Hot Topic Grant Criteria

 

SSR HOT TOPIC GRANT PROGRAM

(The 2026 application window has closed. The program will start again later this year.)

Award:

Up to $4,000.00 to Principal Investigator

Eligibility:

Residents and SSR Members (including: Full Members, Members-in-Training, Honorary Members, International Members, and Emeritus Members). Residents and Members-in-Training must have a Full Member sponsor. Grant recipients are expected to be or become SSR members, if eligible for membership, for the duration of the award to receive funding. One submission per applicant per grant category.

Criteria:

Grants should be focused on topics of current importance to the field of MSK radiology, such as:

  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Emerging imaging techniques and interventions
  • Precision medicine
  • Comparative effectiveness
  • MSK radiology education
  • Sustainability
  • Large language models

Selection:

Applications will be reviewed by the SSR Research Committee with a final recommendation submitted to the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee reserves final approval on all grants and is not required to award the grant annually.

Announcement:

The winner will be announced at the SSR Annual Meeting. Results will be presented by a podium presentation at the following year’s SSR Annual Meeting. Progress during the year will be reported in writing to the Research Committee, which will supply advice and mentorship as needed.

Timeline:

  • One-year grant with no penalty option for a one-year extension (maximum total duration of the award of 2 years). No additional funding is provided (and no funding is withdrawn) beyond the initial grant amount if the project receives an extension.
  • If work is not completed after one year, winner must submit to the SSR Research and Executive Committees a detailed status update and budgetary information by the one-year mark, before the extension period begins. This will provide an opportunity to obtain feedback to help bring the project to completion.
  • Proposed one-time lifetime award (no reapplications)

Required Components:

  1. Specific aims (0.5 page maximum)
  2. Research plan (1.5 page maximum)
  3. Summary statement of the clinical impact/need for this research (0.5 page maximum)
  4. Roles of research team members (0.5 page maximum)
  5. Timeline of events
  6. Biosketch of all research team members. Please use the NIH Biosketch (Non-Fellowship) Format (https://grants.nih.gov/grants/forms/biosketch.htm)
  7. Budget proposal (1 page maximum)