Judy Bell-Krotoski "Grab the Evidence" Award

In 2003, AHTF awarded the first “Grab the Future” Grant. This name was changed in 2005, in response to the growing need to fund basic research science and evidence-based studies in hand and upper limb rehabilitation.

The purpose of the award as designed is to serve as a catalyst for a skilled researcher and/or research team to develop their role as principal investigators and to provide seed money for procurement of larger external funding. 

Experimental studies, pilot studies, or systematic reviews/meta-analyses which support the evidence of hand and upper extremity rehabilitation in the diagnostic categories identified by the AHTF research priorities or by the specific donor’s research priorities will be considered.

Occupational or physical therapist clinicians, researchers, graduate students, or faculty at accredited occupational/physical therapy programs are eligible for this award. At least one member of the research team must be a member of ASHT with his or her role in the proposed research clearly defined and significant to the project. Collaborators may have different professional degrees, but their role should be clearly identified and necessary to complete the purpose of the project.  Preference is given to applicants who have demonstrated research experience as a principal investigator or one who has received funding for their scholarly activities but needs additional studies to apply for competitive funding. AHTF board members are not eligible.

An applicant can apply for only one of the three AHTF grants and should not be a recipient of an AHTF grant in the past three years. AHTF board members are not eligible.

Authors are encouraged to submit research projects that address the AHTF research priorities published in the Journal of Hand Therapy (Reference: MacDermid JC, Fess EE, Bell-Krotoski J, et al. A research agenda for hand therapy. J Hand Ther. Jan-Mar 2002; 15(1):3-15.

Download the grant application and review grant requirements as posted on the website. Completed applications, in PDF format, must be submitted via email to grants@ahtf.org, attention of April Cowan, OTR, OTD, CHT.