The Bridge to Success for Early Career Investigators grant program

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Foundation is a leading nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing sleep health through strategic investments in research and career development. With a mission to improve lives through better sleep, the Foundation supports innovative research, education, and training initiatives that enhance the understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep disorders. By fostering early and mid-career investigators and enabling high-impact scientific discoveries, the AASM Foundation plays a critical role in shaping the future of sleep and circadian science. The Foundation operates through a rigorous peer-reviewed grantmaking process, ensuring that funded projects meet high standards of scientific merit and relevance to the field. Beyond funding, the Foundation actively supports collaboration among researchers, clinicians, and institutions worldwide to address complex challenges in sleep health and medicine. Through its various programs, including career development grants and bridge funding mechanisms, the AASM Foundation seeks to retain and empower scientists at pivotal stages of their careers. By providing resources to early-stage investigators and creating pathways to federal funding, the Foundation helps build a robust pipeline of sleep and circadian researchers committed to improving public health outcomes.

The Bridge to Success Grant for Early Career Investigators is a funding initiative by the AASM Foundation aimed at providing temporary support to early-stage researchers in sleep and circadian science. This grant is intended for individuals who have submitted a mentored federal career development grant application—such as NIH K-series or VA CDA—but were not awarded funding, despite receiving a scored review. Recognizing the critical point at which such applicants stand in their research careers, the grant offers up to one year of funding to help revise and resubmit their proposals, with the goal of securing long-term federal funding. The grant supports projects that address important unanswered scientific questions in sleep medicine, circadian rhythms, or sleep health. Selected projects must demonstrate scientific merit, strong mentorship, and a well-structured resubmission plan. Grantees are expected to produce peer-reviewed publications and present their findings at scientific conferences. Deliverables include revised grant resubmission, progress reports, and a final report. The grant is designed to ensure continuity in research careers and retain emerging talent in the field. Funding is contingent upon institutional support, appropriate ethics approvals, and alignment with AASM Foundation guidelines.