AMA Research Challenge

Top projects were showcased at the virtual medical research poster symposium and semifinals Nov. 7-9, 2024. Five finalists who advanced from the semifinals will present their research to an elite panel of judges at the finals. Watch as the winner of the $10,000 grand prize is announced live on Feb. 20, 2025!

RSVP for the virtual Feb. 20 finals

Finalists

Aditya Kotla

• Poster: A Survey on Disabilities and Disability Awareness in General Surgery Residents in the US (PDF)
• Topic: Medical Education
• School: Carver College of Medicine—The University of Iowa

Ayush Kumar

• Poster: Enhancing the Radiosensitivity of Triple-negative Breast Cancer by Targeting VEGF/Neuropilin-2 (PDF)
• Topic: Basic Science
• School: University of Massachusetts Medical School

Darwin Kwok

• Poster: Tumor-wide RNA Splicing Aberrations Generate Immunogenic Public Neoantigens Across Cancers (PDF)
• Topic: Basic Science
• School: University of California San Francisco School of Medicine

Ashley Newsholme

• Poster: Major Adverse Cardiovascular and Limb Events Post Tibial vs Femoropopliteal Angioplasty​ (PDF)
• Topic: Basic Science
• School: FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine

Phoebe Yu

• Poster: Upper Airway Stimulation for Adolescents with Down Syndrome and Obstructive Sleep Apnea (PDF)
• Topic: Clinical and Transitional Research
• School: Sleep medicine/otolaryngology fellow—University of Pennsylvania

AMA Research Challenge finals

Feb. 20, 2025, 2 p.m. Central

RSVP to watch five finalists present their research to expert judges and compete to win.

Laurel Road is sponsoring the grand prize of $10,000 for the winner of the AMA Research Challenge. Laurel Road is not involved in the judging or scoring process to select the winner. Payment of the grand prize will be directly from Laurel Road. Read the official rules (PDF) for terms and conditions.

Call for abstracts has opened for the 2025 AMA Research Challenge. Abstracts will be considered for one of six topics: 

• Basic science
• Clinical and translational research
• Clinical vignettes
• Health systems science 
• Medical education 
• Public health and health policy 

The submission deadline is July 16, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. Central.

Abstract submission resources

• Official rules (PDF)
• FAQs (PDF)
• Abstract topics and descriptions (PDF)
• Abstract template (DOCX)
• Abstract template—Clinical vignettes (DOCX)
• Abstract scoring criteria (PDF)

Abstract submission criteria

• The abstract must be submitted using an approved template. An abstract submitted without the approved template will not be considered. 
• The abstract must be submitted without pictures, graphs or citations/references.
• The abstract must not exceed 400 words. The word count does not include the abstract title, page numbering or any ancillary entrant information. 

Visit the winning posters page (members only) to review a medical poster example from past winners and find out what impressed the judges and tips on increasing your chances of submitting a winning entry.

Email [email protected] for any questions.

How to prepare an abstract

Hear from a resident expert on what judges look for in an abstract.

• Read the transcript.

How to prepare and present a virtual research poster for medical conference

Learn key elements for building a digital poster and how to keep your audience engaged.

• Read the transcript

Previous AMA Research Challenge winners

2023 winner

Jesse Kirkpatrick, a third-year medical student from Harvard School of Medicine, was the winner of the 2023 AMA Research Challenge and will be awarded the grand prize of $10,000, presented by Laurel Road.

Watch the video and learn more about the finalists.

2023 participating institutions

Find the list of participating institutions from across the U.S. that participated in the 2023 AMA Research Challenge

2020-2022 winners

Read about the AMA Research Challenge winners from 2022, 2021 and 2020.

Additional Research Challenge resources

• Research Challenge education sessions (members only)
• Research Challenge FAQs
• Research Challenge participating institutions
• Research Challenge winning posters (members only)
• Latest news on research, including how to get started, the latest trends and more.

The AMA Research Challenge is the largest national, multi-specialty medical research conference for medical students and residents to showcase and present research. It brings together hundreds of students and residents from across dozens of medical schools and health care institutions in the U.S. to determine the five finalists who will compete for the $10,000 grand prize.

If you have any questions about the AMA Research Challenge, email [email protected].