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

1. The applicant must:
   • Have a faculty appointment at or below the rank of Associate Professor. Junior Faculty must be at least three years from their first appointment at the start date of the award (faculty start date must be July 1, 2021 or earlier). 
   • Be a member of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) at the time of award application and maintain active membership for the duration of the award period.
   • Be able to devote at least 20% effort to the research project on which this application is based
   • Be sponsored by a public or private non-profit institution accredited in the United States, Canada or Mexico engaged in health care and health-related research. Individuals employed at the NIH, FDA, and CDC are not eligible to apply.
   • If the applicant is at the rank of Assistant Professor, they must have a mentor or co-mentor who is an AASLD member in good standing at the time of application and for the duration of the award period. Mentors are not required for Associate Professor level applicants or equivalent.
   • Not hold federal funding (e.g., U, P, R, K, VA Merit, VA CDA) unless they are able to justify the following in their application:
     • The project is truly completely distinct and non-overlapping from existing funding.
     • The proposed work cannot be completed using existing funds.

There is no restriction on the number of applicants an institution can sponsor each cycle, but only one applicant may be funded per distinct department within each institution in this award category. Applicants may only apply for one AASLD Foundation award per calendar year.