The American Association for Hand Surgery awards Annual Research Grants to clinicians and therapists in private or academic practice for small clinical studies focused in hand care, or for pilot studies leading to a more major hand care study. Grant applications are judged not only on scientific merit, but also on whether the project can realistically be completed in 1 year and on the quality and practicality of the budget. All AAHS members and applicants for membership are eligible to apply. There may be up to 3 co-investigators on a project and at least 1 of the investigators MUST be an Active or Affiliate AAHS member. Applications without at least 1 Active or Affiliate AAHS member co-investigator will not be considered by the Research Committee. The award in the amount of $10,000 for a 1 year period is funded by the Hand Surgery Endowment and administered by the Association.
View previous recipients

As the aims for the Research Committee are to help facilitate research as well as mentor young investigators, for the 2020 funding application cycle, members of the Research Committee have volunteered to make themselves available to serve as mentors to grant applicants. Senior investigators can contact the research committee for mentorship if desired. Mentorship by the research committee is designed to be a service for faculty starting out in the grant process. Mentorship is not mandatory or required. Interested applicants can email contact@handsurgery.org at any time prior to or during the application process to be appropriately matched with a Committee member mentor. Be sure to include information about your project and specific areas in which you are interested in mentorship.

Utilize the Annual Research Grant checklist to ensure you submit all required materials.

Other helpful resources:

Tips for writing a successful proposal
List of available hand related grant opportunities

The deadline to apply for the 2020 Research Grant has passed.

Guidelines

• Up to 3 investigators may be included on a single application, 1 investigator MUST be an Active or Affiliate AAHS member. Applications without at least 1 Active or Affiliate AAHS member co-investigator will not be considered by the Research Committee.
• Facility for research must coincide with Principal Investigator's location for 1 year following receipt of the Award.
• Only complete applications will be considered for funding by the Research Committee. Complete applications include the AAHS Research Grant application form within which investigators may view requirements for and upload their project proposal. Proposals may not exceed 5 pages, not including references or senior attestation and must follow NIH formatting standards (12 point, black, Arial, Helvetica, Palatino Linotype or Georgia font, 0.5 inch margins, single spacing). Grants not in the proper format will not be reviewed and considered for funding. Proposals should include all detail listed below within a single document.
  1. Abstract: Describe the major aspects of your project (what, why, how)
  2. Aims: What are you working on?
  3. Background and Significance: Why are you working on this?
  4. Methods, Materials and Facilities: Why, when, where and how will you do the research? Where applicable, define patient selection and outline human investigation safety requirements, and remember that facilities must coincide with your location for 1 year following the award.
  5. Budget Justification: AAHS and the Research Committee are required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to document disbursement of funds, as well as to maintain annual reports on the funded programs. Please note that this award is for support of compensation and direct costs only and cannot be used for any form of indirect costs and/or overhead assessments (personal compensation of investigators, travel, payment of hospital cost.)
  6. Collaboration: Define the role(s) of consultants, basic or clinical scientists and their percent of anticipated participation.
  7. Scientific References
• AAHS and the Research Committee are required by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to document disbursement of funds, as well as to maintain annual reports on the funded programs. Please note that this award is for support of compensation and direct costs only and cannot be used for any form of indirect costs and/or overhead assessments (personal compensation of investigators, travel, payment of hospital costs).
• AAHS must be acknowledged as the source of funding in any presentation or publication.
• It is expected that research supported by this grant be submitted for presentation at the Annual Meeting within 2 years of receipt of the Award.
• Funds must be returned to the HSE if the research is not undertaken within 12 months of receipt of the Award.
• A final progress report should list any publications which resulted from this initial seed funding.
• Failure to follow these guidelines will disqualify the recipient from any future grant applications and from presenting any papers at AAHS meetings for 3 years following such default.
• Please include the attestation signed by your senior author.

Note: The AAHS/Plastic Surgery Foundation (PSF) Combined Pilot Research Grant may be another funding opportunity of interest. Projects submitted
to the AAHS Annual Research Grant are eligible for submission to the AAHS/PSF Combined Pilot Research Grant, although a project will only
be funded once. View Instructions.