AstraZeneca ASGE Research Grant

This grant is designed to support basic, translational and clinical research pertinent to or related to gastrointestinal endoscopy including:

  • Screening for gastrointestinal tract cancers and pre-malignant conditions
  • Artificial intelligence and computer-aided detection or diagnosis in endoscopy • Endoscopy training and competency assessment
  • Health disparities and access to endoscopic care
  • Quality measurement and improvement
  • Endoscopic bariatric and metabolic therapies
  • Advanced endoscopy techniques
  • Green endoscopy

The research committee will consider funding pilot projects if there is an explicit outline for subsequent projects, and their funding plan (e.g. NIH, VA Merit), based on the preliminary data generated by the proposed pilot. Diversity and inclusion are integral to ASGE’s mission of advancing the field of gastroenterology research.

Objective

To promote research and innovation in gastrointestinal endoscopy in order to advance patient care and digestive health.

Eligibility

Awards & Requirements

Selection Criteria

Review Process

Grant Proposal Outline

Eligibility

Candidate must be a current ASGE member, be an MD (or have equivalent degree), and be currently practicing in North America. International applications will also be considered (please see “International Eligibility” section below for more details). Candidates who are delinquent on prior ASGE research grants (e.g., progress reports) are not eligible for future ASGE funding. If the candidate is a trainee, there must be a letter from the trainee's Division Chief confirming the trainee's ongoing appointment and position at the institution for the duration of the grant. If the trainee applicant is not guaranteed an appointment for the duration of the grant, a contingency plan is required. Also, trainees must include a letter of support from a research mentor.

International Eligibility

ASGE International Members are eligible to apply for a Research Award (current ASGE membership is a requirement of eligibility for grants and awards). The ASGE Research Committee will consider funding one international project per award cycle. The project justification should explain its relevance to ASGE membership and should explain if there are unique reasons why an international location for the project might be more feasible than in North America. All other standards listed above will apply to international applicants. Please contact grants@asge.org or for more information on eligibility.

  1. Grants may be requested for a maximum of $50,000 in total funding spanning no more than two years.
  2. Requests for funding for pilot studies that will generate preliminary data to justify a larger clinical trial will be considered, as well as larger requests for definitive studies.
  3. The budget and budget justification must be itemized and clearly linked to the research proposal. Budgets will be scrutinized by the ASGE Research Committee and will be considered in the scoring of the grant. Inappropriate or poorly justified budgets will jeopardize the application. Additionally, the Research Committee may adjust the award amount if needed.
  4. Funding requests may include: Personnel (e.g., research assistant and/or faculty salary support; this should include a percentage of effort up to the current NIH salary cap for the proposed study with appropriate justification); Study supplies; Equipment essential for study. Funding will not be provided for: Salary support for trainees, computer purchases (unless a unique application is justified), standard equipment and supplies needed for appropriate patient care, or indirect costs.
  5. For grants spanning two years, continued funding is contingent on satisfactory study progress determined by the Research Committee after reviewing mandatory annual progress reports.
  6. Multicenter studies require IRB approval from all participating institutions before dissemination of funds. The participating institutions and investigators should be specified in the application.
  7. Progress reports must be submitted to the Research Committee via the ASGE Administrative Office every 12 months for the duration of the project (deadline is June 30). Progress reports must include a financial statement from the institutional grants or accounting office. Failure to submit a progress report by the stated deadline may affect future funding.
  8. Requests for no-cost extensions must be submitted in writing to the Chair of the Research Committee via the ASGE Administrative Office by May 30 of the year the progress report is due. This request should include a) a detailed summary regarding how grant money has been spent (or forecasted to be spent) up to the original award end date, and b) a proposed budget describing in reasonable detail how the remaining funds will be spent in the upcoming year. A change in PI for the upcoming award period may be proposed by and justified by the original PI, including changes of the PI-ship to the mentor.
  9. Upon completion of the award, the ASGE requires that a final scientific and financial report from the grants or accounting office be submitted. All publications and abstracts must acknowledge support from the ASGE.

Grants are awarded based on overall scientific merit (significance, innovation, and methodology), feasibility, the qualifications of investigative team, and the adequacy of institutional resources and research environment. One overarching objective of these awards is for the principal investigator(s) to eventually submit larger extramural research proposals to federal or industry sponsors. Investigators having the highest potential to accomplish this will be given priority.

The ASGE Research Committee will review the proposals and recommend awardees to the ASGE Governing Board who will determine the final selection of awards. The number of awards granted is contingent on funds available.

