AHS 2026 Visiting Observership Grant

Application Deadline: May 1, 2026

This opportunity is designated for AHS members to visit Hernia centers in another country to observe surgical procedures from leading experts in the field of abdominal wall surgery. The purpose of this funding program is to build surgical capacity in other countries by sharing expertise so learnings can be leveraged abroad. Each grant is worth a maximum of $5,000 and will offset costs to visit one to two sponsoring centers for a two-four-week period.

Criteria
Applicants must be a member in good standing of AHS and your National Chapter. It is also required to be proficient in English and have a valid passport and/or visa to enter the United States. Additionally, the recipients will be required to present their experience at the American Hernia Society Annual Meeting in September 2027.

Sponsoring Centers
Agustin Alvarez MD | Clinica Santa Maria Santiago (Santiago - Chile)
Vedra Augenstein MD | Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte, North Carolina - United States)
Conrad Ballecer, MD | Creighton University (Phoenix, Arizona - United States)
Igor Belyansky, MD| Luminis Health Ann Arundel Medical Center (Annapolis, Maryland - United States)
Marja Boermeester MD | Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Vaals - Netherlands)
Sudeep Burman MD | St. David's Medical Center (Austin, Arizona - United States)
David Chen MD | University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California - United States)
Yuri Novitsky MD | Columbia University, New York (New York, New York - United States)
Sean Orenstein MD | Oregon Health & Science University (Portland, Oregon - United States)
Eric Pauli MD | Penn State Health (Hershey, Pennsylvania - United States)
Xavier Pereira MD | NYU Lagone Medical Center (New York, New York - United States)
Yaritza Perez-Soto MD | Physicians Medical Group (Naples, Florida - United States)
Jonathan Yunis MD | Center for Hernia Repair (Sarasota, Florida - United States)

Application Checklist

Contact information
Personal statement regarding your educational background, current clinical and academic work, experience training medical students/residents/fellows, and how this award will impact in your career (250 words or less)
Describe surgical procedures you would like to observe
Select up to three sponsoring centers you would like to visit
Letter of support from hospital authority (upload 1 page pdf)
Budget justification (upload 1 page pdf)

1. Please complete the following information: *This question is required.

First Name

Last Name

Institution

Country

Email Address

Mobile Phone Number

2. Personal Statement - describe your educational backgrounds, your current clinical and academic work both at your institution and at the national level, your experience training medical students/residents/fellows, and how this award will impact in your career (250 words max)

*This question is required.

3. Describe the surgical procedures that you would like to observe (250 words max)
*This question is required.

4. Select up to three sponsoring centers you would be most interested in visiting
*This question is required. Order the items from the following list. First select an item with the spacebar to show a menu of possible ranking positions. Next, click a ranking position to order it in the ranked list. Note the menu will display more ordering options as you add items to the ranked list.

Agustin Alvarez MD | Clinica Santa Maria (Santiago - Chile)
Vedra Augenstein MD | Carolinas Medical Center (Charlotte, North Carolina - United States)
Conrad Ballecer MD | Creighton University (Phoenix, Arizona - United States)
Igor Belyansky MD | Luminis Health Ann Arundel Medical Center (Annapolis, Maryland - United States)
Marja Boermeester MD | Amsterdam University Medical Centers (Amsterdam - Netherlands)
Sudeep Burman MD | St. David's Medical Center (Austin, Texas - United States)
David Chen MD | University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California - United States)
Yuri Novitsky MD | Columbia University, New York (New York, New York - United States)
Sean Orenstein MD | Oregon Health & Science University (Portland, Oregon - United States)
Eric Pauli MD | Penn State Health (Hershey, Pennsylvania - United States)
Xavier Pereira MD | NYU Langone Medical Center (New York, New York - United States)
Xavier Pereira MD | NYU Langone Medical Center (New York, New York - United States)
Jonathan Yunis MD | Center for Hernia Repair (Sarasota, Florida - United States)

5. Please upload letter of support from hospital authority (1 page PDF)
*This question is required.

File: {{filename}} delete

6. Agreement
In the event that I am chosen as an award recipient, I agree to comply with the following timeline and conditions:

The successful candidates must submit a report to the AHS after completion of the trip. All publications or presentations resulting from this award must acknowledge the support provided by the American Hernia Society. *This question is required.

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