Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS!

Issue Date: June 1, 2026
Application Due Date: July 27, 2026 by 11:59 pm ET
Selection Notification: By September 30, 2026
Start/End of Program: Online: October 2026 – April 2027
In-Person: April 11-13, 2027 in Chicago, IL
Amount of Funding: Fellows in the Sleep Research Program for Advancing Career receive full support, including complementary access to SOAR Faculty for expert guidance and mentorship. The AASM Foundation covers travel and lodging for the in-person Chicago meeting, allowing fellows to participate fully without financial barriers.
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The AASM Foundation is committed to growing and supporting the pipeline of sleep scientists by investing in the research careers of new investigators through mentorship and grantsmanship training opportunities.

The Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers is a research training program designed to support early career sleep and circadian investigators through a structured and mentored grant writing curriculum. At the end of the program, the early career investigators will be expected to have a completed grant application to submit for a federal career development grant such as an NIH K award. This program aims to increase the number of early-career investigators who successfully apply for and secure external sleep research funding by:

  • Supporting early-career investigators in sleep and circadian science by providing a structured and mentored grant writing curriculum.
  • Increasing the number of early-career investigators who successfully secure federal and external funding for career development in sleep research.
  • Providing participants with the tools, resources, and mentorship necessary to complete and submit a competitive career development grant application, such as an NIH K award
  • Foster the professional development of participants by encouraging collaboration with SOAR faculty, site mentors, and peers.
View the 2026 Program

About the Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers

The 2026 Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers (SOAR) will start with an orientation in October 2026 and officially run from November 2026 to April 2027. The program will match each accepted applicant with faculty who will review and provide feedback on grant components during grant review sessions for the duration of the program. Accepted applicants will have access to grant writing lectures focused on federal career development grants and participate in live grant review sessions with SOAR faculty to get feedback on different components of their grant.

Accepted applicants are expected to complete components of their grant application on time, attend the grant review session, work with their site mentor to revise their grant based on feedback provided by the SOAR faculty, and have a completed federal career development grant application at the end of the program that they can submit to federal funding agency for funding within 1 year of ending the program.

Final dates and times will be provided to accepted applicants so they can accommodate their schedule with plenty of notice.

The SOAR program offers invaluable opportunities for early-career sleep researchers by providing access to a diverse group of faculty who are recognized as leading expert investigators in the field of sleep research. Participants benefit from direct mentorship and guidance from these faculty members, which enhances their understanding of the grant application process and strengthens their research proposals.

In addition to faculty mentorship, the program features a curated series of lectures focused on the essential components needed to build a competitive research grant. These lectures are designed to equip participants with the tools and knowledge necessary to successfully prepare and submit high-quality grant applications.

The SOAR program also provides a travel scholarship that covers travel and lodging expenses for participants to attend the in-person meeting in Chicago, IL, scheduled for April 11-13, 2027. This opportunity enables participants to engage with faculty and peers, further enriching their professional development and fostering valuable networking connections within the sleep research community.

The SOAR program is sponsored in part by Resmed and Takeda.

The following individuals are eligible to apply:

  • Sleep scientists (MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DNP, DNSc, PharmD, PhD, or equivalent) who are eligible to apply for a federal career development grant at the completion of the Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers.

The following individuals are NOT eligible to apply:

  • Individuals who have received a federal career development award (NIH K grant, VA Career Development Award, or equivalent), or independent federal research funding (NIH R01 or equivalent) are not eligible to apply.
  • Individuals who are at an institution outside of the United States.

The AASM Foundation Research Career Development Committee will evaluate and score all submitted applications. Factors that will be taken into consideration include:

  1. Contribution to Science: Clear commitment to an academic sleep research career based on training to date, research activities, scholarly productivity, and institutional commitment towards a research career.
  2. Specific Aims: Well-articulated research question in the sleep or circadian field that addresses a significant gap in current evidence and a plan towards addressing this gap. Note: While the committee will help develop the aims, this document will serve as the primary basis for deciding which candidates are most likely to benefit from the program.
  3. Career Plan: Strong short-term and long-term career goals in sleep research. Specific career development award/grant identified and clear description of how submitting a grant application at the end of the Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers will facilitate advancement in a sleep research career.
  4. Grant Writing Expectations and Needs: There is a clear need for SOAR’s structured grant writing program. Plan and expectations for how SOAR faculty will help fill gaps in knowledge, skillset, and abilities and how the applicant will work with their site mentor to integrate grant feedback given by SOAR faculty.

Application

Step 1: AASM Foundation Grant Request registration

To apply for the Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers, you must register on AASM Foundation Online Portal. Please refer to the AASM Foundation Application User Guide for guidance on creating an account.

 Step 2: Complete application

 ACCESS THE SLEEP RESEARCH PROGRAM FOR ADVANCING CAREERS APPLICATION

 Applications must be completed and submitted through the AASM Foundation Online Portal. Instructions for required forms are available via the online submission system. For an overview of the information that is requested on the application form, please download the Sleep Research Program for Advancing Careers Application Outline.

The AASM Foundation will not consider applications that are either substantially developed by generative AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, Claude, Gemini) or contain sections substantially developed by generative AI tools to be original ideas of applicants. All applicants will need to attest in the application that the submitted work reflects their own original work (i.e., not plagiarized, regardless of whether AI or human consultation was used in its development) and that the content and references used throughout the application are factual (e.g., content, references).

Applicants are welcome to use AI-powered writing assistants (e.g., Grammarly, Microsoft Editor) to improve the writing in their grant application (e.g., check grammar, spelling, punctuation, clarity).

Additionally, applicants should be aware that the AASM Foundation may utilize in-house, licensed AI tools to conduct an administrative review for application completeness, support grantmaking operations, and test the accuracy of these tools to perform reviews.

We encourage potential applicants to contact us early in the application process with questions. Eligibility questions may need to be reviewed by a member of the AASM Foundation Executive Committee, so please allow for at least a 1-week response time for eligibility questions. For all other inquiries, please allow a minimum of two business days for a response. Please note that inquiries submitted two business days prior to an application deadline may not be answered in time.

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