EMERGING LIVER ADVANCED PRACTICE PROVIDER (APP) PROGRAM

Application Deadline
Award Term
Two Years
Award Type
Travel
Career Development
Career Level
Advanced Practice Provider
Pre-Doctoral / Graduate

Meeting Dates:      

November 15-19, 2024, San Diego, California
November 7-11, 2025, Washington, DC

 

View the 2024 Request For Applications [PDF].

Overview

The Emerging Liver APP program brings early career advanced practice providers (APPs) to the premiere scientific meeting in hepatology and advances their knowledge of liver diseases through educational programming, professional development activities led by leaders in the field, and networking with hepatology key opinion leaders (KOLs) and peers from around the globe.

Participants start the program with complimentary AASLD membership, journal subscriptions, and registration and travel support to attend The Liver Meeting, where they will participate in exclusive networking and educational events while also having full access to all scientific programming the meeting has to offer. Over the next year, APPs will participate in special leadership and professional development activities led by AASLD / AASLD Foundation leadership and webinars related to clinical competencies in hepatology. The program concludes with a second fully sponsored trip to The Liver Meeting, where they will connect with new program participants and continue to expand their network and knowledge in hepatology. 

On This Page

Award Details

Participant Expectations

Eligibility

Selection Criteria

How to Apply

Application Resources

Award Details

Award Period: July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025

  • AASLD Foundation will fully cover the awardees’ round-trip economy/coach class air or rail fare to the meeting city and back, up to 5 nights hotel within a designated program participant housing block, and registration to The Liver Meeting during their award term..
  • Awardees will receive a stipend of $375 to defray costs for meals not provided during the meeting and other incidental expenses. 
  • Awardees will receive two years of complimentary AASLD associate membership and digital subscriptions to AASLD journals.
  • Funding notifications for the 2024 cycle will be sent no later than June 30, 2024.

Participant Expectations

The Emerging Liver APP program combines ongoing virtual engagement and development activities that are designed to help participants learn to independently care for patients with liver disease, develop leadership skills, encourage critical thinking, and promote effective communication with all members of the healthcare team. During their two-year award term, selected awardees will be responsible for meeting all program and reporting requirements. Please refer to the 2024 program RFA for full details.

Conferences and Events

  • The Liver Meeting 2024 and 2025 – Emerging Liver APPs will receive two fully sponsored trips to attend The Liver Meeting in person, including rail/airfare/mileage, 5 nights lodging, registration, and a stipend for meals/incidentals. 
  • Standing Monthly Virtual Meetings – Participants will attend monthly 1-hour virtual meetings with their cohort to discuss clinical topics in hepatology and professional development geared towards excelling as an APP leader.

Self-Directed and Team Learning Activities

  • Fundamentals of Liver Disease - Emerging Liver APPs will complete all active units of AASLD’s Fundamentals of Liver Disease online curriculum.
  • Webinars - Participants will attend a minimum of 3 AASLD webinars commensurate with the competencies of the Foundation’s Clinical Hepatology Curriculum for Advanced Practice Providers. 
  • Journal Club - Participants will collaborate in a monthly journal club to critically evaluate articles published in AASLD journals. 

Mentoring

  • Ongoing Mentor Meetings - Participants will be expected to meet with their program mentor at minimum every other month (6 times per year, 12 times total). Note: applicants are not required to identify a mentor during the application process. If a successful applicant does not have a mentor, they will be matched with an AASLD Associate Member mentor following award acceptance. 
  • Participants will create a mentorship plan with their program mentor for their professional development during their program term and will work with their mentor to identify a proposed schedule for The Liver Meeting to maximize learning activities related to their specific areas of interest.

Leadership Development

  • Committee Service - Awardees will be appointed for a one-year term on an AASLD/Foundation Committee or Special Interest Group (SIG) Steering Committee as a non-voting member.

Practice Improvement Presentation

  • Capstone Presentation - Emerging Liver APPs will demonstrate knowledge gained during their award term to identify a potential solution to a real-world clinical problem faced in their own practice. Participants will form a clinical question, conduct a literature review, and develop a proposal for an evidence-based intervention (note: awardees are not expected or required to implement their proposed improvement). Participants will present their findings during their second year during The Liver Meeting. 

