Marshall Klaus Perinatal Research Awards

Mission: to support & encourage trainee research

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine, and Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute initiated the Marshall Klaus Perinatal Research Awards with the goal of enhancing and supporting development of research skills among physicians training in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine. These awards provide partial support intended to assist outstanding fellows in initiating or completing their research projects.

The Marshall Klaus Award is given every year in honor of Marshall H. Klaus, M.D. Dr. Klaus was an internationally known neonatologist and scientist. Dr. Klaus was the author or coauthor of several standard works in the field, including Bonding, Care of the High Risk Newborn, Mothering the Mother and The Amazing Newborn. He taught pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine and has had exceptional influence as researcher, professor of pediatrics in American medical schools and abroad.

Program Description

The American Academy of Pediatrics Neonatal-Perinatal Research Grant Program is designed to give neonatal fellows an opportunity to initiate and complete research projects related to their professional interests. $5,000 grants are available to qualifying trainees. Projects may be related to the full spectrum of child health research, such as perinatal-neonatal health, behavioral sciences, biomedical science, epidemiology, health services, prevention, public health, quality improvement, and quality measurement. Trainees must conduct their research under the supervision of a mentor within his or her own department or with other basic, clinical, or social scientists within the trainee's institution. Research projects can be conducted for a maximum of two years and should be completed during fellowship. The Section on Neonatal Perinatal Medicine's Research Committee considers each application in light of the following criteria: significance of the topic, innovation, proposed methodology, feasibility to complete during fellowship, and relevance to the trainee's career goals. It is of particular importance that the mentor provides a clear plan of mentorship and outlines explicitly what role he or she will take in order to support the trainee in the conduct of the project.

Award recipients will be expected to submit their research findings in an abstract to the AAP National Conference & Exhibition (NCE) Section on Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine fall meeting. If selected for oral presentation, Klaus awardees are eligible for a travel award to pay for economy airfare, lodging and other expenses associated with participating at the NCE as outlined in the AAP Travel Guidelines. In addition, recipients will be asked to complete a brief follow-up survey to assist with the evaluation of the program.

This year, there are 4 types of awards fellows can apply for by the same process:

Bench or Clinical Research Award (sponsored by SoNPM of AAP, Johnson & Johnson Pediatric Institute)
- Up to 12 awards per year. Topics include all areas of perinatal and neonatal medicine. Similar numbers of awards will be given for highly ranked laboratory-based research, translational research and clinical studies.
Health Services Research Award (sponsored by the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center)
- Up to 2 awards per year. Topics include all areas of perinatal and neonatal medicine. Similar numbers of awards will be given for highly ranked studies on perinatal health disparities, resource utilization, social determinants of health and others.
Education Research Award (sponsored by Brodsky & Martin’s Neonatology Review series)
- Up to 1 award per year. Topics include development and implementation of a new educational curriculum, creation of an assessment tool to measure effectiveness of an educational program, initiation of a research project aimed at using innovative strategies to improve teaching and traning in neonatology. The target audience can include any of the following: neonatology fellows, pediatric residents, medical students, summer students, NICU clinicians (including nurses and nurse practitioners), and obstetrical residents. Of specific interest are projects that can be completed during fellowship, or, if the project has multiple phases, one phase can be completed during fellowship; can be sustained both programmatically and financially following implementation, if relevant; and has generalizability to other programs.
NEC Research Award (sponsored by NEC Society)
- Up to 1 award per year. Proposals should focus on research or innovations that would impact necrotizing enterocolitis and its impact on newborns families. Primary areas of focus could include NEC diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. Other topics include management of long-term complications of NEC, approaches to improve family engagement in care of infants with NEC, and projects addressing use of human milk and other strategies to reduce the risk of NEC.

Application and Guidelines

Basic application and award guidelines are dates are identical for all 4 awards but applications will be reviewed by different panels of experts in respective fields.

Eligibility

Applicants must be fellows in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine or pediatric residents in a training program (categorical or combined) who have confirmed plans to pursue subspecialty training in neonatal perinatal medicine. In addition, applicants must have a definite commitment for at least another year research training in an accredited program.

Research Training Mentor's Responsibilities

The research mentor must have a research background and be knowledgeable in the specific field related to the project. The mentor's biographical sketch (in standard NIH format, limited to 5 pages), along with a letter of support, must be submitted electronically. In the support letter, the research mentor should explicitly answer the following questions:

1. How does the proposed project fit into the trainee's career plans?

2. How did the trainee select the topic?

3. What components of the proposed study will the trainee perform directly?

4. What is the trainee expected to learn from conducting the proposed research?

5. What will the mentor do in order to ensure that the trainee increases his / her research skills and successfully completes the project?

Please note that the grant sent to the institution will be used specifically for the project. No indirect charges will be paid to the institution.

Fellowship Program Director's Responsibilities

Award Applicant's Responsibilities

1. Complete the Marshall Klaus Application Form and grant application and submit electronically by Jan 31, 2025. Letters of support and biographical sketch also must be submitted to the AAP at this time. ONLY APPLICATIONS THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY BY THE DEADLINE WILL BE CONSIDERED. NO PAPER SUBMISSIONS WILL BE ACCEPTED.

2. Critically important: In order to correctly assign all documents to the applicant, fellow’s last and first names should be included in the file name of each submitted document as follows: fellow’s last and first names should be included in the file name of each submitted document as follows:

LastName-FirstnameInitial- application.pdf
Lastname-FirstnameInitial-science.pdf
Lastname- FirstnameInitial- applicantbiosketch.pdf
Lastname- FirstnameInitial-mentorbiosketch.pdf
Lastname-FirstnameInitial-programdirector.pdf (for fellowship program director letter).

