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Innovative Project Award

American Heart Association

To support highly innovative, high-impact research that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate the field of cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular research.
Research deemed innovative may introduce a new paradigm, challenge current paradigms, look at existing problems from new perspectives, or exhibit other uniquely creative qualities.
The Innovative Project Award (IPA) promotes unexplored ideas; therefore, preliminary data is not required and not accepted as part of the proposal. However, a solid rationale for the work must be provided. If you provide preliminary data, the application will be disqualified.

Should you include information about preliminary work, then the proposal is not innovative. You may refer to previous projects you have conducted to demonstrate that you possess a competency or technique that equips you to take on this new direction. Proposals may also refer to existing, unanalyzed datasets and the types of data they contain (e.g., geospatial, demographic, billing, molecular) that could be leveraged in conducting the proposed work, but there should be no preliminary descriptive summaries of the data itself.

Proposed work should not be the next logical step of previous work, but should have a high probability of revealing new avenues of investigation, if successful.
The principal investigator (PI) is responsible for clearly and explicitly articulating the project's innovation and the potential impact on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular research.
The idea proposed here should not have been submitted in whole or in part in a previous proposal for Heart Association support.

Budget

Award: $100,000 per year, including 10 percent indirect costs

The award may be used for salary and fringe benefits of the principal investigator, collaborating investigator(s), and other participants with faculty appointments, and for project-related expenses, such as salaries of technical personnel essential to the conduct of the project, supplies, equipment, computers/electronics, travel (including international travel), volunteer subject costs, data management, and publication costs, etc. The proposed budget must be justified in the application.

The Heart Association does not require use of the NIH salary cap.

Award Duration: Two years

Total Award Amount: $200,000

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Strong Alignment with the AHA Mission

Applications that clearly demonstrate how the proposed work will reduce cardiovascular disease, stroke burden, brain health problems, or improve population health tend to score better. Reviewers explicitly assess potential impact on the AHA mission.

2. High Scientific Impact

Funded proposals typically address an important unmet need and show potential to change clinical practice, scientific understanding, prevention strategies, or health outcomes. Impact is a major review criterion across AHA mechanisms.

3. Innovation and Novelty

AHA strongly favors projects that:

Challenge existing paradigms
Introduce new concepts or technologies
Explore novel mechanisms
Open new research directions

Innovation is particularly important in programs such as the Innovative Project Award.

4. Strong Preliminary Data (Except Innovation-Focused Awards)

For most investigator-initiated grants, convincing preliminary data demonstrating feasibility and supporting the central hypothesis substantially improves competitiveness. Reviewers look for evidence that the project can realistically succeed.

5. Investigator Track Record

Successful applicants often demonstrate:

Relevant publications
Prior productivity
Expertise in the proposed area
Evidence of completing previous projects

For early-career awards, potential and career trajectory may weigh more heavily than extensive publication records.

6. Strong Mentorship Environment (Career Development/Fellowships)

For Predoctoral, Postdoctoral, and Career Development Awards, a highly accomplished mentor and supportive research environment are among the strongest predictors of success. AHA specifically emphasizes appropriate investigative groups and mentorship structures.

7. Clear and Feasible Research Plan

Successful applications generally have:

Well-defined aims
Logical experimental design
Appropriate statistical methods
Realistic timelines
Identified alternative approaches

Reviewers often downgrade proposals that are overly ambitious or lack contingency plans.

8. Multidisciplinary Collaboration

For larger AHA programs, including Strategically Focused Research Networks (SFRNs), multidisciplinary teams and collaborations across basic, clinical, translational, and population sciences are strongly encouraged and frequently seen in funded applications.

9. Effective Non-Scientist Summary

Unlike many funding agencies, AHA formally evaluates the lay/non-scientist summary. Applications that clearly explain the public-health importance and societal impact of the work receive an advantage.

10. Institutional Environment

Competitive applications usually come from environments that provide:

Necessary facilities
Access to patient populations or specialized resources
Strong research infrastructure
Protected research time for investigators

AHA review criteria consider whether the environment supports project completion.

