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Early-Career Scientific Research Grants Program

Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies

The AABB Foundation has awarded more than $12 million in early-career grants since its inception.

The AABB Foundation awards grants for investigator-initiated original research in all aspects of blood banking, transfusion medicine and biotherapies.

Grant applications are evaluated on the basis of their scientific merit, relevance to and impact on transfusion medicine, focus and appropriateness to the scope of funding, and likelihood of yielding meaningful data.

Applications are open from July 1 until December 1. Early-stage investigators on a path toward research independence are encouraged to apply for grant funding. Below, please find the application instructions, submission requirements, applicant eligibility, frequently asked questions and general tips. View the application instructions and click here to access the online grant portal..

If you have any questions on this application process, please contact the AABB Foundation at foundation@aabb.org.

Selection Process

All grant applications will be reviewed by the AABB Foundation Scientific Research Grants Review Committee (GRC). This committee meets once a year to select grant recipients. Outside reviewers may be consulted at the discretion of the committee. The AABB Foundation Board of Directors must approve the GRC’s recommendations before official awards may be made.

Applications will be judged on the following criteria:

ability to meet eligibility criteria
scientific merit
relevance to and impact on transfusion medicine and biotherapies
focus and appropriateness to the scope of funding
likelihood of meaningful data
likelihood of future funding potential

A confidential critique review sheet of the proposed grant project which summarizes the GRC’s comments is provided to all applicants. AABB and the Foundation reserve the right to list the grant recipients in publications, including the title, principal investigator and amount of funding.

Application Submission Criteria

Applications for research into innovative and new projects are a priority.

No particular project can be funded more than once.

An application for the same project may be submitted twice if not already funded by the AABB Foundation.

Awards will not be made to increase the funding available for currently funded research projects. AABB Foundation early-career grants are intended to provide "seed" funding that allows the principal investigator to enhance preliminary data. This data may then be useful in applying for larger grants.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Direct Relevance to Blood Banking, Transfusion Medicine or Biotherapies

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Critical

The project should have an unmistakable connection to AABB's scientific mission.

The Foundation explicitly funds investigator-initiated research in all aspects of blood banking, transfusion medicine and biotherapies and evaluates applications partly on their relevance to and impact on transfusion medicine.

Strong topics include:

Transfusion medicine
Blood component safety
Red-cell biology
Platelet biology
Immunohematology
Transfusion-transmitted infections
Patient blood management
Hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation
Cell therapy
Regenerative medicine
Blood utilization
Donor health and recruitment
Blood-component manufacturing
Biotherapy development

2. Scientific Merit and Rigor

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Critical

Scientific merit is one of the Foundation's explicit selection criteria.

A competitive application should contain:

A clearly defined research question.
Strong scientific rationale.
Specific aims.
Appropriate experimental or clinical design.
Valid methods.
Appropriate controls.
Statistical analysis.
Defined outcomes.
Realistic interpretation of results.
Appropriate alternative strategies.

The proposal should make it clear that the proposed experiments can actually answer the research question.

3. Innovation and Originality

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Critical

Innovation is particularly important because the Foundation explicitly states that innovative, new projects receive priority. It does not intend its early-career grant simply to increase funding for an already-funded research program.

The strongest proposals should introduce something meaningfully new, such as:

A new transfusion strategy.
Novel blood-component technology.
New diagnostic/assay methodology.
New understanding of transfusion reactions.
Novel cell-therapy approach.
New blood-product manufacturing method.
New immunohematology mechanism.
New patient-blood-management intervention.
Innovative computational/informatics approach.

4. Likelihood of Generating Meaningful Data

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Critical

The Foundation explicitly evaluates the likelihood that the project will yield meaningful data.

This means the application should demonstrate that the project is:

Focused enough to complete.
Scientifically testable.
Appropriately powered where relevant.
Supported by suitable preliminary evidence where useful.
Capable of producing interpretable results.

A small grant should produce a meaningful scientific result rather than merely exploratory data with no clear next step.

5. Potential to Advance the Applicant Toward Research Independence

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very High

The Early-Career Grant is specifically intended for investigators on a path toward research independence.

The application therefore benefits from showing:

AABB funding → independent research direction → preliminary data → publications → larger external funding

The Foundation's application materials specifically ask the PI to explain how AABB Foundation funding will further their research independence.

This is an important distinction from a conventional project grant: the Foundation is investing in both the science and the investigator.