3. All documents have to be typed, please use Arial 11 font with 0.5” document margins. Files should be submitted in pdf or Word format for ease of use. Any forms without the applicant name will be rejected. We will try to notify applicants of missing forms or letters but complete applications are is the applicant’s responsibility. All forms will have to be submitted electronically via the provided link on this website. Forms may be submitted at different times during the period but we prefer that they are submitted together at the same time. Once the forms are submitted questions should be directed to or Laura Navarro at [email protected]

4. The length of the science document is limited to 6 typed pages, excluding the biographical sketch and letters of support.

A. SPECIFIC AIMS (Page 1): Includes main Hypothesis, overall Goals, and Study Aims. B. RESEARCH STRATEGY (Page 2-5): Includes Significance, Innovation, Rationale and Study Design. (Indicate what components of the research, such as data collection or analysis, you will be performing directly. If a survey will be used, please attach a list of key questions.)C. REFERENCES, BUDGET, AND TIMELINE (PAGE 6) (Submit a budget that outlines how the grant money will be used. Grant money can only be used for salary support or travel if critical and directly related to the research project. Please provide a detailed justification. If your budget exceeds $5,000, what will be the source of additional funding? Please describe. Submit a timeline for completion of the project. Include how you plan to fit the research project into your training.)

5. BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH (NIH format, required for applicant and mentor) NOTE: The Biographical Sketch may not exceed five pages. Please follow the formats and instructions on the attached sample. Please use the NIH format for each biosketch.

A. Personal Statement. Describe in one paragraph how you selected this topic for study and how this proposed project fits into your career plans. Include prior relevant research, clinical experience, and how the knowledge and skills you will learn will contribute to your future professional goals. B. Positions and Honors. List in chronological order previous positions, concluding with your present position. List any honors. C. Selected peer-reviewed publications (in chronological order). Do not include publications in preparation. D. Research Support. List selected ongoing or completed (during the last three years) research projects (federal and non-federal support). Begin with the projects that are most relevant to the research proposed in this application. Briefly indicate the overall goals of the projects and your role (e.g. PI, Co- Investigator, Consultant) in the research project.

6. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION (from mentor and fellowship program director).
The mentor letter should detail how much of the proposed work will be executed by the applicant directly rather than the mentor’s research staff and the fellowship program director letter should specify the year of fellowship and how much time the applicant will have to complete the proposed project. One criterion applications are scored for is the likelihood that the proposed research can be successfully completed within the fellowship timeframe.

7. Notify Laura Navarro at [email protected] of any address change.

Please note that awards may be used only for the approved study under the supervision of the approved mentor; a request to change study topic or mentor must be approved by the AAP and will be allowed only under special circumstances. Funds can only be used for salary or travel if this directly supports the research project. If the approved project cannot be conducted or completed, the institution is expected to return all unspent funds to the AAP.

Awardees are expected to submit an abstract to the AAP NCE meeting summarizing the results of their project in the last year of their fellowship or shortly thereafter.

A progress report is required before finishing fellowship or one year following receipt of award (whichever is earliest). The fellow and the mentor are responsible for ensuring that this requirement is fulfilled. The progress report should include details of work accomplished by the awardee during the grant, presentation(s) regional and or national and abstract summary of study design, methods, results and conclusion. If a paper has been submitted, is in preparation for submission (please indicate journal) or accepted for publication, this should be attached

Klaus Award checklist

1. Application Form (please only check one (1) award type)

2. Science Proposal

3. NIH Biosketch Applicant

4. NIH Biosketch Mentor 5. Mentor Letter of Support

6. Fellowship Program Director Letter of Support

7. Signature Page (the only form that can be scanned)

Please collect all items and submit at the same time.

Important Dates and Resources

January 31, 2026 | 11:59pm CST - Deadline for application and research proposal.
June 1, 2026 - Grants to be funded will be finalized.
July 14, 2026 - All applicants will be notified and research grants will be mailed.

2026 Marshall Klaus Application Form
Klaus Signature Page
Sample Klaus bio
Sample Klaus science
2025 Klaus Awardees
2023 Klaus Awardees
2022 Klaus Awardees
2021 Klaus Awardees
2020 Klaus Awardees
2019 Klaus Awardees

Marshall-Klaus Grant Proposal Reviewers

Name	Institution	Hospital	State	AAP District
Trent Tipple	University of Oklahoma College of Medicine	Oklahoma Children's Hospital	Oklahoma	VII
Hendrik Weitkamp	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt	Tennessee	IV
Erik Jensen	Stanford University School of Medicine	Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford	California	IX
Misty Good	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	UNC Children's Hospital	North Carolina	IV
Tara Randis	University of South Florida	Tampa General Hospital	Florida	X
Thomas Raffay	Case Western Reserve University	University Hospitals Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital	Ohio	V
Brian Hackett	Vanderbilt University Medical Center	Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt	Tennessee	IV
Jason Gien	University of Colorado School of Medicine	Children's Hospital Colorado	Colorado	VIII
Krithika Lingappan	University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine	Children's Hospital of Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	III
Ravi Patel	Emory University School of Medicine	Children's Healthcare of Atlanta	Georgia	X
Dara Brodsky	Harvard Medical School	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Massachusetts	I
Cami Martin	Weill Cornell Medicine	New York-Presbyterian Hospital	New York	II
Sarah Kunz	Harvard Medical School	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Massachusetts	I
John Zupancic	Harvard Medical School	Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center	Massachusetts	I
Hala Chaaban	University of Oklahoma College of Medicine	OU Health	Oklahoma	VII

For any questions about the Marshall Klaus Award, please contact: Krithika Lingappan.

Last Updated

12/01/2025

Source

American Academy of Pediatrics