Awardees are expected to remain active participants in all activities throughout their award. If an awardee has not met minimum participant expectations at the end of their first year, AASLD Foundation reserves the right to rescind travel support to The Liver Meeting in the second year and remove the awardee from the program.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for this award, the applicant must adhere to the following guidelines:

Applicant Requirements:

  • The applicant must reside in the US, Canada, or Mexico, and be a:
    • Graduate student in an accredited degree program for Advanced Practice Providers (e.g., MSN, MPAS, MSHS, PharmD, etc.) who is scheduled to complete their program between July 2024 – June 2025; or
    • A practicing Advanced Practice Provider (e.g., Physician Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, Clinical Nurse Specialist, Clinical Pharmacist, etc.) who has less than 24 months experience in a setting primarily focused on hepatology and/or transplant hepatology (i.e., hepatology patients are greater than 50% of cases seen). 
  • Be interested in specializing in hepatology clinical care.
  • Confirm that they will be able to fully participate in all required program activities.

Institution/Employer Requirements

  • The applicant's institution or employer must confirm that they will accommodate scheduling arrangements to allow the applicant to attend The Liver Meeting in person and attend one-hour monthly virtual meetings during the award term.

Other requirements: 

  • AASLD Membership is not a requirement to apply for this program. 
  • Previous participants of the Emerging Liver APP program are not eligible to apply again. Previous applicants who were not selected are encouraged to re-apply if they continue to meet eligibility criteria. 
  • Each program participant will work with an AASLD Associate Member mentor during their award for guidance, advice, and career coaching: 

    • Candidates are not required to identify an AASLD Associate Member mentor at the time of application but may do so if they have a mentorship relationship already identified/established. Applicants without a pre-identified mentor will not be penalized nor will having a pre-identified AASLD Associate Member mentor give an applicant an advantage during the selection process.

      Candidates who do not have an AASLD Associate Member mentor will be matched with one if their application is accepted. 

  • There is no limit to the number of applications that will be accepted per institution/employer, but only one candidate may be selected per distinct department within each institution in an application cycle. 

Selection Criteria

Candidates will be evaluated on their potential for a career in hepatology including their background and professional potential, commitment to health equity, and demonstration of motivation, self-direction, and personal integrity. 

Individuals who practice in underserved communities or identify as part of a systemically marginalized group in medicine that has historically faced barriers due to factors such as their race, ethnicity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, or socioeconomic status (e.g., first-generation college graduate, from low-income communities, etc.) are strongly encouraged to apply. For more information, please see:

  • Racial and ethnic groups underrepresented in medicine, individuals with disabilities, and individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds: NOT-OD-20-031
  • Sexual & gender minority (SGM) populations: NOT-OD-19-139

To promote health equity, increase patient access in medically underserved communities, and support increased diversity in the hepatology workforce, each year a minimum of 30% of available awards will be reserved for applicants who are practicing in federally designated health professional shortage areas, employed at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSI) for groups underrepresented in medicine, or who identify as a member of a group underrepresented in medicine.  

Applications will be reviewed based on the written materials submitted. Incomplete applications and applications that fail to adhere strictly to the instructions (including the submission deadline and page limitations) will not be reviewed. All decisions are final.

How to Apply

The application deadline for this award is 11:59 pm Eastern time, April 30, 2024. Applications received after the deadline will not be reviewed.

  1. Download the 2024 RFA and prepare all components listed in the required documents section. Type responses where prompted and provide all requested signatures.
  2. Prepare your final application as a flattened, single PDF (no portfolios). PDFs cannot be locked or have any password protection. Applications that do not meet the requirements, in content or format, will not be reviewed.
  • Assemble your application in the order listed in the required documents section of the program RFA. 
  • Name the PDF file as follows: 2024 ELAPP_Last name, first name (Example: 2024 ELAPP_Smith, John) 
  • Formatting:
    • Include a header at the upper right corner of each page with your name (last name, first name) and award name.
    • Use half-inch margins. Do not use lettering smaller than 10 point.
    • Adhere to page limits and complete all sections. 
  1. Submit your application at www.liverresearchawards.org. You will be sent an email confirmation that the application was received. If an email confirmation is not received in two (2) business days, please contact awards@aasld.org to confirm receipt. 
Apply Now

Application Resources

AASLD Foundation Research Award Glossary

Applicant FAQ

Previous Funding Programs Eligibility List

NIH OITE CV Guide [PDF]

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The 2024 Emerging Liver APP program is made possible through unrestricted donations from AASLD and donors to the AASLD Foundation.