Strategic Alignment Grant

The purpose of the AAR Research and Education Foundation Strategic Alignment Grant (SAG) is to advance the long-range strategic organizational goals of the AAR by awarding one year length grant(s) to applicants who address identified strategic priorities.

Application Process
Proposals that are aligned with any of the AAR strategic priorities are encouraged. Additionally, the AAR Research and Education Foundation has identified the following focus areas for the 2026 grant.

  • Develop strategies to foster engagement and strategic collaboration across AAR committees, within affinity groups at AAR, or with other societies outside AAR.
  • Develop strategies to amplify educational and mentorship opportunities for academic radiologists, with preferential focus given to educator education and health services research.
  • Develop strategies to support and shape the future academic radiology training workforce.
  • Create evidence-based guidelines and interventions for educational and leadership skills training for radiology trainees and faculty.

We require the grantee to present their work at the AAR Annual meeting. (Please note report deadlines and reference these requirements in conjunction with programming and scheduling of the AAR Annual Meeting).

The AAR R&E Foundation is now accepting Letters of Intent for the Strategic Alignment Grant.

Submit Letter of Intent

Deadline to Receive LOIs – August 15, 2025 at 12:00 PM (Noon) CST.

The Letter of intent should include the following information:

  • Descriptive title of the proposed project

  • Name, address, telephone number and email address of the principal investigator(s)

  • Participating institution(s)

  • A 500-word abstract describing background, objectives, project plan, evaluation, and dissemination plan.

  • Applicants will be invited to submit a proposal by September 30, 2024, based on their letter of intent.

Please view the application instructional videos here.

Amount: 
One or more grants, up to $20,000 (USD) in aggregate will be awarded. Funds may or may not be granted, depending on the quality of the received proposals. The maximum individual award may not exceed $10,000 for a one year project.

  • The award may be used for project costs and/or salary support of study personnel. Funds may not be used toward salary support for the primary investigator or to support non grant related affinity group or association costs. The grant will not fund institutional indirect costs or overhead costs, or tuition.

  • Travel expenses for the AAR Annual Meeting may not be paid by this grant’s funds.

  • Unexpended funds must be returned to the AAR Research and Education Foundation.

The award can be renewed at no cost for a second year by request and upon approval of the AAR Research and Education Foundation. If additional funding is requested for the second year, a full application should be submitted which will undergo a formal review process.
 


Contact Information:

AAR Research and Education Foundation
Phone: 224-276-7534
E-mail: [email protected]


Grant Recipients: 

2025    

Nadja Kadom, MD - Emory University
Residency QI: Bootcamp – Simulating a QI Project

Aparna Singhal, MD - University of Alabama
Curriculum for Radiology IMG Empowerment, Acculturation and Transition Ease 

2024    

Peter Gunderman, MD, Indiana University
Radiology Resident Ownership Scale: External Validation of an Instrument to Measure Radiology Residents’ Sense of Ownership 

2023    

Courtney M. Tomblinson, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
EMPOWiR: An Executive Mentorship Program for Women in Radiology 

2022   

Karuna M. Raj, MD & John R. Leyendecker, MD, UT Southwestern
Putting The Horse Before The Cart: Cultivating Leaders And Building Resilience In Academic Radiology Through Pre-emergent Leadership Training Targeting Emotional Intelligence And Social Competence (ESC) Skills In Early Career Faculty

2021  

Judith Ann Gadde, DO, MBA - Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
A Comprehensive Hybrid Radiology Interest Group with Mixed Live, Virtual, and Recorded Events Targeting Underserved Medical Student Population: A Regional Pilot Program to Prove Efficiency and Scalability

2020

 

Michael D. Fishman, MD - Boston Medical Center
Cup of Coffee Speed Coaching – Helping to Develop the Next Generation of Leaders

2019

 

Nancy R. Fefferman, MD - New York University School of Medicine
Development of Standardized Digital On-line Diagnostic Radiology Resident Core Curriculum Lecture Series

2017

Tessa S. Cook, MD, PhD - Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Development and Implementation of a National Imaging Informatics Curriculum for Radiology Residents

2016

Stella K. Kang, MD, MsC - New York University Langone Medical Center
Value of Imaging through Comparative Effectiveness (VOICE) Research Program: A Collaborative Training Program in Biomedical Big Data and Comparative Effectiveness Research for the Field of Radiology