Resident Research Scholarship

The application period is closed.

About

Designed for neurology residents who are interested in a career as clinician scientists. This award is intended to be a springboard into the AAN’s Research Program or other programs focused on early-career investigators. The research project is to be conducted at a US or Canadian hospital or clinic and jointly designed by the resident and a mentoring physician. The application process will be competitive and is intended to prepare the applicants for early-career grant applications. There will be five awards offered at $5,000 each.

The ��ɫ�� is firmly committed to embracing the diversity among our members, applicants, and reviewers and affirms the importance of equity and inclusiveness within the AAN research program.

Timeline

Applications open: June 19, 2025
Applications close: September 1, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. CT

Benefits

Offers residents a stipend to conduct a project in a clinical setting where there are ongoing programs of research, service, or training, or in a private practice setting.

Eligibility

Applicant must be in good standing in a neurology residency training program in the US or Canada.
Applicant must be a member of the AAN.
Project must not be an already completed project.

Application requirements

Project criteria:

The project is to be undertaken in a clinical setting that has ongoing research programs, service, or training, or in a private practice setting.
The research being conducted MUST be based on or involve a topic relevant to neurology.
A recommendation letter and committed guidance from a mentor. A mentor CV is encouraged.
Mentor must confirm compliance with local IRB requirements regarding resident’s role in human subjects’ research.
Applications in which the role of the resident is not clearly defined will not be considered.
Application and reward process will occur in 2025, with completion of the research in 2026.
Additional sources of funding for the proposed project are allowed; however, applicants must provide information regarding what funds have been received.
Grant funding must solely be used for direct research expenses only.
The awardee will be required to present results at a future AAN Annual Meeting.

Resident will include in the project proposal:

Resident name and contact information, including phone and email address.
Supervising mentoring physician's name and contact information, including phone and email address.
Title of project.
Specific aim(s) of the project: Clearly list the specific research objectives. If the project is part of a larger study, briefly explain the overall goals and how this research fits in. The resident should clearly outline their role and expected outcomes for each aim.
Background and significance: Explain the importance to neurology of the problem motivating this research, here and elsewhere; indicate citations by number in parentheses, corresponding to their order of appearance in the references cited.
Experimental design: Keyed to the specific aims, describe the experiments/studies intended and the experimental and analytical methods that will be used.
References: List authors, titles of articles, journal, book, volume, pages, year; list citations numerically in the order in which they appear in the application.
Mentorship: Describe arrangements made with the mentor and associates for structured guidance.
Budget and budget justification for research: Residents are encouraged to think practically and realistically about the cost of their proposal. The scholarship amount is $5,000 regardless of the size of the formal budget.

Note:

Project proposal, budget proposal, CV, and bibliography should be Arial, 11-point font or greater, and have at least 0.5-inch margins.
2-page limit for research proposal, including bibliography
½ page budget and budget justification
Curriculum vitae
Letter of recommendation from the preceptor / supervising attending physician
Preceptor / supervising attending physician curriculum vitae

Awardee expectations

Resident will return the following upon being notified of award:

A Statement of Intent form, signed by the resident and mentoring physician, supplied with award notification letter.
W-9 or W-8BEN Tax form for Canadian citizens

Resident will submit the following within 3 months after project completion:

A one-page abstract of the project
Evaluation forms completed by the resident and mentoring physician, supplied with the winner notification letter

Award, presentation, and publication:

Any publications resulting from the funded project must acknowledge the support of the ��ɫ�� (AAN). Upon publication, copies should be forwarded to the AAN.
Recipient will provide the AAN with name, year of Resident Research Scholarship award received, hospital or clinic, publications, presentations, and/or awards related to the research project.
Scholarship winners agree to submit their abstract to the AAN for the Annual Meeting Scientific Program. The AAN’s acceptance of the abstract is not guaranteed.

Questions?

For more information, contact Amy Linner, Senior Science & Academic Coordinator, at alinner@aan.com.