News

American Society of Hematology Bridge Grant Awarded to Selina Chen-Kiang, Ph.D.,

Monday, October 2, 2017

American Society of Hematology (ASH) announced the names of five investigators whose research has been awarded $150,000 through the ASH Bridge Grant Program. Meyer Cancer Center member Selina Chen-Kiang, Ph.D. was one of the five investigators selected for this award designed to sustain promising hematologic research proposals that score well but cannot be funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) due to uncertain funding. The ASH Bridge Grants ensure that research continues as the NIH continues to struggle with over a decade of flat funding and spending reductions that have drastically reduced its ability to fund innovative research. Federal spending caps and massive cuts to the agency proposed by President Trump in May add to the uncertainty for scientific progress.

These grants are designed to serve as a one-year bridge for researchers facing gaps in multi-year funding, allowing their focus to remain on continuing their research and further strengthening their NIH grant application in anticipation of future funding.

The ASH Bridge Grant program has been tremendously successful since its 2013 launch. Over 65 percent of recipients have gone on to receive an NIH research project grant (R01) or a large private grant. Additionally, over 70 percent of ASH Bridge Grant recipients surveyed report successfully publishing their findings.