Verified

Clinical, Translational and Outcomes Research Award (CTORA)

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Foundation

Application Deadline

December 7, 2026

Award Amount

$200,000 ($100,000/year)

Award Term

Two years

Award Type

Project-Based

Clinical / Translational / Outcomes Research

Career Level

Junior Faculty

View the 2027 Request for Applications [PDF].

Overview

The purpose of these awards is to foster career development for individuals performing clinical research, translational research, or outcomes research in a liver-related area and who have shown commitment to excellence at an early stage of their research study. The award is intended to ensure that a significant portion of young investigators’ time is protected for research, with an overall objective of enabling young investigators to develop independent and productive research careers in liver disease.

Applications in health disparities-related research are encouraged.
One award per year will be prioritized for meritorious transplant-related research in memory of the University of Michigan Transplant Team.

Award Period: July 1, 2027 – June 30, 2029.
Total Award Amount: $200,000

Award funds of $200,000 will be provided in quarterly installments of $25,000 over two (2) years ($100,000 per year).
Annual continuation of funding is contingent on the receipt and approval of annual progress and financial reports and continued adherence to Award eligibility and effort requirements. Continuation of annual funding is not contingent on specific research outcomes/results.
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 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 for the duration of their two-year grant term. Up to $2,000 of Award funding may be used for travel support only in the second/final year of the grant term to offset the PI’s costs to attend The Liver Meeting 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.

The AASLD Foundation does not require, nor does it approve, a detailed project budget for this award category. Budget proposals submitted by PIs to their institution’s sponsored projects office that allocate Award funds to unallowable costs should not be considered approved by AASLD Foundation. The sponsoring institution is responsible for ensuring that Award funds are only used for allowable costs.

How Award funds are allocated to allowable costs is at the discretion of the sponsoring institution. For example, while this award requires a minimum of 50% effort toward the funded research project, it is not required that PI salary must be directly supported by Foundation Award funds. It is expected that additional institutional funds will be available to the investigator in order to carry out the proposed research.

Unexpended funds at the end of the Award term must be promptly returned to AASLD Foundation.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

The rankings below synthesize the Foundation's published award purposes, eligibility requirements and application guidance. They are not official numerical scores.

1

★★★★★

Direct relevance to liver disease — Critical

Address a clearly defined hepatology question involving liver physiology, disease mechanisms, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, transplantation or patient outcomes. The Foundation supports a broad range of liver-related research rather than prioritizing one disease across all its programs.

aasld.secure-platform.com

2

★★★★★

Scientific significance and innovation — Critical

Define an important knowledge gap and explain how the proposed research could advance hepatology. For the Pilot Research Award, innovation is particularly important because the program is intended to support new ideas with little or no preliminary data.

AASLD Foundation

3

★★★★★

Methodological rigor and research design — Critical

Provide clear aims, a testable hypothesis, suitable methods, appropriate controls or comparison groups, a defensible analysis plan and meaningful endpoints. Clinical and outcomes studies should show how their design answers the stated research question.

4

★★★★★

Applicant potential and career development — Critical

Demonstrate relevant expertise, research productivity, a clear commitment to hepatology and potential to become an independent investigator. The Foundation's career-development awards explicitly aim to protect research time and strengthen investigators' ability to build productive research careers.

AASLD Foundation

5

★★★★☆

Mentor quality and institutional environment — Very high

Show that the mentor has relevant expertise and can provide meaningful scientific guidance. Demonstrate access to the necessary clinical populations, laboratory infrastructure, data, collaborators and institutional support. Several awards require an AASLD-member mentor.

aasldfoundation.org

6

★★★★☆

Feasibility and a credible research plan — Very high

Align the scope with the award term and resources. For pilot studies, identify the specific preliminary evidence the project will generate. For larger awards, establish milestones, risks, alternatives and a pathway to complete the research.

7

★★★★☆

Potential to improve patient outcomes — Very high

Connect the research to better prevention, diagnosis, treatment, transplant outcomes, quality of life or care delivery. For outcomes research, define patient-relevant measures and explain their potential use in clinical practice.

aasldfoundation.org

8

★★★★☆

Exact fit with the award mechanism — Very high

Select the appropriate mechanism: basic science for Pinnacle, clinical/translational/outcomes research for CTORA, novel exploratory work for Pilot, or a resubmission bridge for an eligible previously scored but unfunded federal proposal. Donor-directed programs may have additional disease-specific priorities.

AASLD Foundation

9

★★★☆☆

Potential for future funding and scientific impact — High

Explain how results could support larger national grants, new collaborations, independent research programs or future clinical studies. The Foundation's early-career mechanisms are designed to strengthen investigators' future competitiveness.

AASLD Foundation

10

★★★★☆

Eligibility, protected time and budget compliance — Essential gate

Verify career stage, faculty appointment, AASLD membership, mentor requirements, research effort and institutional location. Applications must follow the RFA's formatting and submission rules; indirect costs are not permitted for Foundation research awards.

Specialties

Hepatology

Eligibility Requirements

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

The applicant must:
- Be within the first five years of their first faculty appointment (including prior appointments in universities outside of North America) at the start of the award (faculty appointment starting no earlier than July 1, 2022).
  - If the applicant does not have a faculty appointment at the time of application, the letter of commitment from their department chair must explicitly confirm that the applicant will have a faculty appointment (i) no later than the Award start date and (ii) for the full award cycle.
- 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 50% 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 a research mentor or co-mentor who is an AASLD member in good standing at the time of application and for the duration of the award period.
- Not hold/have held any other similar award that is intended to primarily support the salary of early career investigators (including but not limited to NIH R, P or most K level grants, or similar career development awards from federal or non-federal sources. See eligibility list for more common programs).
The proposed project must:
- Be clinical (direct contact with patients, clinical trials), translational (investigation using patient samples), or outcomes-based (epidemiological studies, patient-centered outcomes, or health services) research.
- Be conducted at the sponsoring institution within the United States, Canada or Mexico.
Application limits:
- A single sponsoring institution may submit up to two applications per distinct department within each institutional training site, but only one applicant may be funded per department within each institution for this award category.
- Applicants may only apply for one AASLD Foundation award per calendar year.

Eligible Countries:

Canada

Mexico

United States

Sponsor Details

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

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

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

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