There will be four award categories:

Clinical Research: Research conducted with human subjects (or on the material of human origin such as tissues, specimens, and cognitive phenomena) for which an investigator (or colleague) directly interacts with human subjects. This area of research includes mechanisms of human disease; therapeutic interventions; clinical trials; development of new technologies; analysis of existing datasets; epidemiologic and behavioral studies; outcomes research and health services research.

Medical Humanities: Initiatives/Research that focuses on the history of medicine, cultures of medicine, dilemmas/challenges in the practice of medicine, disability studies, communities in crisis, bioethics, public health, doctor-patient relationships and communication, end-of-life concerns, medicine and the media, medicine and society; literature and medicine, medical anthropology, empathy and the experience of illness, and the arts and medicine.

Health Disparities Research or Health Equity Research: Research conducted to address the disparity in clinical care delivery or closing a care gap due to inherent or implicit disparity in care. Abstracts in this category will primarily be descriptive, but they may also include preliminary data.

Practice Innovation or High-Value Care or Quality Improvement:
Initiatives that focus on:

• Reducing waste in the system (unnecessary testing and treatment or inappropriate setting for care)
• Minimizing harm and/or improving patient safety (radiation exposure, medication side effects)
• Improving patient care through communication (incorporating patient values and concerns into care plans)
• Other digital tools (including Artificial Intelligence)
• Improving caregiver well-being by reducing unnecessary steps in the process of providing and/or documenting care
• Abstracts in this category will primarily be descriptive, but they may also include preliminary data.