The American Society of Hematology will fund 33 research projects at $150,000 each over one to three years through its Award for Research Careers in Hematology (ARCH) program — the largest cohort since the mechanism launched.

Each award runs $150,000 over one to three years, totalling up to $4.95 million for the cycle. ARCH succeeds the ASH Bridge Grant, which ASH created in 2012 in response to federal research-fund cuts.

What does the ARCH mechanism change for applicants?

ARCH removes the NIH R01 application requirement that governed the Bridge Grant. That shift opens the door to investigators at any career stage, not only those holding or seeking an R01.

"The ARCH award will give investigators the resources to stay funded and continue their essential research in a climate where investigators are now having to fill broader and more frequent gaps in funding," Kellie Machlus, PhD, of the ARCH Study Section at ASH and Boston Children's Hospital, told Heme Today.

How are awardees deploying the funds?

Awardees are routing ARCH dollars into assay development, translational analysis, and preclinical platform work that NIH study sections typically underweight.

Sheng Cai, MD, PhD, an ARCH awardee and leukemia specialist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, directs his grant toward a phase 1/2 trial of revumenib combined with mezigdomide for patients with relapsed acute leukemia. The study targets concurrent menin inhibition and Ikaros degradation to defeat resistance mutations in the MEN1 gene.

"The strategy we are testing is to attack the same leukemia through a second, independent point of vulnerability at the same time," Cai explained. The grant funds bio-specimen analysis from the trial. Cai's lab will monitor blood and bone marrow throughout treatment, using assays sensitive enough to detect a single resistant cell among roughly 100,000.

"The ASH ARCH funding mechanism was designed to make research in hematology more accessible to investigators like myself hoping to make impactful translational discoveries that have the potential to improve outcomes for patients with blood cancers," Cai added.

What platforms is the award reaching?

At Seattle Children's Research Institute, Carol Miao, PhD, a professor of pediatrics, is applying ARCH support to redosable nonviral gene therapy for hemophilia A. The work targets two constraints of approved gene therapies: vector immunity and declining therapeutic factor levels.

"We are evaluating nonviral platforms, specifically utilizing ultrasound-mediated gene delivery, lipid nanoparticles, and a novel combination of both technologies," Miao told Heme Today. "Our goal is to establish an efficient, targeted, and repeatable platform for factor VIII gene delivery."

Miao's stated end point is a redosable system that is "more accessible, customizable across a patient's lifespan, and safer," positioning the work as a step toward a functional cure rather than a one-time intervention.

"Receiving the ASH ARCH grant is a tremendous honor and a meaningful validation of our lab's ongoing work," Miao said.

What is the broader funding picture?

ASH has roughly doubled its annual research spend over the past year, reaching approximately $50 million across awards, career development, and mentorship. Of that expansion, $25 million flows through #Fight4Hematology, an advocacy initiative ASH launched in 2025.

The Bridge Grant, which ARCH builds upon, dates to 2012 and has functioned as the structural antecedent of this expansion.

What do portfolio managers and PIs watch next?

ARCH's removal of the R01 prerequisite resets the competitiveness math for hematology labs that have lost or never held R-level funding. The dual-track portfolio — Bridge Grant for R01 applicants, ARCH for the rest — gives department chairs two funding asks to build.

Robert Negrin, MD, ASH President, framed the investment in program materials: "By investing in these researchers now, we are keeping critical science moving forward and making it clear that patients cannot be left waiting for progress."

Whether $50 million in society funding can substitute for federal gaps at scale remains the open question as the cohort reports back on trial endpoints, durable factor expression, and bio-specimen readouts.