Inside the AHA’s research enterprise
AHA funding opportunities are plentiful.
Good ideas and solid research need not sit idle.
The American Heart Association has been seeking and funding basic and clinical research since the late 1940s. And yours could be next.
Glenn Dillon, PhD, vice president of the AHA’s research and grants administration, will share a history of successes and a future for new researchers — at any career stage — during Thursday’s session, Inside the AHA’s Research Enterprise: Grant Funding and Other Opportunities.
The AHA is the largest nonprofit, non-governmental funder of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular research in the U.S. Since 1949, the organization has issued $5.7 billion in grants.
“The AHA’s mission is to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives,” Dr. Dillon said. “We have expanded our focus over the years to broaden our emphasis in health and wellness, including information science, artificial intelligence and machine learning. We’re not just funding basic science, heart disease and stroke. There are a lot of topics that align with our vision.”
Many of the AHA’s research programs are offered annually and others are one-time grants. Some programs require pre-proposals, with full proposals by invitation only. In its nearly 100-year history, the AHA has helped launch the careers of 15 Nobel Laureates as well as thousands of investigators.
Over the years, the association has broadened its reach beyond academic and health professionals to include engineers, psychologists, computer scientists and more. Research grants support clinical, translational, population, behavioral and basic science.
The AHA continues to expand research in health equity, social determinants of health and structural racism as well as all research across the lifespan. The organization also encourages applications by women, those from groups under-represented in research and those with non-traditional career trajectories.
“We focus on diverse groups and assure opportunities are strong for everybody,” Dr. Dillon said. “In recent years, we have supported larger scale, strategic programs to enhance diversity. One example is the Strategically Focused Research Network on diversity in clinical trials.
“There’s such a lack of diversity in clinical trial participants. The medical community has not done a good job of enrolling and retaining subjects who look like their community. So, the AHA is funding this large-scale initiative that enables groups of investigators conducting multiple projects in multiple locations to test novel ideas that can improve diversity of clinical trial participants. This is desperately needed to make sure new treatments are effective across a broader segment of our communities.”
Funding an annual average of 800 grants, totaling $170 million, Dr. Dillon said the association’s return on investment has been strong. In recent analysis, every dollar the association invests in early career investigators translates into nearly eight times more in new funding from the National Institutes of Health and other grant sources.
Dr. Dillon also reminds hopeful participants of what can be achieved by taking a brief look at history. For example, to fully appreciate what happened four to five decades ago, he points to the first drugs to lower blood pressure via a landmark study that showed high blood pressure can decrease life expectancy.
Similarly, the first successful artificial heart valve replacement and pioneering advancements in microsurgery occurred during this time. These advances led to today’s minimally invasive procedure that ends a heart attack by inserting stents to clear a blocked coronary artery and a similar procedure that ends a stroke by plucking a blood clot from inside the brain.
Regarding the types of research the AHA funds, Dr. Dillon said, “A big misperception people have is that we fund only the topics we’re interested in, by issuing Requests for Applications (RFAs) for proposals in specific areas. And although the AHA does issue many topic-specific RFAs, most of what we fund is investigator-initiated.
“Whatever great idea you have, send it to us. It will get peer reviewed by a panel of experts. Those applications that are assessed to be strongest will get funding.”
Dr. Dillon also emphasized that the AHA has funding opportunities for investigators regardless of their experience level.
“I encourage investigators at every career stage to submit their ideas to the AHA,” he said.
Last year, the AHA received almost 4,000 applications, he said. Varying by program, on average the association funds approximately 25% of those.
Dr. Dillon also encourages investigators to look beyond research grants to service opportunities, including volunteering as peer reviewers or on one of the many committees.
“Serving as a peer reviewer, for example, is a great opportunity to network, and it can help you learn how to strengthen applications for your own grants as well,” he said.
