Current News

SCA STARTER and JOYCE WAHR STARTER GRANTS ONLY!

Submit Your Letter of Intent NOW!
Deadline: November 14, 2025

This process will be optional for potential applicants to the Starter and Joyce Wahr Starter Grants in the 2026 grant cycle.

The goal of this process is to match applicants with a “Grant Development Mentor” with SCA research grant and/or topic area expertise. Triage is not a goal of this process, but the research committee will screen LOIs to identify any projects/PIs that do not align with eligibility requirements and priority project types for this funding mechanism.

Applicants will be invited to submit a full application for the 2026 Research Grants unless otherwise notified that the project is not eligible for the funding mechanism or would be incompatible.

The letter of intent should include:

1. Research Grants Title Page – Click Here
2. Letter of Intent (1-2 pages)
   1. Description of the proposed project
   2. Description of the roles of the key personnel
   3. Importance of this project for the investigator and future funding/career goals
   4. A statement that the PI’s intent to submit has been discussed with the mentor, department chair, and applicable grants office/staff.
   5. A statement as to whether or not the applicant is interested in being matched with a “Proposal Development Advisor”

3. Biosketch (NIH Format) of the Applicant and Mentor

Members of the Research Committee will review the letter of intent (LOI).

Award Details:

• Letter of intent deadline: November 14, 2025
• Full grant application submission period opens: November 24, 2025
• Grant application submission closes: February 9, 2026

Click Here for the 2026 Research Grant Full Instructions

The LOI and supporting documents should be collated into one (1) PDF document with the investigators last name as the title and sent to grants@scahq.org by November 14, 2025.

For questions, please contact Denise Herdrich at dherdrich@veritasamc.com.

ACTA Fellowship Match Program
Adult Cardio Anesthesiology Fellowship Match Program

2027 Match Exception Agreement Process
Open November 3, 2025 – June 4, 2026 (12pm Pacific)

Program Details

In order to provide more consistency and predictability to the ACTA fellowship application process, the ACTA programs participate in a common application and match process provided by SF Match for recruitment.

Applicants and programs participate by registering with SF Match and applicants applying to the programs of their choice. Both programs and applicants submit a rank list based on their preferences. Notably, only programs where an applicant has interviewed can be ranked in the match.

Critical to the match process, programs and applicants can make an Exception Agreement prior to submitting their rank list to SF Match. Exception Agreements allow an applicant and program to agree to match each other prior to submitting their respective rank lists. Importantly, all ACTA positions must be included in the match, including all Exception Agreement positions.

Exceptions to the standard match process have been agreed upon by the ACTA Fellowship Program Directors Council in the following situations:

Applicants who are in active military service at the time of application.

• Internal candidates, i.e. applicants who are currently in the anesthesiology residency program at the same institution as the ACTA fellowship.
• Applicants who are making a commitment to come to the institution of the ACTA fellowship for more than one year.
• Applicants who are enrolled in an anesthesiology residency outside of the USA at the time of application.
• Applicants who reside outside the USA at the time of application or who are not eligible for ABA certification due non-US training.
• Applicants whose spouse or partner is applying for a GME-approved post graduate training program in a medical specialty in the same region as the ACTA fellowship.

Please note the following: Eligible applicants and programs who wish to take advantage of an exception rule are still required to participate in the match ranking process and must complete an exception agreement. Any match irregularities will be referred to the ACTA Fellowship Program Directors Council leadership.

Program directors complete the first part of the match exception process. To begin, click HERE. Fellows: do NOT begin this process!
(Link will be active beginning November 3, 2025)

Contact SCA’s Operation Services at 847-805-8527 or via email to operations@scahq.org.

Time Table

Adult Cardiothoracic Anesthesiology Fellowship Match for 2026 Positions

Dear SCA Members,

The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) is excited to introduce a new Special Interest Group (SIG) in Critical Care Medicine.

Critical care is a vital component of the cardiac surgical journey. By establishing this group, the SCA continues to advance its mission to “transform perioperative cardiovascular and thoracic care through education, research, and global collaboration.”

Purpose of the Critical Care SIG

Anesthesiologists represent a significant portion of critical care physicians caring for cardiothoracic and vascular patients. The Critical Care SIG will:

• Provide a professional “home” for intensivists specializing in cardiothoracic critical care.
• Strengthen collaboration and community among SCA members across the entire perioperative course.
• Create an environment for shared learning in the management of mechanical circulatory assist devices (MCS)
• Encourage cardiothoracic intensivists—including those not formally trained in cardiac anesthesiology—to engage with and join the SCA.

Join Us

If you are interested in becoming part of the Critical Care Special Interest Group, please click the link below. You will be added to the roster and included in all future communications from the group.

JOIN THE CRITICAL CARE SIG

The Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) is an international organization of healthcare professionals whose mission is excellence and leadership in providing cardiovascular and thoracic patient care through education and research. SCA is not an advocacy organization. However, we support safe, equitable, and unobstructed access to all healthcare. SCA strongly objects to any interference in either the medical decision-making process or the physician-patient relationship.