Specialties

Cardiothoracic Surgery

Cardiovascular Diseases

Eligibility Requirements

Peer review for the pre-proposal component of this program will be conducted using a distributed peer review approach (Merrifield and Saari, Astronomy and Geophysics, 50, 4.2, 2009). This is also known as the Mechanism Design Proposal Review Process. Distributed peer review relies on the principles of a traditional peer review panel: academic integrity, rigor, transparency, and a desire to advance the best science. As opposed to traditional peer review, distributed peer review capitalizes on the expertise of the applicant pool and incentivizes timely review in fairness to all applicants. Additionally, this peer review mechanism exposes applicants to new ideas and could foster new potential collaborations. To judge the merit of the proposal, reviewers will score pre-proposals according to the peer review criteria noted above. The Association uses a 1-9 score scale and Peer Review Guidance.

All applicants who submit a pre-proposal will be required to serve as a peer reviewer within this program and will be assigned 8-10 pre-proposals for review. By agreeing to the program terms at the time of pre-proposal submission, the principal investigator agrees concurrently to serve as a peer reviewer within this program and meet all peer review expectations and requirements. PIs will only be assigned pre-proposals for which they do not have an institutional conflict; PIs (reviewers) are bound by all other requirements associated with peer review. PIs will be provided approximately30 days to complete review and scoring of the pre-proposals to which they are assigned.

Only peer reviewers who complete their assigned reviews and record their scores by the assigned due date will in turn have their own pre-proposal evaluated for advancement. Brief written critiques to include bulleted strengths and weaknesses are required. Principal investigators who have not completed their reviews nor submitted their scores by the stated deadline will have their pre-proposals withdrawn and returned as not in compliance with the program announcement, and they will not receive scores should any have been completed for their pre-proposal. Peer review will require submission of scores using ProposalCentral; there will be no peer review panel discussions or meetings at the pre-proposal stage. All other Heart Association Peer Review processes apply.

The American Heart Association DOES NOT permit peer reviewers to use large language models (LLM – e.g. ChatGPT) or artificial intelligence tools to generate and/or edit content in critiques. Uploading any portion of a research proposal into a large language model or an artificial intelligence tool to assist in writing a critique of the proposal is explicitly prohibited as it is a violation of the American Heart Association’s Peer Reviewer Certification Statement (PDF) (to include confidentiality, non-disclosure, and conflict of interest).

All applicants are required to self-register as peer reviewers with the American Heart Association and select two distinct scientific keywords that accurately reflect their areas of expertise. By registering, applicants consent to being contacted regarding future peer review opportunities and are strongly encouraged to participate as availability permits.

Additional Eligibility Criteria

Applicant must be an American Heart Association Professional Member at the time of pre-proposal submission.
Research awards are limited to U.S.-based non-profit institutions, including medical, osteopathic, and dental schools, veterinary schools, schools of public health, pharmacy schools, nursing schools, universities and colleges, public and voluntary hospitals and others that can demonstrate the ability to conduct the proposed research.
Applicant must have one of the following designations at the time of proposal submission – not award start date, depending on career stage and each individual’s situation. An awardee must maintain one of the designations listed below throughout the duration of the award. Please consult with your institution’s grant officer.
U.S. citizen
Permanent resident
Pending permanent resident (must have filed Form I-485 for permanent resident status and obtained an I-797C Notice of Action that the application has been received by USCIS and case is pending)
E-3 Visa - specialty occupation worker
F-1 Visa – student (for predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows only)
G-4 Visa - family member of an international organization employee
H1-B Visa - temporary worker in a specialty occupation
J-1 Visa - exchange visitor (pre- and postdoctoral fellowships only; all other awardees must obtain an H-1B or equivalent by the proposal due date)
O-1 Visa - temporary worker with extraordinary abilities in the sciences
TN Visa - NAFTA Professional
DACA - Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Individuals in research training or fellowship positions are not eligible to apply.

At the time of award activation:

The candidate must hold a post-baccalaureate PhD degree or equivalent, or a doctoral-level clinical degree, such as MD, DO, DVM, PharmD, or PhD in nursing, public health, or other clinical health science.
This program places no limit on eligibility based on career stage, academic rank or discipline. It requires only evidence of employment at a qualified institution, beyond the fellowship/training stage.
While no minimum percent effort is specified, the principal investigator must demonstrate that adequate time will be devoted to ensuring successful completion of the proposed project.

Eligible Countries:

United States

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: American Heart Association

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 7272 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231

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