USA Scholarships
AASLD AILD Pilot Research Award 2027 - $20,000
The AASLD Foundation Autoimmune Liver Diseases Exploratory Research Award backs one-year pilot projects on pathogenesis, diagnosis, management, or outcomes in autoimmune liver disease, including autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and primary biliary cholangitis in children and adults. Although many hepatologists refer to it as a pilot award, the official program name is the Autoimmune Liver Diseases Exploratory Research Award. It pays $20,000 in a single payment for salary support, technical staff, and laboratory supplies at a sponsoring U.S., Canadian, or Mexican nonprofit research institution. Applicants must be AASLD members at submission, maintain membership during the award, hold a mentor who is an AASLD member, and commit at least 20% effort. Eligible career stages span predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees through junior faculty within five years of a first faculty appointment. The prior cycle posted its request for applications in mid-August with a December 8 deadline and July 1 funding start, so plan on a similar calendar for the 2027 award year starting July 1, 2027.
What is the AASLD Autoimmune Liver Diseases Exploratory Research Award?
If you typed pilot grant into a search bar, you probably meant the AASLD Foundation Autoimmune Liver Diseases Exploratory Research Award. Hepatology trainees and junior faculty use it to test a fresh hypothesis about autoimmune hepatitis, PSC, PBC, or related conditions before chasing a multi-year NIH R01. The dollar figure is modest at $20,000, but the foundation designed the track for speed: one payment, tight allowable costs, and a mandate to produce preliminary data rather than run a fully powered trial.
Membership matters as much as science. You, your mentor, and your institution all sit inside the AASLD ecosystem, and the foundation expects at least twenty percent of your effort on the project. Sponsoring universities in the United States, Canada, or Mexico handle compliance, while NIH and FDA employees cannot lead applications from those agencies.
Watch the annual rhythm. Requests for applications typically land in August, deadlines hit in early December, reviewers work through the winter, and July 1 starts the funded year. Build your package as a single PDF with zero extra appendices, because staff strip anything outside the checklist. Autoimmune hepatitis proposals received extra encouragement in recent cycles, but any focused AILD question fits as long as the work is genuinely exploratory.
Pair this award with your department's larger grant strategy. The Exploratory Research Award is a bridge, not a destination, and the foundation tracks outcomes for years afterward through progress reports and publication notices.
Eligibility
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✓Career stage limitsYou must be a graduate or predoctoral trainee, postdoctoral researcher, or junior faculty member within the first five years of your first faculty appointment (including appointments outside North America) as of the award start date.
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✓AASLD membershipApplicants must be members of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases when they apply and must keep active membership for the entire award period.
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✓Mentor or co-mentor requirementYour sponsor institution must provide a mentor or co-mentor who is an AASLD member in good standing at application and throughout the award.
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✓Minimum research effortYou must devote at least 20% of your professional effort to the funded autoimmune liver disease research project during the award year.
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✓Institutional sponsorshipA public or private nonprofit institution accredited in the United States, Canada, or Mexico must sponsor the project. Employees of NIH, FDA, and CDC are not eligible to apply as principal investigators.
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✓Autoimmune liver disease focusProposals must address exploratory research on pathogenesis, diagnosis, management, or outcomes in autoimmune liver diseases. Established projects with other funding are ineligible.
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✓One application per yearYou may submit only one AASLD Foundation research award application per cycle, though eligible applicants in this category may also apply for the Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Award in the same calendar year per foundation rules.
Benefits
- Total funding $20,000 (single payment at initiation)
- Allowable costs PI salary, technical support, lab supplies
- Fringe benefits May be included on salary lines
- Liver Meeting registration Complimentary during grant term
- Indirect costs Not allowed
- Travel and capital equipment Not allowed (equipment over $5,000 excluded)
- Multi-year funding One-year term only
Document checklist
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✓Signed cover pagesUse the cover pages from the current request for applications PDF, complete every field, and include required institutional and investigator signatures (digital signatures accepted).
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✓Project abstract and research planFollow the RFA page limits for your abstract and detailed proposal describing hypotheses, methods, and how pilot data will support a future NIH or foundation grant.
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✓NIH-format BiosketchesInclude Biosketches for the PI and key personnel, capped at five pages each, using NIH biosketch formatting linked from the AASLD Foundation application resources.
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✓Other support and environment statementDisclose current and pending support and describe the research environment, mentoring plan, and institutional resources for autoimmune liver disease work.
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✓Letters of support from mentor and institutionProvide letters confirming mentorship, institutional sponsorship, space, and commitment to allowable use of the $20,000 award.
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✓Single flattened PDF submissionCombine all materials in RFA order, name the file per instructions (for example, 2027 AILD_Last name, First name), and upload at liverresearchawards.org.
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✓Resubmission materials if applicableResubmissions include the reviewer response form and prior reviewer comments in the package order specified in the RFA.
How to apply
Deadline and timeline
FAQ
What is the AASLD Autoimmune Liver Diseases Pilot Research Award?
Searchers often use pilot language, but the official AASLD Foundation program is the Autoimmune Liver Diseases Exploratory Research Award. It funds one-year, $20,000 pilot studies on autoimmune liver diseases to generate data for larger grants.
How much is the AASLD AILD exploratory research award?
The award provides $20,000 paid in a single installment when the grant begins. Funds may cover PI salary, technical support salaries (including fringe), and laboratory supplies, but not indirect costs, travel, or capital equipment over $5,000.
Who is eligible for the AASLD autoimmune liver diseases research award?
Graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty within five years of their first faculty appointment may apply if they are AASLD members, have an AASLD member mentor, devote at least 20% research effort, and are sponsored by an accredited nonprofit institution in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico.
When is the AASLD AILD research award deadline for 2027 funding?
The foundation has not posted the next cycle yet. The previous pattern released the RFA in mid-August and set the deadline at 11:59 p.m. Eastern on December 8, with funding starting July 1 of the following year. Expect a similar window for a July 1, 2027 start.
Do I need to be an AASLD member to apply?
Yes. Both the principal investigator and the mentor or co-mentor must be AASLD members in good standing at the time of application and throughout the award period.
What diseases qualify for the AASLD autoimmune liver exploratory award?
Projects should focus on autoimmune liver diseases such as autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and primary biliary cholangitis, addressing pathogenesis, diagnosis, management, or outcomes in pediatric or adult populations.
Where do I submit the AASLD AILD application?
Complete applications upload as one flattened PDF to liverresearchawards.org. Follow the file-naming convention in the RFA and contact [email protected] if you do not receive an email confirmation within two business days.
Can I hold other grants while receiving the AASLD exploratory award?
The proposed project cannot be an established study with alternate funding. You may only submit one AASLD Foundation research award application per cycle, though eligible applicants may also pursue the Advanced/Transplant Hepatology Award in the same calendar year under current rules.
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