Verified

Pilot Research Award in Hepatocellular Carcinoma

American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases Foundation

Application Deadline

December 7, 2026

Award Amount

$60,000

Award Term

One Year

Award Type

Project-Based

Clinical / Translational / Outcomes Research

Basic Science Research

Career Level

Junior Faculty

Mid-Career Faculty

View the 2027 request for applications [PDF].

Overview

The AASLD Foundation Pilot Research Award in Hepatocellular Carcinoma, supported by the Jou Family Memorial Fund, supports highly innovative Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) research ideas that have a clear potential to produce high-impact results, but that have little or no preliminary data to successfully compete for funding from other sources.

Additional preference will be given to applications related to HCC biomarkers.

Award Period: July 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028.
Total Award Amount: $60,000

Award of $60,000 will be provided over (1) one year.
Funds are unrestricted for direct project expenditures, except that equipment acquisition of $5,000 or greater requires prior written approval from AASLD Foundation.
PIs will receive complimentary registration for The Liver Meeting during their one-year grant term.
No indirect costs, registration fees, or travel expenses are provided.

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 20% effort toward the funded research project, it is not required that PI salary must be directly supported by Foundation Award funds.

Unexpended funds at the end of the award term must be 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

Cancer

Oncology

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. Junior Faculty must be at least three years from their first appointment at the start date of the award (faculty start date must be July 1, 2024 or earlier).
- 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.
- If the applicant is at the rank of Assistant Professor, they must have a 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. Mentors are not required for Associate Professor level applicants or equivalent.
- Not hold federal funding (e.g., U, P, R, K, VA Merit, VA CDA) unless they are able to justify the following in their application:
  - The project is truly completely distinct and non-overlapping from existing funding.
  - The proposed work cannot be completed using existing funds.
The proposed project must:
- Not be an established project with alternate funding and must be clearly different than existing research portfolio of the PI.
- Be hypothesis based.
- Include only 1-2 aims that can be completed within the one-year award term.
- If the project is Clinical/Translational/Outcomes Research, intervention must involve a direct clinical interaction with patients (clinical), patient clinical data (outcomes), or patient samples (translational). No clinical interaction is required for Basic Research proposals.
- 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 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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