support, allowed costs for supplies or limited travel, and exclusion of indirect costs. Explicit justification of line items increases reviewer confidence. aasld.secure-platform.com

✔ 7. Clear Writing & Logical Narrative

Scientific clarity, logical flow from aims to methods to outcomes, and succinct articulation of significance are essential for effective peer review.

Tip: Use NIH-style Specific Aims and include a compelling abstract or lay summary.

📌 Typical Application & Review Process

Review Open RFAs: Posted on the AASLD Foundation site and submission portal (e.g., liverresearchawards.org). aasldfoundation.org

Prepare Application: Tailor to award criteria, eligibility, budget policies and deadlines. aasldfoundation.org

External Peer Review: Scores and comments provided by subject experts. AASLD

Research Awards Committee Evaluation: Committee synthesizes reviews, discusses applications, and recommends funding. AASLD

Notification & Award Start: Typical cycles conclude with funding notifications months after application deadlines.

🧠 Summary: AASLD Foundation Competitive Funding

Award	Target	Focus	Typical Funding
Pinnacle Research Award	Early faculty	Basic science	$300K/3 yrs aasldfoundation.org
CTORA	Early faculty	Clinical/Translational	$200K/2 yrs Keck School of Medicine of USC
Bridge Award	Faculty ≤Assoc Prof	Bridge to federal funding	$100K/1 yr aasldfoundation.org
Pilot Awards	Early/Mid career	Pilot, exploratory research	~$50K/1 yr aasldfoundation.org
Focused/PSC/HE	Early/Mid career	Disease specific pilot	~$20–50K aasldfoundation.org
Fellow Travel/Career	Trainees	Career dev/travel	~$4K+ aasldfoundation.org
Abstract Awards	Presenters	Travel support	~$1K+

Specialties

Clinical Trials

Public Health

Hepatology

Eligibility Requirements

In order to be eligible for this award, the applicant must adhere to the following guidelines:

The applicant must:
- Have a faculty appointment at or below the rank of Associate Professor.
- Be a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) at the time of award application and maintain active membership for the duration of the award period.
- Be able to devote at least 20% effort to the research project on which this application is based.
- Be sponsored by a public or private non-profit institution accredited in the United States, Canada or Mexico engaged in health care and health-related research. Individuals employed at the NIH, FDA, and CDC are not eligible to apply.
- Have submitted their highly scored NIH R or other federal equivalent application within the last 18 months as of the application deadline (eligibility window starts on the date your application was reviewed by the NIH/federal equivalent study section). The applicant must be able to provide their Summary Statements and their submitted award materials on Standard Forms SF424 (R&R).
- Not currently hold a federally funded non-mentored grant (e.g., R01, P01, VA Merit) and not hold such a grant during the award period.
- Not hold other significant extramural mentored or non-mentored research funding (greater than $50,000) during the award period. Institutional funding and/or pilot research funding may be held during the award term.
The proposed project must:
- Be a resubmission (A1) application. New applications based on non-funded resubmission applications are not eligible.
- Be conducted at the sponsoring institution within the United States, Canada or Mexico.
Application limits:
- There is no restriction on the number of applicants an institution can sponsor each cycle, but only one applicant may be funded per distinct department within each institution in this award category.
- Applicants may only apply for one AASLD Foundation research award per calendar year.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 1001 North Fairfax Street, 4th Fl, Alexandria, VA 22314

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