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Predoctoral Fellowship

American Heart Association

Purpose

To enhance the integrated research and clinical training of promising students who are matriculated in pre-doctoral or clinical health professional degree training programs and who intend careers as scientists, physician-scientists or other clinician-scientists, or related careers aimed at improving global cardiovascular, cerebrovascular and brain health.

Within this award, additional collaboration money has been designated through the Heart Association/Children's Heart Foundation Congenital Heart Defect Research Awards, Autism Speaks, the Barth Syndrome Foundation, the California Walnut Commission, and the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research. See co-funded opportunities details.

The trainee and mentor should collaboratively provide a thoughtfully planned, systematic proposal aimed at clearly answering an investigative question in cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or brain health research (5-page limit). A fellow must have primary responsibility for the writing and the preparation of the application, understanding that the mentor will play a significant part in providing guidance to the applicant. Because the fellow receives only a stipend from the award, additional monetary support for the proposed work MUST come from the mentor's laboratory. Therefore, the proposal will likely be related to the mentor's currently funded work. The mentor should clarify the role the applicant played in developing the proposal, the relationship of the proposal to ongoing work in the mentor's laboratory, and how the proposal will contribute toward the training and career development of the applicant.
A new fellow may not have had adequate time to generate preliminary data; therefore, applicants may present preliminary data generated by the mentor. The assessment of preliminary data, whether generated by the mentor or the applicant, should be put into perspective so that bold new ideas and risk-taking by beginning investigators are encouraged rather than stymied. Submission of an application to the AHA with identical or significantly similar content as a submission by another investigator is prohibited. Also, the submission of an application to the AHA with identical or significantly similar content from a mentor to a grant program and his/her fellow to a fellowship program is prohibited. In such cases, both applications may be removed from funding consideration. If a grant application is submitted by the sponsor of a fellowship application, both applications may be funded if there is no duplication of aims.

Budget

The Association does not pay indirect costs on fellowships.
The Association does not require use of the NIH salary cap.

Note: the Association's stipend matches the published NIH stipend for predoctoral fellows at the time the Association begins to accept proposals (July 1, 2026).

Annual Stipend

$29,364

Plus $4,550 per year for health insurance.

Note: Stipend may be used to further supplement health insurance, however, the health insurance allowance may not be used for any other purpose.

Project Support

$2,000 per year, in addition to the stipend.

No limit on any line item (travel, computer, equipment, etc.). International travel is permitted and does not require prior approval.

Award Duration

One or two years

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

Cardiovascular Diseases

Eligibility Requirements

At the time of application, the applicant must be:
- enrolled in a post-baccalaureate PhD, MD, DO, DVM, PharmD, DDS, DrPH, or PhD in nursing, public health, or equivalent clinical health science doctoral student who seeks research training with a sponsor prior to embarking upon a research career.
- a full-time student working towards his/her degree.
At the time of award activation, the candidate must have completed initial coursework and be at the stage of the program where they can devote full-time effort (80%) to research or activities related to the development into an independent researcher or a related career aimed at improving global cardiovascular health.
Recognizing the unique challenges that clinicians, in particular, experience in balancing research and clinical activity, this award mechanism aims to be as flexible as possible to enable applicants to develop academic careers in research alongside fulfilling clinical service commitments.
- The Association permits delayed start requests for up to six months. This includes applicants with clinical appointments.
- Applicants must indicate their intent to delay the start date in the Personal Statement section of their biosketch.
- The Association does not permit delayed start requests for completion of requisite coursework for the pre-doctoral program.
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.
Applicants are not required to reside in the United States for any period before applying for American Heart Association funding. However, applicants 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

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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