Resident Research Project Awards

Resident Research Project Awards is sponsored by American Hearing Research Foundation (AHRF). AHRF offers up to five $1,000 awards to otolaryngology residents to support research projects during their residency.

Grants We Offer & Application - American Hearing Research Foundation Grants We Offer & Application How AHRF Makes Grant Decisions Frequently Asked Questions for Grant Applications Principal Investigator Resources Grants We Offer & Application Because sometimes, the biggest ideas start small… Enabling the next breakthrough in hearing and balance research At AHRF, we recognize the critical importance of early-stage research.

Each year, we award five to ten seed grants to researchers whose work aligns with our mission. Award decisions for 2025 can be found here . The deadline to submit applications for 2027 awards is 5:00 p.

m. Central Time, August 15, 2026. Applicants must hold an MD, PhD, AuD, or equivalent degree(s) and be associated with a university or hospital in the United States, except for the Bernard & Lottie Drazin Memorial Grants, which are awarded to residents from specific institutions.

Applications to the American Hearing Research Foundation are evaluated for novelty, significance, relevance to the mission of AHRF, feasibility, investigator, approach, statistical analysis/outcome measures, and budget justification.

How AHRF Makes Grant Decision View Frequently Asked Questions Submit Your Application Here Progress Report Template for Grant Recipients Hearing & Balance Disorders of the Inner Ear & Related Topics For Otolaryngology Residents of Specific Institutions Bernard & Lottie Drazin Memorial Grants Hearing and balance disorders of the inner ear and related topics 5:00p. m.

Central Time, August 15, 2026 Grant amount; grant period: Up to $50,000; January 1 – December 31, 2027 Eligibility requirements for AHRF Discovery Grants: Applicants must hold an MD, PhD, AuD, or equivalent degree(s) and be associated with a university or hospital in the United States. Acceptable topics for AHRF Discovery Grants: Research topics must be related to hearing and balance disorders of the inner ear.

Application Guidelines + Checklist for AHRF Discovery Grants: Please carefully follow our 5-step application process: Confirm your eligibility by checking the requirements above. Confirm that your topic is acceptable for this grant by checking the requirements above. Carefully follow the application checklist below.

Save your proposal as a PFD document. Submit your application online here . Application Checklist for AHRF Discovery Grants Please use this checklist when preparing your application and follow the guidelines carefully.

Due to the large number of grant applications we receive, incomplete applications cannot be reviewed. If any required documents or information are missing, your application will not be considered.

Title Page (first page of proposal) Title of research project Principal investigator name(s) and credentials Collaborator name(s) and credentials Telephone number of PI who will be primary AHRF contact Email address of PI who will be primary AHRF contact Financial officer contact information (name, email, and telephone number of official who will sign any agreement) Brief one-page summary of the project; include performance site and key personnel of project Next page: Applicant name, lay summary up to 150 words Budget ONLY for the one year of your proposed project.

Provide a one-year budget that includes salary for support staff (students, post-doctorate fellows, etc.), equipment and supplies. Salaries plus fringe benefits may not be more than 80% of your total direct costs. Do not include salaries for principal investigator(s), travel or conference attendance expenses, educational costs, or indirect costs (overhead).

AHRF does not fund these costs. The budget should include the total amount requested. Include a biographical sketch for each principal investigator and co-investigator.

Maximum is three (3) pages per biosketch, including contact information (USPS mailing address, telephone, email, etc.) and relevant publications. NIH format is acceptable. Include an additional single page with a list of current funding, pending funding, and requested funding.

Indicate clearly where other grants overlap the AHRF grant. Awarded overlapping funding must be returned to AHRF. A single one-page letter of support will be accepted.

Include any letter of support within your proposal document. Include one page listing specific aims of the project. Include up to five pages for background and significance, methods, and type of subjects (human or animal) – only for the one-year project.

For renewal projects, you may include up to two additional pages to describe progress on the original grant proposal. Note: Grant recipients who are conducting studies with human or animal subjects must show they have applied for IRB or ACUC approval by March 31 of their grant year.

Saving your proposal as a PDF: Save your proposal as a PDF, naming it as follows: “Yourlastname_Yourfirstname” If the PDF file is 5 MG or smaller, you can submit it via the online portal. If your PDF is larger than 5 MB, please email the PDF and application form data to Info@American-Hearing. org.

Submit your application online. 5:00p. m.

Central Time, August 15, 2026 January 1 – December 31, 2027 Note: Discovery Grants formerly were called “Regular Grants. ” Each year AHRF typically funds four to ten Discovery Grants for studies that investigate various aspects of hearing and balance disorders related to the inner ear. Applicants may request up to $50,000 for one year of research.

Grants are paid in one lump sum in January in the year after the application deadline. Priority is given to investigators early in their careers who need seed funds to generate results and data that can be used to support applications for larger grants (i.e., NIH grants) in the future. Grant funds may only be used for direct costs, including salaries of technical and supporting staff, equipment related to the research, and supplies.

