Ken Graff Emerging Investigator Award

2026 Award Info HERE

2-page pre-proposals due 5:00 pm CST on February 19, 2026

Recent Awardees:

2025: Gina Aloisio, MD, PhD - Texas Children’s / Baylor

RSV Infection in Nasal Organoids

2024: Sofia Athanasopoulou, MD - Yale New Haven Children’s

Mixed Reality Simulation in ED Resuscitation

2023: Caleb Ward, MB BChir, MPH - Children’s National

Refining and Pilot Testing a Pediatric Risk Assessment Tool for Emergency Medical Services

The award will provide up to $15,000 for a research project that addresses issues pertinent to the acutely ill or injured child. Research projects with potential to lead to further study and funding will be most highly considered. Applicants must be current members of the AAP Section on Emergency Medicine and early in their academic career, typically no more than 5 years prior to June 2026, regardless of when they completed fellowship training (or residency training if not fellowship-trained). Applications from current trainees are also welcome and encouraged. Applicants who are more than 5 years into their academic career may apply if an explanation for their alternative time course is included in the application portal and their cover letter.

Ken Graff was a talented young pediatric emergency physician and promising investigator who died as a result of a tragic accident in 1995. His accomplishments included receiving the 1994 AAP Willis Wingert Award for outstanding research on the sedation of pediatric patients with orthopedic injuries and an EMS- C federal grant for the study of sedation and analgesia. The Ken Graff Emerging Investigator Award was established in Dr. Graff's memory to promote and support young investigators in their pursuit of quality pediatric emergency medicine research.

Application Process

There will be a two-stage application process. The initial stage requires the submission of a 2-page pre-proposal concept, due 5:00 pm CST on February 19, 2026. This should include a brief background and rationale for the project, aim(s) and hypothesis(es), brief methods, analysis plan, sample size, and brief budget. References are not included in page count.

The grant review committee, consisting of established PEM investigators, will select a subset of proposals by March 16, 2026, for more detailed re-submissions, due 5:00 pm CST on April 30, 2026. Final results will be announced around May 30, 2026. The funded grant period will be from 7/1/2026 through 6/30/2027. The awardee will be presented at the October 2026 AAP National Conference & Exhibition (NCE). The Graff awardee will be required to present the results of her or his research at the 2027 AAP NCE. While funding is not available to support travel for acceptance of the award initially, a stipend of up to $650 is available to support travel and attendance at the NCE in 2027 to present project results.

We encourage proposals in all research areas of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. These may include clinical, epidemiological, as well as laboratory-based research projects.

Questions about the award can be directed to Ken Michelson at kenmichelson@luriechildrens.org  and/or Sue Tellez at stellez@aap.org.

The online application portal for submission of the application can be found at: 2026 Ken Graff Award Application

If you are unsure of your AAP/SOEM member status you may contact AAP Customer Service at (866) 843-2271.