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Women's Research Mentorship Grant

SIR Foundation

The Women's Research Mentorship Grant is designed to both support and highlight a woman performing interventional radiology research and to expand the pipeline for medical students or residents to learn about IR research. SIR and SIR Foundation believe in promoting a culture of inclusion and strengthening the specialty of interventional radiology by providing opportunities for women to engage in all facets of healthcare research. This grant was developed collaboratively with the Women in IR Section.

Budget: Up to $25,000 (Travel stipend up to $5,000)
Grant Length: One year
Deadline: Jan. 15th by 5 p.m. ET
Additional info: SIR membership is required

Please note: Institutional indirect costs, construction expenses, and secretarial or office expenses will not be funded.

How to apply

The Women's Research Mentorship Grant highly encourages participation in the pre-review process, which is located in the grant application. This allows for grant applicants to receive preliminary feedback on their applications from an assigned reviewer/mentor prior to submitting their final applications for funding consideration.

Although this requirement is designed to provide feedback prior to the final decision, completion of the pre-review process does not guarantee funding. 

Pre-review application deadline is Sept. 20, 2026.

Final application deadline is Jan. 15, 2027 by 5 p.m. ET.

Deadlines remain whether or not the date falls on a weekend and/or holiday. Applications that are not complete or do not comply with the guidelines will be considered ineligible.

AI Based Application Success Predictor

1. Strong relevance to interventional radiology

The clearest predictor of success is direct alignment with interventional radiology.

The most competitive applications typically address:

minimally invasive image-guided therapies
endovascular interventions
embolization
venous disease
interventional oncology
peripheral arterial disease
interventional pain management
portal hypertension
dialysis access
device innovation in IR

SIR Foundation states that its mission is to advance scientific knowledge and innovative therapies in interventional radiology.

2. Clear clinical relevance and patient-care impact

Successful proposals usually demonstrate potential to:

improve patient outcomes
improve procedural safety
reduce complications
improve recovery time
expand minimally invasive treatment options
enhance quality of life

The Foundation explicitly prioritizes research important to the advancement of interventional radiology and patient care.

3. Strong pilot or seed-study design

A major SIR Foundation-specific predictor is whether the project works as a pilot or seed grant.

Competitive projects often:

test a new hypothesis
generate early feasibility data
validate a new technique
produce preliminary data for NIH or larger external grants

The Pilot Research Grant is specifically described as supporting projects that generate preliminary data to strengthen later national grant applications.

4. Feasibility within a short funding period

Most SIR Foundation grants are 1-year awards, so reviewers strongly favor projects with:

realistic timelines
focused aims
clear milestones
practical access to data/patients
achievable deliverables

Overly ambitious multicenter studies without clear execution plans tend to be less competitive.

5. Innovation in devices, procedures, or clinical technique

Highly competitive proposals frequently involve:

novel catheter/device development
procedural innovation
new embolic approaches
imaging-guided treatment advances
workflow optimization
translational IR technology

Because IR is highly innovation-driven, procedural novelty is especially valued.

6. Potential for future NIH, industry, or multicenter funding

SIR Foundation often acts as launch funding.

Reviewers favor projects likely to:

lead to NIH or AHRQ applications
attract industry collaboration
support multicenter clinical trials
become future investigator-initiated studies

The Incubator Grant specifically supports protocol development for NIH, AHRQ, or industry applications.

7. Strong investigator development potential

SIR Foundation supports researchers at multiple career stages.

Strong applications often come from:

medical students
radiology residents
fellows
junior faculty
early investigators beginning independent IR research careers

Several mechanisms are explicitly designed to develop the next generation of IR investigators.

8. Strong mentorship and institutional support

Competitive applications often demonstrate:

experienced IR research mentor
access to IR clinical volume
protected research time
strong institutional infrastructure
access to procedural data or research labs

For resident and student grants, mentorship is especially important.

9. Alignment with SIR Foundation research priorities

Projects identified through or aligned with a Research Consensus Panel (RCP) may be particularly competitive.

The Incubator Grant notes specific support for projects prioritized by SIR Foundation research consensus panels.

10. Strong dissemination potential

Reviewers favor projects likely to result in:

abstracts at the Society of Interventional Radiology Annual Scientific Meeting
publication in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR)
future practice-changing clinical evidence

SIR Foundation encourages dissemination through JVIR and SIR scientific meetings.

Common Reasons for Rejection

Frequent reviewer concerns include:

weak interventional radiology focus
insufficient clinical relevance
poor feasibility within 1 year
unclear methodology
lack of innovation
weak pilot-data rationale
limited pathway to future funding
insufficient mentorship or infrastructure

Specialties

Radiology

Eligibility Requirements

Researchers are required to identify a medical student or trainee to apply jointly. Eligibility requirements differ for the researcher and the medical student or trainee. 

Faculty researcher: Applicants must be a current member of the Society of Interventional Radiology. Applicants must be trained interventional radiologists with an MD, DO or equivalent degree. Applicants will be accepted who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada. Applicants must be willing to engage and support a student or trainee for the duration of the summer research project. This grant is intended for a researcher who demonstrates a commitment to supporting and furthering women in IR research. 
Student or trainee researcher: Applicants must be a current member of the Society of Interventional Radiology. Student or trainee applicants must be actively enrolled in, and in good standing, at an allopathic or osteopathic medical school or ACGME-accredited training program, respectively, and must be available to be on site for the duration of the summer research project.  Student or trainee applicants must be identified and recommended by the researcher. Applications will be accepted from citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada.  
At least one recipient must be a woman.

Both the student and faculty researcher are highly encouraged to submit their work to the SIR Annual Scientific Meeting and apply for an SIR Foundation award.

Sponsor Details

Sponsor Institute/Organizations: SIR Foundation

Sponsor Type: Corporate/Non-Profit

Address: 3975 Fair Ridge Drive I Suite 400 North I Fairfax, Virginia 22033 I (703) 691-1805 I EIN: 54-1518252

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