Arthritis Society Canada 2024 Training Postdoctoral Fellowship for Highest Levels of Scientific Excellence and Rigour

The Postdoctoral Fellowship program provides support for highly qualified postdoctoral fellows to engage in research that is in an area of clear relevance to arthritis and Arthritis Society Canada’s Strategic Plan 2020-2025: Accelerating Impact - Research Strategy which aims to identify research avenues that focus on areas of highest priority to patients and achieve the highest levels of scientific excellence and rigour.  Applications must focus on innovative research efforts in the following priority areas.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirments
• Interview Process
• Application Documents
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineApril 16, 2024
• Value120,000-$150,000
• Study LevelPostdoctoral Fellowships
• SponsorArthritis Society Canada

Benefits

Our research funding is always contingent on the generosity of our donors.

The maximum award per application is $40,000-$50,000 annually for up to three years ($120,000-$150,000 total). These awards are non-renewable. 

Please note the matching funds required for this program:

• Candidates who hold a PhD are eligible for $40,000 for a maximum of three  years. The award of $40,000 includes 50% matched funding. Successful applicants will receive up to $20,000 annually from Arthritis Society Canada for this award. The other 50% of the award funding must come from one or more partners (government, industry, NFP or academic institution) or be allocated from an existing research agency grant held by their supervisor.
• Candidates who hold a clinical health professional degree are eligible for a salary of $40,000 - $50,000 for a maximum of three years, depending upon the number of years of academic training. The award of $40,000 -$50,000 includes 50% matched funding. Successful applicants will receive up to $25,000 annually from Arthritis Society Canada for this award. The other 50% of the award funding must come from one or more partners (government, industry, NFP or academic institution) or be allocated from an existing research agency grant held by their supervisor.

Requirements

To be eligible, applicants must:

• Work at an eligible research institution in Canada on a research project that is relevant to the research priority areas in Arthritis Society Canada’s 2020-25 Research Strategy;
• Be in receipt of a PhD or a health professional degree (or equivalent, in a field such as medicine, dentistry, rehabilitation sciences, nursing, pharmaceutical studies, veterinary medicine, etc.) by the anticipated start date of the project;
• Be within their first four (4) years of postdoctoral training at the time of the application deadline; and
• NOT be in the same research laboratory (supervisor) in which they received their PhD. 
• Not hold a competitive award, as of the September 1 start date, that exceeds the value of the award. 

Note: Applicants who are not in receipt of their PhD at the application deadline but who will be in receipt of their PhD by the start of funding, and who can provide all required documentation, are eligible to apply.

Interview Dates and Process

Peer Review

One or more multidisciplinary peer review committees will be assembled to review the applications. The peer review committee(s) will consist of scientific and clinical experts with broad expertise, along with consumers to provide patient perspectives. It is important that applicants devote time to write the lay summary sections. 

Review Criteria

The review criteria for applications will include, but not necessarily be restricted to the following:

Quality of the candidate and research environment

• Strength of the CVs, transcripts, letters of support etc.
• Strength of the research and training environment
• Strength and appropriateness of the supervision
• Potential impact of the award to the candidate

Quality of the research project

• Scientific merit of the arthritis research project and its potential to create new knowledge, significantly advance our understanding of arthritis, and/or improve care or support for people affected by arthritis. For example, the development of new therapeutics, diagnostics, devices, intellectual property, information to consumers and/or health policy makers, decrease the burden of illness, improve quality of life, etc.
• Consumer engagement plan, as appropriate
• Sex and/or gender considerations
• Feasibility of the proposed research project within the time frame.  For example, are the timelines appropriate, technology and laboratory environment available, etc.

Relevance of the proposal to the proposal to Arthritis Society Canada's 2020-2025 Research Strategy

• It is the applicant’s responsibility to make convincing arguments supporting the relevance of their proposals to Arthritis Society Canada's Research Strategy. Specifically, one or more of the five research priority areas (arthritis pain, OA, IA, childhood, and work). More details can be found in Accelerating Impact: Research Strategy.
• The role of the consumer is to assess the feasibility, relevance to the strategic priorities and potential impact of the proposed research to address an important problem and the potential of the candidate. The consumer will also assess the quality of the lay sections.

Online Research Grants Portal open: February 26, 2024
Full Application deadline: April 16, 2024, 5:00 PM ET
Notification of decision: Mid/End of August 2024
Funding start date: September 1, 2024

Application Documents

• Signature page (candidate, supervisor(s), department head and Host Institution)
• Candidate and supervisor(s) Canadian Common CV (CIHR Biosketch - CIHR issued PIN required)
• Official transcripts of the candidate’s graduate training
• Timeline and milestones (1 pg. diagram / chart)
• Three letters of support, including one from the candidate’s primary supervisor confirming that the trainee will devote at least 75% of their time to conducting the proposed research, an assessment of the candidate’s critical thinking, independence, perseverance, originality, organizational skills, interest in discovery, etc., the value of the award to the candidate, the research environment, any out-of-discipline training or mentorship and details of the source of matched funding.

Optional attachments

• Appendices  (Max. 5 MB per document)

Application Deadline

April 16, 2024

How To Apply

Are you qualified and interested in this opportunity? Kindly go to Arthritis Society Canada on arthritissociety-grants.smapply.io to apply

A maximum of one application per trainee will be permitted in the competition.

All submissions will be screened for completeness and eligibility. Note that incomplete applications by the deadline will be deemed ineligible and withdrawn from the competition. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that applications are complete at the time of submission.

All applicants are strongly advised to read all program documentation listed below. If you have any questions, please contact the research department.

Applications must be submitted through the Arthritis Society Canada’s online application system and include the following components:

• Scientific abstract (Max. 500 words)
• Project description (Max. 2,500 words)  
• References 
• Relevance of the proposal to Arthritis Society Canada’s Society’s 2020-2025 Research Strategy priority areas  (Max. 250 words)
• Lay summary sections (Max. 150 words per section)
• Knowledge translation (KTE) plan sections (Max. 250 words per section)

Tips Sheet for Applicants [279 KB]

Application Form Template