American Hair Research SocietyMentorship Program
AHRSMentorship Program
PURPOSE: To enable young physicians, veterinarians, scientists (including MD, DVM, and PhD students), and medical students to develop a mentoring relationship with an established hair researcher in order for them to acquire additional academic or research skills that will further their careers as leaders in hair research.
The focus of the program is on establishing a mentoring relationship, and not a specific research project. Topics can range from working on a research project in progress (either the mentor’s or the trainee’s), learning a specific method (clinical or research), or doing an observership (clinical). Grants are intended for travel and lodging as needed to establish the mentoring relationship. Grants are not intended for costs associated with meeting attendance or for the purchase of books. The mentorship committee will not consider any budgeted costs other than travel and lodging. No food costs should be included in the budget.
The AHRS Mentorship Program is one of the important successes of AHRS. It was founded in 2003 and continues to be a popular program that brings together students and mentors from not only across the Americas, but from across the globe. The program allows students with an interest in hair research to spend time with a senior faculty member from another institution.
Corporate donations help make the program possible. AHRS is grateful to all corporate donors, and especially acknowledges Bosley for its long term support of the program, since inception. During the program’s early years, Bosley was the sole supporter of the program.
Dr. Ken Washenik, President & Chief Medical Director of Bosley, accepts plaque of recognition from Dr. Maria Hordinsky, AHRS President, March 3, 2017, Orlando
AHRS MentorshipProgram Details
2025 Mentorship Grant Program
It is required that both Applicant and Mentor be an American Hair Research Society member to be eligible to apply for a Mentorship Grant.
If you or your Mentor are not AHRS members, please apply for membership prior to submitting your Mentorship Grant application. The membership application can be found here.
Applications with all components must be submitted via the online portal. Items include:
- Your contact information
- Your category, e.g., dermatology resident, dermatopathology fellow, veterinary medicine student, etc.
- Payment details should your grant application be successful
- Mentor contact information
- Mentorship Information including “Mentorship Focus/Title”
- Mentorship Location, start and end dates
- Grant category
- Budget
- Statement of purpose (300-500 words), to include:
- Description of your career goals
- Description of the goal(s) of the proposed mentorship and any specific project planned
- How you envision this mentorship will impact your future career in hair research
- How the experience specifically will help prepare you to be a leader in hair research
- Applicant’s curriculum vitae (3-pages max)
- A letter from the proposed mentor to include:
- A statement of willingness to provide the time necessary for this mentorship
- Any significant and pertinent details of the planned mentorship
- A specific mention of whether the time frame and budget are appropriate for the proposed mentorship
- A letter from the department chair attesting to the applicant’s character and potential to benefit from the mentorship
All required components of the application must be completed and/or uploaded by Nov. 30, 2025. There are no exceptions. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Applying the following points will assist us to process your application.
- All submitted documents should be in PDF format.
- Letters from proposed mentors and department chairs should be written on their institutional letterhead and include the signature of the writer.
- Please include a direct contact phone number and email for yourself in your application. We will contact you via email and/or phone if we require further information. Please be alert to this and check your email spam folder regularly.
POST-MENTORSHIP REPORT:
Grant awardees are required to complete the following post-mentorship items.
- Submit a one-page summary of your experience to the AHRS Mentorship Committee within one month of completion of your mentorship. This need not be a scientific paper; rather, it should comment on the usefulness of the experience to your interest in hair research and career goals. Please include a photo of you and your mentor. Your summary and photo will be posted on the AHRS website and may be used in future promotional materials of the program.
- Based on your mentorship category:
- Clinical grant awardees: Must present a 5-minute summary of the mentorship project at the following AHRS luncheon at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, or present a 5-minute summary during a live AHRS webinar, or submit a short paper (2-3 pages) that can be published in the IFHRS Newsletter. The paper would be a summary of what was learned or about the research-oriented project that was worked on.
- Basic science grant awardees: Must submit an abstract to the Society for Investigative Dermatology Annual Meeting (and attend) the following year, or present a 5-minute summary during a live AHRS webinar, or submit a short paper (2-3 pages) that can be published in the IFHRS Newsletter. The paper would be a summary of what was learned or about the research project that was worked on.
- Other category awardees: Must present a 5-minute summary of the mentorship project at the following AHRS luncheon at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting, or present a 5-minute summary during a live AHRS webinar, or submit a short paper (2-3 pages) that can be published in the IFHRS Newsletter. The paper would be a summary of what was learned during the rotation and about the research-oriented project that was worked on.
APPLICATION DEADLINE:
Completed applications must be received by November 30, 2025. After we receive your application, you will receive a confirmation email within 48 hours. If you have not heard from us within that time frame, please email info@americanhairresearchsociety.org to confirm we received your application.
APPLICATION NOTIFICATIONS:
Applicants will be notified of the outcome of their application in February 2026. Successful grant awardees will be invited to attend the AHRS Luncheon at the 2026 American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) Annual Meeting, in Denver, where the awards will be announced.
Christopher S. Potter, PhD, AHRS Mentorship Grant Committee Chair
AHRS Headquarters
1932 S. Halsted Street. Ste. #413
Chicago, IL 60608 USA
mentorship@americanhairresearchsociety.org
www.americanhairresearchsociety.org
SPONSORS:
The Mentorship Program is made possible in part by the generous donations to the AHRS Grant Fund which supports mentorships and research. We gratefully acknowledge Grant Fund donors including the many AHRS members who made voluntary donations along with our corporate sponsor.
