AAPA Conference Participation Grants

Submission Deadline: December 18, 2026

Eligibility

The first author must be an active Fellow member of the American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants.
Manuscripts submitted for scholarship at any other state and/or national pathology conference or which have been accepted for prior publication are not eligible.
The manuscript must be the original work of the author(s).
The first author may only submit one manuscript per annual travel grant.

Purpose

The purpose of this call for manuscripts is to receive contributions reporting on cases or techniques that would enhance the knowledge of the pathologists’ assistant at the anatomic pathology bench or at autopsy for Fellow scholarship.

Format

Minimum word count of 1500; maximum word count of 3000 – not including title page or references.
Submit the manuscript as a Word document:
- Font – Arial, 11 pt
All text must be double-spaced with left sided text alignment.
Add an extra return between paragraphs.
Do not indent the first line of the paragraph.
All pages should be numbered consecutively starting with the title page as page 1.
Abbreviations:
- Except for units of measure, abbreviations are discouraged. Except for units of measure, the first time an abbreviation is used, it should be preceded by the words for which it stands.
If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer’s name and address (city, state, and country).
Do not include names of hospitals or clinics.
Please only use patient information truly relevant to the diagnosis or staging of the case. Follow HIPAA and CAP guidelines in regards to relevancy.
When using acronyms, spell out the full name on the first use followed by the acronym in parentheses.
In order to keep the review process anonymous, do not include the author’s name within the body of the manuscript.
The general format of the manuscript is as follows:
- Title Page – include:
  - Complete manuscript title
- Abstract
  - Separate page following the title page
  - Limit the abstract to 200 words or less
  - State the objectives, methods, results obtained, and conclusions drawn
  - List 3 to 5 key words or phrases
- Text – organize the manuscript into four sections
  - Introduction
  - Pertinent Patient History
  - Pathologic Findings
  - Discussion
- References
- Titles and legends to figures

Images and Figures

Minimum of one photo micrograph and one macroscopic photograph will be required to complement the macroscopic examination of cancer cases; maximum of four total images.
Important: Images should be submitted as a separate file (do not embed the photo within the Word document).
JPEG and TIFF files are standard format.
Resolution should be at least 300 dpi.
Number the images according to the order in which they are referenced within the text.
Captions must be submitted.
Figures should be labeled sequentially, numbered, and cited in the text.
Figure legends should be printed and double-spaced on a separate page entitled ‘Titles and legends to figures’.
Figures should be referred to in the text of the paper, but should not be embedded in the text. The format within the text should be bold, (Fig. X), with “X” being the image number.
It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that a patient’s anonymity be protected.
If photographs of patients are used, they should either not be identifiable, or the photograph should be accompanied by written permission to use them.

References

References are required (but do not count toward the total word count).
References must be cited within the text and at the end of the manuscript.
References within the text should be listed in the order of citation, using superscript Arabic numerals. Separate the numbers with a comma, but no space. Three or more consecutive references can be shortened to a range of numbers. References are to be inserted after the sentence period (ex. …end of sentence.^5,8)
References at the end of the text should be listed in the order of citation in a separate section at the end of the manuscript.
References should be cited in accordance with the American Medical Association (AMA) Manual Style .
Consult the AMA Manual of Style for complete information.
References must be typed double-spaced and numbered in the order of citation in the text.

Use

The winning manuscript will be published in a future issue of The Cutting Edge and/or AAPA’s Learning Management System.
The remaining submissions may be published in The Cutting Edge and/or AAPA’s Learning Management System.

Grant Details

The winning entry will receive a travel grant valued at up to $2,000 (registration + $1,000 to assist with travel expenses) to attend the Annual Conference, Spring Meeting, or Summer Meeting of their choosing within the next two years.

Rules and Regulations for Submitting AAPA Conference Participation Grants Materials

Call for manuscripts reporting on cases or techniques that would enhance the knowledge of the pathologists’ assistant at the anatomic pathology bench or at autopsy.