INDIANAPOLIS- The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Foundation continued its longstanding tradition of funding scientific research and recognizing young investigators by announcing its 2024 grant and award winners at the ACSM Annual Meeting in Boston. In addition, the ACSM Foundation also announced the DeLuca Foundation as its newest award partner. The DeLuca Foundation will contribute $100,000 over five years to fund the new Joseph Hamill Access to Science Award.

Since 1989, and with the support of ACSM members and strategic partners, the ACSM Foundation has awarded more than 650 scholarships and research grants to students and sports medicine research professionals, totaling more than $3.7 million.

“It is a privilege and part of ACSM’s DNA to advance scientific discovery through our many research grants and awards,” said ACSM President Stella Volpe, Ph.D., RDN, FACSM, ACSM-CEP. “We congratulate our winners and are confident that their contributions will impact our vision to extend and enrich lives through the power of movement.”

The new Joseph Hamill Access to Science Award is intended to provide financial support to student presenters with limited access to financial resources and doing research in the areas of biomechanics and neural control of movement. The award recognizes the many contributions of ACSM Fellow Joseph Hamill, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, to the field of sports medicine and biomechanics.

“The Joe Hamill Access to Science Award will have a tremendous influence on the advancement of biomechanics and motor control by supporting student travel to present their research at our annual meetings,” said ACSM Immediate Past President Irene Davis, Ph.D., FACSM, and professor with the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Sciences, Morsani College of Medicine, at the University of South Florida.

The ACSM Foundation board welcomed its newest funding partner. “We sincerely thank our friends at the DeLuca Foundation for their generosity in creating and funding the Joseph Hamill Access to Science Award,” said ACSM Foundation President Mark Hutchinson, M.D., FACSM. “Their desire to honor Professor Hamill and assist the next generation of researchers is admirable and aligns so clearly with our vision.”

ACSM also introduced three new awards for researchers focused on Women’s Health, Sport and Physical Activity. A total of 49 grant and award winners were announced in three categories totaling $122,000.

ACSM Research & Diversity Awards

Supported by ACSM, these diversity, leadership and training awards demonstrate the organizational commitment to building and recognizing the next generation of leaders in exercise science and sports medicine.

• Charles M. Tipton Student Research Award - Sungwan Kim, University of Connecticut and Imtiaz Masfique Dowllah, University of Florida
  
• Gatorade Sports Science Institute(GSSI)-ACSM Young Investigator in Sports Nutrition Award – Thorben Aussieker, Maastricht University; Emily Lundstrom, Pennsylvania State University; and Ana Carla Chierighini Salamunes, Pennsylvania State University
• GSSI-ACSM Young Scholar Professional Development Grant - Priscilla Portuguez Molina, University of Costa Rica; Diana Kolb, University of North Texas; and Alexander Berry, Auburn University
  
• GSSI Diversity in Sports Science Award – Ph.D. - Leticia Cherpe de Souza, Baylor University and Xavier Thompson, University of Virginia
  
• GSSI Diversity in Sports Science Award - Master's - Kelly Elliott, Texas Tech University and Michael Torres, University of Wyoming
  
• New Investigator Award - Ryan Dougherty, Johns Hopkins University and Nicole Logan, University of Rhode Island
  
• Science Integration & Leadership Committee Basic Science Travel Award – Mai Wageh, McMaster University
  

ACSM Foundation Research & Program Grants

ACSM's Foundation grant program started in 1989 with one research initiative in basic and applied science, and it awarded $50,000 among five doctoral research students. Today the ACSM Foundation offers several research and program grant opportunities for students, early career researchers and Exercise Is Medicine-On Campus institutions.

• Carl V. Gisolfi Memorial Fund - Maria Clara Canellas da Silva, University of Maryland, College Park
  
• Clinical Sports Medicine Endowment - William Adams, United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee
  
• EIM-OC Franklin Microgrant - Montreat College, Baldwin Wallace University, and University of North Florida
  
• Paffenbarger-Blair Fund for Epidemiological Research on Physical Activity - Sol Vidal Almela, University of Granada
  
• Raymond A. Weiss Research Endowment - Ana Carla Chierighini Salamunes, Pennsylvania State University and Jisu Kim, Virginia Commonwealth University
  
• Research Endowment - Heather Caslin, University of Houston
  
• World Athletics Research Grant - Samuel Lyons, University of Memphis
  
• Xero Shoes’ Minimal Footwear Research Grant - Jen Xu, University of Virginia
  

ACSM Foundation Travel, Research, and Leadership Awards

ACSM invests in the future of sports medicine and exercise science by supporting its members. Student and professional members who meet eligibility criteria may apply for travel/registration awards to offset the cost of travel and registration to present their work at the ACSM Annual meeting. A number of awards are available in different disciplines. 

• Barbara Campaigne Women’s Health, Sport & Physical Activity Travel Award – Hannah Cabre, Pennington Biomedical Research Center
  
• Drinkwater Leadership Award in Women’s Health, Sport & Physical Activity - Sarah Witkowski, Smith College
  
• Gail E. Butterfield Nutrition Travel Award - Trisha Sterringer, Virginia Tech and Jennifer Gale, University of Otago
  
• Howard G. “Skip” Knuttgen International Scholar Award - Matteo Rizzo, University of Verona
  
• International Student Award - Rintaro Sakamoto, Sapporo Medical University; Catherine Seet-Lee, University of Sydney; and Marlene Rietz, Karolinska Institutet
  
• Jack Wilmore Legacy Travel Award - Mai Wageh, McMaster University and Witalo Kassiano, State University of Londrina
  
• Jim and Linda Pivarnik Women’s Health, Sport & Physical Activity Travel Award - Aspen Streetman, Kansas State University
  
• Joseph Hamill Access to Science Award – Julie Walton, University of Calgary; Steven Garcia, University of Illinois Chicago; Torstein Daehlin, University of South Florida; Hui Tang, University of Texas at Austin; Alexandra Nilius, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Meihui Li, Simon Fraser University; Willa Ma, University of Southern California; Jacob Fanous, University of Western Ontario; Rebecca Daniels, University of Delaware; and Caitlin Huang, Quinnipiac University
  
• Lisa S. Krivickas Clinician/Scholar Travel Award – Grace Kim, Duke University School of Medicine
  
• Michael L. Pollock Student Scholarship - Garrett Moseley, Duke University School of Medicine and Alexander Wright, University of Connecticut
  
• Priscilla Clarkson Undergraduate Travel Award - Madison Fry, Indiana University Indianapolis
  
• Steven M. Horvath Travel Award - Jose Arevalo, University of California, Berkeley and Nathan Serrano, Arizona State University
  

For more information on the work of the ACSM Foundation, visit www.acsm.org/foundation.