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Travel Awards

Please join ARO in congratulating the 2024 Travel Awardees for the 47th Annual MidWinter Meeting! Meet the awardees by clicking the button below!

Applications for ARO Travel Awards 

The Association for Research in Otolaryngology (ARO) announces that travel award applications are being accepted to attend the 2025 ARO MidWinter Meeting, which will be held on February 21-26, 2025, in Orlando, FL. The travel award value will be $500 for U.S. —and Canada-based awardees and $750 for internationally located awardees. Submissions for the 2025 MidWinter Meeting will open on Monday, July 1, 2024 and the deadline to submit will be Tuesday, September 10, 2024..

Eligible applications will be reviewed and scored by the Travel Awards Committee. The highest-scoring applicant in each category will be awarded a Don Henderson Travel Award of $1,500.

The purpose of the travel award program is to support trainees in attending the Midwinter Meeting and becoming active members of the ARO community. The funds for travel awards come from generous donations from various companies and institutions.

The ARO is committed to inclusiveness. As such, individuals with disabilities (e.g., loss of hearing, vision, or mobility, as well as individuals with a psychiatric or learning disability) and individuals from groups historically underrepresented in the biomedical sciences (e.g., African American, Hispanic, Native American, Alaskan native, or Pacific Islander) are highly encouraged to apply.

 

Submission Guidelines Listed by Category Below

Audiologist Travel Awards

Eligibility criteria:

  • Applicants must be current ARO members at the time of application, and at the time of the MidWinter Meeting.
  • Applicants must be full-time audiology graduate students or audiology postdoctoral research fellows carrying out research pertinent to the interests of ARO.
  • Applicants must submit a first-author abstract for review along with their application materials.
  • Applicants must attend the MidWinter meeting in person to receive travel award funds.
  • Applicants may not receive a travel award in the same category more than once. Exception- if a travel award was received for a virtual conference during the pandemic, this rule does not apply. 
  • Applicant may receive another travel award in a different category but not in consecutive years. There must be at least one year in between awards. 

Application procedure:

  • Applicants must complete the electronic application form.
  • Applicants must write a 250-word minimum/500 maximum-word rational statement about why they wish to attend and what they hope to achieve at the ARO MidWinter Meeting.  
  • Applicants must upload a Curriculum Vitae (CV).
  • Applicants must upload a document containing a 1-2 sentence statement from the applicant's mentor on why the applicant's work is significant to the field.  

Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process no later than December 2024. For more information, contact the ARO Executive Office at headquarters@aro.org

Resident / Medical Student Travel Awards

Eligibility criteria:

  • Applicants must be current ARO members at the time of application and at the time of the MidWinter Meeting.
  • Applicants must be a Resident in Otolaryngology or a medical student (Note: Post-doctoral clinical or research fellows are not eligible for this award).
  • Applicants must submit a first-author abstract for review along with their application materials.
  • Applicants must attend the MidWinter meeting in person to receive travel award funds.
  • Applicants may not receive a travel award in the same category more than once. Exception- if a travel award was received for a virtual conference during the pandemic, this rule does not apply. 
  • Applicant may receive another travel award in a different category but not in consecutive years. There must be at least one year in between awards. 

Application procedure:

  • Applicants must complete the electronic application form.
  • Applicants must write a 250-word minimum/500 maximum-word rational statement about why they wish to attend and what they hope to achieve at the ARO MidWinter Meeting.  
  • Applicants must upload a Curriculum Vitae (CV).
  • Applicants must upload a document containing a 1-2 sentence statement from the applicant's mentor on why the applicant's work is significant to the field.  

Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process by December 2024. For more information, contact the ARO Executive Office at headquarters@aro.org

 

Undergraduate (NEW!) and Graduate Student Travel Awards

Eligibility criteria:

  • Applicants must be current ARO members at the time of application, and at the time of the MidWinter Meeting.
  • Applicants must be full-time undergraduate or graduate students carrying out research pertinent to the interests of the ARO (Note: Postdoctoral Fellows, Medical students / Residents and Audiologists should NOT apply under this category).
  • Applicants must submit a first-author abstract for review along with their application materials.
  • Applicants must attend the MidWinter meeting in person to receive travel award funds.
  • Applicants may not receive a travel award in the same category more than once. Exception- if a travel award was received for a virtual conference during the pandemic, this rule does not apply. 
  • Applicant may receive another travel award in a different category but not in consecutive years. There must be at least one year in between awards. 

Application procedure:

  • Applicants must complete the electronic application form.
  • Applicants must write a 250-word minimum/500 maximum-word rational statement about why they wish to attend and what they hope to achieve at the ARO MidWinter Meeting.  
  • Applicants must upload a Curriculum Vitae (CV).
  • Applicants must upload a document containing a 1-2 sentence statement from the applicant's mentor on why the applicant's work is significant to the field.  

Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process by December 2024. For more information, contact the ARO Executive Office at headquarters@aro.org

 

Post-Doctoral Travel Awards

Eligibility criteria:

  • Applicants must be current ARO members at the time of application, and at the time of the MidWinter Meeting.
  • Applicants must be post-doctoral fellows carrying out research pertinent to the interests of the ARO, and not have a research-track, or tenure-track faculty appointment.
  • Applicants must submit a first-author abstract for review along with their application materials.
  • Applicants must attend the MidWinter meeting in person to receive travel award funds.
  • Applicants may not receive a travel award in the same category more than once. Exception- if a travel award was received for a virtual conference during the pandemic, this rule does not apply. 
  • Applicant may receive another travel award in a different category but not in consecutive years. There must be at least one year in between awards. 

Application procedure:

  • Applicants must complete the electronic application form.
  • Applicants must write a 250-word minimum/500 maximum-word rational statement about why they wish to attend and what they hope to achieve at the ARO MidWinter Meeting.  
  • Applicants must upload a Curriculum Vitae.
  • Applicants must upload a document containing a 1-2 sentence statement from the applicant's mentor on why the applicant's work is significant to the field.  

Applicants will be notified of the results of the selection process by December 2024. For more information, contact the ARO Executive Office at headquarters@aro.org

 

Travel Awards Application Tips

TIPS FOR CRAFTING A SOLID RATIONAL STATEMENT: 

 A detailed and thoughtful rational statement is important for increasing applicants' chances of receiving a travel award. In crafting YOUR personal rational statement for the travel award application, aim for clarity, logic, and persuasion. Start by clearly articulating YOUR reasons and motivation for applying and what YOU hope to gain by attending the MidWinter meeting. Be honest and authentic in YOUR reasoning, focusing on the most relevant points and avoiding unnecessary tangents. Lastly, keep YOUR statement concise and persuasive, using language that resonates with the travel award review committee and highlights the significance of YOUR application. The rational statement should not be a summary of your CV. 

 Please join us for a special webinar on August 14, 2024 at 12:00 PM ET to hear from the current Travel Award committee chair as she discusses what a quality Travel Award application should look like. RSVP link coming soon.

 To view a previously recorded information session on Travel Award application tips, CLICK HERE.  

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

The ARO Virtual Travel Awards are possible due to the generous donations of our sponsors. Thank you to the Henderson family for your continued support of ARO travel awardees via the Don Henderson Travel Award fund.