Ken Graff Emerging Investigator Award

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 have started their academic career no more than 5 years prior to June 2025, regardless of when they completed fellowship training (or residency training if not fellowship-trained). Applications from current trainees are also welcome and encouraged.

 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 (formerly known as the Ken Graff Young Investigator Award) was established in Dr Graff's memory to promote and support emerging investigators in their pursuit of quality pediatric emergency medicine research.

Application Process

See tentative application timeline below. The initial stage requires the submission of a 2-page pre-proposal. 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 for more detailed full-proposals. The funded grant period will be one year from July - June. The awardee will be presented at the AAP National Conference & Exhibition (NCE). The Graff awardee will be required to present the results of her or his research at a future 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 AAP NCE to present project results.

The online application portal for submission of the application can be found at: Ken Graff Applicant Information

 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 Kenneth Michaelson at kenmichaelson@luriechildrens.org or Sue Tellez at stellez@aap.org.

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