ATLANTA–Today during the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI) 2022 Scientific Sessions in Atlanta, SCAI President Sunil V. Rao, MD, FSCAI, announced the establishment of the SCAI Early Career Research Grants.

As cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality in the United States continues to rise, federal funding dedicated to CVD research has remained stagnant, underscoring the importance of collaboration between industry leaders and medical organizations to increase research funding opportunities. Additionally, recent data has shown the strong demand and interest in research opportunities among emerging interventional cardiologists, with it being reported as among the most valuable aspects of their training.  

The Early Career Research Grants will be offered by SCAI as a member service to foster and stimulate new research ideas in any area of investigation related to interventional cardiology. The program targets junior-level investigators (i.e., within ten years of completing interventional cardiology fellowship) by funding proposals that demonstrate a high likelihood of resulting in new and innovative approaches in any area of interventional research. 

“As leaders in interventional cardiology, SCAI is dedicated to cultivating the next generation of researchers,” said SCAI President Sunil V. Rao, MD, FSCAI. “Not only will these grants address the critical gap in research funding, but they will also help early career individuals launch their research careers and set them up to be clinician-investigators and innovators in our specialty.” 

Proposals will be due early Fall 2022. Awardees will present the results of their research at a dedicated session during the SCAI 2023 Scientific Sessions and will be invited to publish resulting manuscripts in the Journal of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (JSCAI).