Note that the cost for salaries plus fringe benefits cannot be more than 80% of the direct costs. Funding may not be used for the salary of the principal investigator, travel, conference attendance, educational costs, or indirect costs. Depending on funds available, grant amounts occasionally may be adjusted at the discretion of AHRF.

Our goal is to fund as many promising, novel projects as feasible. Eligibility Requirements for AHRF Regular Grants: Applicants must hold an MD, PhD, AuD, or equivalent degree(s) and be associated with a university or hospital in the United States. Proposals should relate to the hearing or balance functions of the ear.

Both basic and clinical studies may be proposed that investigate aspects of the auditory and vestibular systems including but not limited to genetics, neurotology, anatomy, auditory processing, molecular and cellular biology, therapeutic studies, and investigations of current or experimental devices (i.e., cochlear implants).

AHRF donors have given special support for research that explores Meniere’s disease (mechanisms, causes, or treatments) and the causes or mechanisms of sudden hearing loss. Proposals that address these areas of interest will receive special consideration during the review process.

Application, Review, and Reporting: Proposals are reviewed by the AHRF Research Committee in October and by the AHRF Board in November; applicants are notified of the status of their grants soon in late November. Proposals are evaluated based on criteria including novelty, significance, relevance to the mission of AHRF, feasibility, investigator’s prior work, approach, statistical analysis/outcome measures, and budget justification.

Comments are not provided to applicants. Grant recipients need to submit progress reports by the end of each April of the year the grant was awarded. Reports may be included on the AHRF website and/or in its Soundings newsletter.

Recipients also must notify AHRF in advance of any publication of their research funded by the Foundation. Recipients should notify AHRF if any aspect of their funded research is reported in the media. It is our goal to highlight the results of your funded investigations.

Recipients are required to submit a final report of their research by the end of January after the completion of their funded year of research. No-cost extensions of research past the funded year may be granted based on approval of the Research Committee. In some years, AHRF may identify one or two studies that show outstanding promise.

At its discretion, AHRF may award a study with the $75,000 Birtman Grant , or the $65,000 Richard G. Muench Chairman’s Grant for exceptional scientific investigation. If chosen, the researcher will be invited to submit revised aims and budget for the additional funds.

Like the AHRF Discovery Grants, the Birtman and Muench Chairman’s Grants support studies that investigate various aspects of hearing and balance disorders related to the inner ear. These grants will be paid in one lump sum in January in the year after the application deadline.

How Birtman and Muench Chairman’s Grant funds may be used, eligibility requirements, research topics, and reporting requirements are the same as noted for the AHRF Discovery Grant. The Birtman Grant is named for Georgia Birtman, a Chicago school teacher who was a significant benefactor of the Foundation. Richard G.

Muench Chairman’s Grant The Muench Chairman’s Grant honors Richard Muench’s commitment to improve hearing health. In 2022, Richard Muench ended his 27-year tenure as AHRF Board Chair. Since joining the AHRF board in 1984, Muench also served as board treasurer and vice president – sometimes overlapping these responsibilities.

He was instrumental in increasing the organization’s annual grant funding which helped launch careers for new investigators and helped seasoned researchers tackle new areas of study. He continues to serve on the AHRF Board. Bernard & Lottie Drazin Memorial Grants 5:00p.

m. Central Time, August 15, 2026 January 1, 2027 – June 30, 2028 AHRF offers up to five $1,000 awards to otolaryngology residents to support research projects during their residency.

To be eligible, residents must be from the Chicago programs (Loyola, Northwestern, Rosalind Franklin University, Rush University, University of Illinois, or University of Chicago) or schools represented by members of our Board or Research Committee (Washington University, St. Louis, MO; University of Miami, FL; Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX). Proposals should relate to the hearing or balance functions of the ear.

Basic or clinical studies may be proposed that investigate aspects of the auditory and vestibular systems including but not limited to genetics, neurotology, anatomy, auditory processing, molecular and cellular biology, therapeutic studies, and investigations of current or experimental devices (i.e., cochlear implants).

Application, Review, and Reporting: This grant requires a short one- to two-page summary of the project including specific aims and methods. It should be accompanied by a small budget proposal and a letter of support from the principal investigator with whom the applicant is working.

Proposals are reviewed by the AHRF Research Committee in October and by the AHRF Board in November; applicants are notified of the status of their grants in late November. Proposals are evaluated based on criteria including novelty, significance, relevance to the mission of AHRF, feasibility, investigator’s prior work, approach, statistical analysis/outcome measures, and budget justification. Comments are not provided to applicants.

Recipients are required to submit a final report of their research by the end of July after the completion of their funded year of research. No-cost extensions of research past the funded year may be granted based on approval of the Research Committee.

Making new discoveries possible since 1956 AHRF funds novel research to better understand and overcome hearing and balance disorders of the inner ear American Hearing Research Foundation 400 Randolph St, Suite 3115 Lisa Held, Executive Director info@american-hearing. org &copy 2026 American Hearing Research Foundation