• Candidates include Ph.D.s and/or M.D.s who are currently in training or have completed training or a residency/fellowship within the last four years; or Ph.D.s and/or M.D.s who are still within in the first four years after their first faculty appointment, as of the award application date.
• All applicants and applicant sponsors for Early Career Investigator Awards sponsored by a scientific council must be members of the AHA/ASA.  If you need to become an AHA/ASA Professional Member, you should do so no later than June 4 for your membership to be processed in time for the application submission deadline.   Learn more about AHA membership.
• Abstract must be submitted to one of the categories for presentation at Scientific Sessions in which the Council on Clinical Cardiology is the lead/primary sponsor.
• An individual may not compete for similar young investigator awards from other American Heart Association scientific councils during the same scientific meeting.
• Only one manuscript per candidate will be considered.
• The applicant must be the first and presenting author, although the manuscript may have co-authors.
• Finalists are not eligible to re-enter the competition in subsequent years.
• There are no citizenship requirements.
• The work covered by the abstract must not have been published (manuscript or abstract) before the date and time of presentation at Scientific Sessions 2012.  Abstract data may not be presented at a national or international meeting or world congress before the date and time of presentation at Scientific Sessions 2012.  The abstract must comply with the AHA Abstract Submission Guidelines as outlined by the Committee on Scientific Sessions Program.
• Applicants may only be considered for a council’s award if the abstract is submitted to a category primarily sponsored by that council.  Please view a list of early career investigator awards and their affiliated Scientific Sessions abstract categories for more information.  Make sure that your abstract has been submitted in a category that is listed under the award for which you want to apply.
• Abstracts/manuscripts eligible for this award must be based upon projects that adhere to the American Heart Association’s policies governing all research awards, regardless of whether the project was funded by the American Heart Association.  These policies are available here and include (but are not limited to) research using human subjects or animals and stem cell research.
• Notwithstanding the above, the AHA Officers have the discretion to determine eligibility for the award in extraordinary circumstances when there is an issue relating to AHA policy or positions or other potentially controversial issue relating to the positioning or perception of the AHA.
   

• Candidates include Ph.D.s and/or M.D.s who are currently in training or have completed training or a residency/fellowship within the last four years; or Ph.D.s and/or M.D.s who are still within in the first four years after their first faculty appointment, as of the award application date.
• All applicants and applicant sponsors for Early Career Investigator Awards sponsored by a scientific council must be members of the AHA/ASA.  If you need to become an AHA/ASA Professional Member, you should do so no later than June 4 for your membership to be processed in time for the application submission deadline.   Learn more about AHA membership.
• Abstract must be submitted to one of the categories for presentation at Scientific Sessions in which the Council on Clinical Cardiology is the lead/primary sponsor.
• An individual may not compete for similar young investigator awards from other American Heart Association scientific councils during the same scientific meeting.
• Only one manuscript per candidate will be considered.
• The applicant must be the first and presenting author, although the manuscript may have co-authors.
• Finalists are not eligible to re-enter the competition in subsequent years.
• There are no citizenship requirements.
• The work covered by the abstract must not have been published (manuscript or abstract) before the date and time of presentation at Scientific Sessions 2012.  Abstract data may not be presented at a national or international meeting or world congress before the date and time of presentation at Scientific Sessions 2012.  The abstract must comply with the AHA Abstract Submission Guidelines as outlined by the Committee on Scientific Sessions Program.
• Applicants may only be considered for a council’s award if the abstract is submitted to a category primarily sponsored by that council.  Please view a list of early career investigator awards and their affiliated Scientific Sessions abstract categories for more information.  Make sure that your abstract has been submitted in a category that is listed under the award for which you want to apply.
• Abstracts/manuscripts eligible for this award must be based upon projects that adhere to the American Heart Association’s policies governing all research awards, regardless of whether the project was funded by the American Heart Association.  These policies are available here and include (but are not limited to) research using human subjects or animals and stem cell research.
• Notwithstanding the above, the AHA Officers have the discretion to determine eligibility for the award in extraordinary circumstances when there is an issue relating to AHA policy or positions or other potentially controversial issue relating to the positioning or perception of the AHA.
   

Panels of distinguished researchers, scientists, clinicians and academicians representing the breadth of cardiovascular disease and stroke will judge applications.  Applications will be judged on the:

• Scientific merit of the abstract.
• Quality and originality of the manuscript.
• Letter from the candidate's sponsor and any other reference letters.
• Oral abstract presentation at Scientific Sessions (finalists only.)  The finalist must be the presenter of his/her submission and no alternates or proxy will be allowed.

Electronic submission through the Council Awards Application System is mandatory for all awards.  Hard copies of any part of the application cannot be accepted.  This award will be available for application in the system after March 19, 2012.

Your application file should contain the following documents in PDF format:

1. An unpublished manuscript (maximum 30 pages, double-spaced, including graphics) based on clinical research involving patients or human subjects.   Multi-center trials are not eligible.
2. AHA abstract in accordance with AHA rules and regulations for submitting abstracts to Scientific Sessions 2012.  Please note that this abstract must first be submitted through the AHA's Scientific Sessions 2012 web site before the abstract submission deadline.  Visit Scientific Sessions to submit your abstract before submission of this award application as your abstract control number needs to be included on your application form.
3. Curriculum vitae including bibliography.
4. A letter of recommendation written and signed by the candidate’s supervisor or sponsor, detailing who assumes designer/researcher credit on the project and the applicant’s contributions and relevant qualifications as a researcher.  In case of multi-authored manuscripts, the supervisor should also indicate that among all the co-authors the applicant is the most appropriate candidate for the award and offer rationale for this opinion.     

Though not required, up to two additional letters of support or reference from individuals familiar with the applicant's background or research may be submitted in the application file.  Including additional support letters does not guarantee higher consideration of an application, but can be beneficial.

Visit the Council Awards & Fellowships Application System to complete an application. 

A username and password prevously set up through online profile registration at  My.AmericanHeart for Professionals will be necessary to access the Application System.  If you have not created an online profile yet, please visit My.AmericanHeart for Professionals to create an online member profile before accessing the Council Awards Application System.  AHA Professional Members who are creating an online profile for the first time should make sure to register using their AHA membership identification numbers.

AHA Professional Membership is required of all applicants for this award.  If you are joining the AHA to apply, please wait on your AHA membership number to arrive from AHA Member Services via e-mail before creating an online profile and starting your application file.  We suggest that new members join the AHA no later than June 4 for the membership number to be processed and delivered in time for the application deadline.

Finalists for the Early Career Investigator Awards competitions associated with Scientific Sessions will be announced in August 2012.  The top candidates for the Levine Award will present their research results at Scientific Sessions in Los Angeles on Nov. 3, 2012.  The winner will be announced at the Annual Clinical Cardiology Council Dinner on Nov. 3. Each finalist will also receive the following:

• Cash award: The first-prize winner will receive a plaque and $1,500; the other finalists will each receive a plaque and $500.
• Complimentary council dinner ticket, along with recognition and presentation of the plaque at the council dinner.

Each finalist will be designated in the Scientific Sessions online supplement to Circulation.  Acceptance for the competition does not guarantee publication in any other American Heart Association sponsored journal.