Each application must have page numbers, be in Arial 11-point font, have margins of at least 0.75 inches, and contain each of the following elements:

  1. Completed application checklist: A completed copy of the application checklist must be included as the first page of the application. The checklist can be found by clicking the icon on the page below and on pages 5–6 of this document: Application Checklist .
  2. Cover letter
    • Limited to one page and must include a very brief synopsis of the proposed project, the investigator team, and disclosure of any conflicts of interest.
    • Conflicts of interest include financial ownership, patent rights, or other relationships with industry that are pertinent to the proposed research. Investigators should err on the side of complete disclosure. If conflicts exist, a plan for resolving these conflicts should be delineated in the cover letter.
    • If the proposal, or a related proposal, was previously submitted for the ASGE Research Award, this should be disclosed in the cover letter.
  3. Impact statement: Include a brief summary of the project and its potential impact on the field of gastroenterology and/or endoscopic practice. Maximum three sentences.
  4. Abstract: Include the investigator’s name, institution, project title, mentor’s name if applicable, and a one-page summary of the proposal, including the hypothesis and goals. Suggested headings include: Background; Aims/Hypothesis; Methods; Analysis and Sample Size Calculation; Timeline and Feasibility; Future Study. Limit to one page.
  5. Grant proposal: Prepare according to NIH Form SF 424 (R&R) guidelines . Limit to five pages and include each of the following headers, excluding references:
    • Title and Introduction
    • Hypothesis & Specific Aims: This should be a clear statement of the problem, the related hypothesis/question, and a brief description of the proposed scientific plan. Provide a concise explanation in a few sentences.
    • Background and Significance to Endoscopic Practice: Provide justification regarding the scope of the problem and its relevance to ASGE membership, the endoscopy community, and gastroenterology patients.
    • Innovation: Describe how the proposed project is novel with respect to the research question, methods, and/or other facets of the research.
    • Preliminary Data: Outline prior studies or pilot work your group has already completed in this area. If your group has not conducted prior studies, provide brief details of pilot work conducted by others.
    • Approach: Describe the methods for collecting and analyzing the data. A statistical data analysis plan, including sample size calculations, is required, even for retrospective studies. Be as specific as possible.
    • Pitfalls, Alternatives and Future Directions
    • Timeline with Milestones for Completion of the Project
  6. References: Limit to two pages.
  7. Biosketches: Provide an NIH-style biosketch for the candidate, mentor, and co-investigators that includes a project-specific personal statement, relevant prior publications, and all current funding. See the NIH biosketch example . Limit to three pages each.
  8. Budget and budget justification: Justify all items, including percentage of effort, on a separate budget justification page. For multiyear projects, budgets for years one and two should be separated. Limit to one page per budget year and up to two additional pages for justification.
    • The maximum request is $50,000. Grant support for this amount may be distributed over two years. Continued funding for the second year is contingent on satisfactory progress. The budget request should be detailed, and all items should be clearly related to the research proposal.
    • Funding will only be considered for allowed items. See items 3–5 in the “Awards and Requirements” section.
  9. Resources and Environment: List the facilities, equipment, and available personnel required to complete the project. Be aware that reviewers may not be familiar with the resources and/or patient volumes of your center. Limit to one page.
  10. Institutional Review Board: Attach IRB approval and/or IACUC approval, if applicable. Alternatively, attach proof of exempt status, if applicable. This is particularly important for human-subject research involving invasive testing and/or procedures that are not considered standard of care. For multicenter studies, IRB/IACUC approval must be provided by all participating sites. If approval is unavailable at the time of application and the application is funded, no funds will be released until the ASGE Research Office receives IRB approval.
  11. Supporting letters: Letters of support are required from all listed co-investigators and key collaborators, especially those from other institutions. Trainees require both a letter from the division chief and a letter from their research mentor, as described under “Eligibility.” Limit supporting letters to one page each.

Statement on Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The transparent and purposeful use of AI (artificial intelligence) in the development of the proposal is allowed with limitations as detailed below. Prior to use of an AI tool, the applicant should confirm that use of the AI tool does not grant the tool ownership of the output. The applicant is fully responsible for reviewing AI-generated content for its accuracy, integrity, and potential bias and for ensuring that this content does not violate others' intellectual property rights. Since disclosure of the use of AI is a common publishing requirement, applicants should track their use of AI in the proposal development (i.e. the specific AI tools used, their purpose, how content was reviewed) and be prepared to communicate its use if asked. If AI is used to generate illustrations or figures, its use should be described in the caption. We discourage the use of AI for identification and/or formatting of references due to the known potential for inaccurate (hallucinated) references

Submission

The ASGE Research Committee requires electronic submission in a single PDF file. ASGE Membership at the time of submission is a requirement of this award. If you have questions or are experiencing problems submitting your grant application, please email  grants@asge.org .

Submission Deadline: December 4, 2026 at 5:00 PM CT

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Note: Grants not meeting the stated requirements, such as exceeding the page limits, will be administratively returned without review.