For more than 25 years, the Association of Women Surgeons has supported surgeon scientists advance and develop their careers through grant funding.

This year AWS will offer one grant for clinical/education research. There are no topic restrictions. Past AWS Fellowship grants have supported women surgeons by funding original research in topics including cancer research, surgical education, surgical outcomes, bariatric surgery and biology, and MIS.

The AWS Fellowship Grant will be awarded to AWS members selected by the Grants & Fellowship Committee and approved by the AWS Council. The committee judges the applications based on the scientific merit of the project as well as the investigator’s capability and the likelihood of completing the project successfully within the one- year time period. Considerations include the investigator’s experience, background, availability of scientific material and other resources.

The grant recipients will present their research at AWS Annual Conference, held in conjunction with the October 2024 American College of Surgeons Clinical Congress and submit an eConnections article.

Applications will open in June 2024.

This $20,000 grant for basic science or clinical research has no topic restrictions and will be awarded to one qualified and approved applicant. Considerations include the investigator’s experience, background, availability of scientific material, and other resources.

   

 

ELIGIBILITY

The Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) grant is open to any principal investigator who is:

  • an AWS member in good standing
  • in a clinical fellowship, junior-faculty (six-years out of training), starting their careers in research, or senior faculty who may be changing the focus of their research (Research residents/ fellows are not eligible)
 
GRANT AVAILABILITY

The grant is are limited to $20,000 each for a period of one-year and is made to the institution. Studies may be clinical (human), translational (bench to bedside), pre-clinical (animal/bench), or educational.

GRANT GUIDELINES
  • The grant is awarded to the institution and not to the individual.
  • IRB approval needs to be complete at time of grant submission or the application will NOT be reviewed.
  • Some of the resources required to conduct the project may be available through the investigator’s institution.
  • The research grant provides supplemental support for personnel (not including the salary of the principal investigator), equipment or services required to complete the research.
  • The award can be used for direct costs only; indirect costs are not covered. The award proposal should include the costs associated with traveling to and from the AWS Annual Conference in October 2024 to present the research findings.
  • It is expected that at least 10% of the Principal Investigator’s time should be available for this research.
  • Approval MUST be requested from AWS in advance of proposed changes from the original submission with regard to the study protocol, personnel or institution.
  • Any publication arising from research supported by this grant must acknowledge the Association of Women Surgeons as the funding source.
  • Grants are based on the scientific merit of the project as well as the investigator’s capability and the likelihood of completing the project successfully within the year time period. 

SCHEDULE
  • Grant submissions are due July 18, 2024.
  • The recipient and all other candidates will be notified by August 15, 2024.
  • The grant of $20,000 will be dispersed no sooner than November 1, 2024.
  • A project status report is due April 15, 2025.
  • An abstract that summarizes the project and a financial report detailing how the grant money was spent must be submitted to the AWS office by September 2, 2025 along with a copy of your 10- minute presentation (paper or electronic) that will occur during the AWS Annual Conference
  • Distribution of funds should be completed by December 31, 2025. A financial report prepared by the hospital research administration department should be submitted by December 31, 2025. If you have any remaining funds you may submit a written request to AWS to for an extension or return the funds to AWS by January 31, 2026.
  • A formal 10-minute presentation by the primary recipient is required during the AWS Annual Conference, held during the ACS meeting in October 2025.
  • An eConnections article is due to headquarters by October 2025.

Please be sure to read the article published in 2020 regarding the impact Ethicon's fellowship grant has had over the last 25 years:

Read Article HERE

 

 

 

 "The first grant I received out of fellowship was the AWS Ethicon Grant.  It was the grant that set of my academic career and after receiving that grant I received 3 more grants over the next two years.  There is no question that the AWS funding helped launch my academic career.  It also is what helped me to meet AWS leadership and helped to connect me to the amazing things that AWS offers our membership."

 

 

Congratulations to all the past AWS Fellowship Grant recipients:

  • Holly Lewis, MD
  • Erin Brown, MD
  • Mia Kitano, MD
  • Sepideh Gholami, MD, FACS
  • Keri Lunsford, MD
  • Smita Sihag, MD
  • Nasreen Vohra, MD
  • Genevieve M. Boland, MD, PhD
  • Leslie S. Tyrie, MD, FACS
  • Heather Yeo, MD
  • Anna Leung, MD
  • Erin W. Gilbert, MD
  • Katie Nason, MD
  • Nancy L. Cho, MD
  • Nanette R. Reed, MD
  • Jacqueline S. Jeruss, MD
  • Tari King, MD, FACS
  • Ai-Xuan Holterman, MD
  • Christina L. Roland
  • Ann M. Rogers, MD
  • Kimberly Eden Steele, MD
  • Geeta Lal, MD
  • Anjali Kumar, MD
  • Asha Bale, MD
  • Lori Wilson, MD
  • Rebecca Aft, MD
  • Katie Nason, MD
  • Celia Divino, MD
  • Celeste Hollands, MD
  • Danielle Walsh, MD
  • Aphrodite Henderson,  MD
  • Alicia Silva, MD
  • Karen Horvath, MD*