Rymer Medical Education Research Grant
Academy of Medical Educators
Rymer Innovation Awards
The Academy of Medical Educators is pleased to announce the opening of the 2025 Rymer Innovation Awards. The Rymer Innovation Awards fund one- and two-year projects that address important issues in medical and health professions education. Projects may focus on any aspect related to the education of learners in the School of Medicine or the development/experience of faculty engaged in education. The review committee will consider all forms of education scholarship, including rigorous evaluations of education interventions and curricular reforms, validity studies, meta-analyses, survey research, and systematic reviews. Projects not related to health sciences education (e.g., patient education activities, clinical research not related to education, clinical quality improvement, basic science research) will not be considered.
Please note that applications are now open and are due on May 31, 2025.
Rymer Award Overview
Funding
Funds are available to support one- or two-year projects up to $14,000.
- Requested funds can be used for FTE of CU SOM paid faculty, statistical support, small education equipment (e.g., simulation trainers), food and beverage for educational sessions, publication fees, and conference travel to support project dissemination.
- Funds cannot be used for large equipment purchases, gift cards, honoraria for existing CU faculty, or alcohol.
- Funds will be released on a rolling basis, pursuant to fulfilling planned milestones.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be faculty within the School of Medicine (Learners and trainees may be members of the project team).
- Applicants must be members of the Academy of Medical Educators.
- Applicants must have some part of their salary paid by CU SOM.
- Applicants must not have received a Rymer award in the past five years.
- Budget requests must not exceed $14,000.
- Preference will be given to junior and mid-career faculty.
- Preference will be given to projects that cross specialties and/or learner groups.
Selection Criteria
Proposals will be judged based on the following criteria:
- Innovation and scholarly merit (e.g., builds on prior work, grounded in educational theory/solid principles, appropriate and clearly described methods)
- Alignment with SOM priorities
- Feasibility (e.g., realistic within timeframe, sample size, budget
- Team experience (including mentor qualifications)
- Value added to SOM and elsewhere
- Appropriateness of budget
- Clarity of writing (e.g., coherence between goals, methods, evaluation)
Project Support
To ensure success of each funded project, projects will be assigned a project mentor from the Academy of Medical Educators. Assigned mentors will help ensure projects are aligned with educational theory, designed for successful data collection, on track for meeting project milestones, and well-positioned for dissemination. The Office for Faculty Development will also liaise with the recipient’s departmental finance team to ensure the respective department is supporting any reimbursements, purchase sign-offs, travel logistics, and/or contract approvals.
Reports
Bi-annual progress reports will be expected for all awards. A final progress report will be due at the end of the funding period. All awardees are expected to present their work at a meeting of the Scholarship in Education and Innovation (ScEI) Club and at the annual Education and Innovation Symposium, acknowledging the generosity of the Rymer Family for making these awards possible.
Timeline
Application window is April 15-May 31, 2025.
Rymer Award Detailed Instructions
All applications must be submitted using the online application form. Research Proposals must not exceed 5 pages, not including letters of support or letters of reference. View the dropdown menu below to learn more about the application process and materials.
Applications focused on curricular innovations should have a clear tie-in to existing curriculum and/or buy-in from the curriculum leader such as a block director, clerkship block director, residency program, etc, and build on previous work published in the field. Applications focused on using existing CU SOM data, such as evaluation of students, should have demonstrated support from the owner of the data.
Previous Rymer Award Recipients