6. Strong Potential for Future External Funding

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very High

The Foundation explicitly lists future funding potential among its review criteria.

A strong application should explain how the proposed research can generate:

Preliminary data for an NIH application.
Data for a larger foundation grant.
Evidence for a multicenter study.
Proof of concept for a new technology.
Evidence supporting a clinical trial.
A foundation for an independent research program.

AABB's reported outcomes support this emphasis: Foundation Scholars average about 20 peer-reviewed publications within three years of completing their grant, and many subsequently achieve strong NIH funding performance.

7. Strong Fit With a Defined AABB Research Content Area

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Very High

AABB provides specific research content areas, including:

Immunology

Alloimmunization
Immune modulation/tolerance
Graft-versus-host disease
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia

Hematology

Stem-cell transplantation
Residual disease detection
Growth factors
Coagulation-factor biochemistry

Immunohematology

Blood-group serology
Red-cell antigen biochemistry
Molecular genetics of blood groups

Infectious diseases

Transfusion-transmitted infections
Emerging infections
Transfusion in immunocompromised patients

Biotherapies

Cell culture/expansion
Novel cell therapies
Regenerative medicine
Stem-cell transplantation
Cytokines/growth factors

Patient Blood Management

Anemia treatment
Blood recovery
Surgical hemostasis
Appropriate transfusion indications
Blood utilization
Physician behavior change.

A proposal that fits clearly within one of these areas can demonstrate strong programmatic alignment.

8. Appropriate Early-Career Profile and Qualifications

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ High

AABB's Early-Career Grant has specific eligibility requirements.

An early-career investigator generally must have completed a terminal research degree or medical residency—whichever is later—within 10 years of the application deadline and must not have previously received a substantial research grant such as an NIH R01.

Eligible applicants can include:

MDs
PhDs
Medical technologists
Transfusion-medicine professionals
Biotherapies professionals

The program is international and does not require U.S. citizenship.

9. Strong Preliminary Evidence Without Excessive Dependence on Existing Funding

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ High

The Foundation's early-career grants are intended as seed funding to enhance preliminary data, which can then support larger grants.

However, applicants need to avoid:

Simply expanding an already-funded project.
Budgetary overlap with existing grants.
Scientific overlap with a mentor's funded work.
Presenting a project that cannot demonstrate sufficient evidence to support the proposed aims.

The Foundation specifically lists insufficient evidence/data, flawed science and budgetary or scientific overlap with existing funding among reasons applications may be unsuccessful.

10. Feasibility, Appropriate Scope and Budget

Importance: ⭐⭐⭐⭐☆ High

The project must be achievable with the available resources and within the proposed one- or two-year period.

A strong proposal should demonstrate:

Access to appropriate samples/data.
Necessary laboratory or clinical infrastructure.
Adequate personnel.
Appropriate statistical expertise.
Realistic recruitment.
Achievable milestones.
A well-justified budget.

The Foundation's application guide also requires disclosure of current and pending funding and any scientific or budgetary overlap, making this particularly important.

Specialties

Hematology

Eligibility Requirements

An applicant must be a doctor (MD or PhD), medical technologist, transfusion medicine or biotherapies professional. All applicants will be considered regardless of age, race, gender, national origin or religion.

The Foundation accepts early-career applicants worldwide. How do we describe early-career?

An early-career investigator is an investigator who has completed a terminal research degree or medical residency – whichever date is later – within the past 10 years of the grant application deadline and has not yet been awarded a substantial research grant (i.e. NIH R01). Of note, there is a 13-month period during which an investigator can resubmit a revised application and retain early-stage investigator status.
Clinical fellowship training in a medical specialty or subspecialty training in the years that follow the internship/residency period is not considered a part of the residency. Often the clinical fellowship period will consist of a mixture of clinical and research training. The time spent in research training will be considered as applicable toward the 10 years of research and research training.
If you have competed successfully for a substantial research grant (i.e. NIH R01) at any time in your career, you are NOT considered early-career and are, therefore ineligible for an AABB Foundation early-career Scientific Research Grant.

The AABB Foundation's intention is to fund researchers on a path toward research independence.

No candidate is eligible to receive more than one AABB Foundation early-career Scientific Research Grant in the course of their career.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 4550 Montgomery Avenue Suite 700, North Tower Bethesda, MD 20814 301.907.6977

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