Funding Programs - Research Trainee Program

The application deadline for the 2007/08 Research Trainee competition has passed. Guidelines remain on this page for reference.

2007/08 Trainee Competition Guidelines

General Eligibility Requirements
Health Research Themes
Award Categories
Award Category Eligibility Requirements
Interruptions and Delays
Award Amounts and Duration
Incentives and Top-up
Authorized Paid Work
Supervisor(s)
Partnership Awards
Contact the Trainee Program

General Eligibility Requirements
To meet general eligibility requirements, the applicant:

can only apply to one award category per competition
can only apply to one MSFHR personnel award program at a time
can only apply two times to an award category (Junior Graduate Studentship, Senior Graduate Studentship, Post Doctoral Fellowship) regardless of the theme
must apply for at least one year of support
commits at least 75% of their time to research training; this commitment does not include holding a full-time paid research position
is in a training program that includes actual involvement in research and not only courses in research methods; students enrolled in programs oriented primarily toward health professional specialty training are normally not eligible for these awards

Health Research Themes
MSFHR classifies health research according to the four themes, as defined by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Applicants are expected to specify one of the four themes which, in their opinion, best describes their research. Only applications that fall into one of the four health research themes will be considered. A clear link to human health research must be evident from the research proposal. MSFHR reserves the right to make the final allocation. The four themes are:

Biomedical Research
Research with the goal of understanding normal and abnormal human functioning, at the molecular, cellular, organ system and whole body levels, including development of tools and techniques to be applied for this purpose; developing new therapies or devices which improve health or the quality of life of individuals, up to the point where they are tested on human subjects. Studies on human subjects that do not have a diagnostic or therapeutic orientation.

Clinical Research
Research with the goal of improving the diagnosis, and treatment (including rehabilitation and palliation), of disease and injury; improving the health and quality of life of individuals as they pass through normal life stages. Research on, or for the treatment of, patients.

Health Services Research
Research with the goal of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of health professionals and the health care system, through changes to practice and policy. Health services research is a multidisciplinary field of scientific investigation that studies how social factors, financing systems, organizational structures and processes, health technologies, and personal behaviors affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately our health and well-being.

Population Health Research
Research with the goal of improving the health of the Canadian population, or of defined sub-populations, through a better understanding of the ways in which social, cultural, environmental, occupational, and economic factors determine health status.

Award Categories
Award Categories at the Junior Graduate Studentship/Senior Graduate Studentship level are determined according to years of graduate research training, and by the degree completion date at the Post Doctoral Fellow. The reference date is the competition deadline.

Junior Graduate Studentship Award (JGS)
JGS awards are open to applicants who have been enrolled in a graduate research program(s) for a total of 15 months or less as of November 2007. Part-time studies will be calculated as 0.5 of the time enrolled in a graduate research program.

Senior Graduate Studentship Award (SGS)
SGS awards are open to applicants who have been enrolled in a graduate research program(s) for a total of 15 months or more as of November 2007. Part-time studies will be calculated as 0.5 of the time enrolled in a graduate research program.

Post Doctoral Fellowship Award (PDF)
PDF awards are open to applicants who have been in receipt of their doctoral degree for 42 months or less, or a M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M. or D. Pharm for eight years or less as of November 2007.

Award Category Eligibility Requirements
Junior/Senior Graduate Studentship
To meet JGS/SGS eligibility requirements, at the time of application, the applicant:

has not been enrolled in any combination of graduate research programs for more than 56 months
is not currently in the third year of a master's program and applying for funding to support further training at the master's level
is not currently in the fifth year of a doctoral program and applying for funding to support further training at the PhD level

At the time of award, the applicant:

is either a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada
is engaged in a full-time graduate research program at a BC academic organization leading to a master's or doctoral degree

MSFHR will not fund trainees beyond six years of total Graduate school training.

Post Doctoral Fellowship
To meet PDF eligibility requirements, at the time of application, the applicant:

is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or foreign national (foreign nationals must be sponsored by a British Columbian supervisor who is affiliated with a BC academic organization)
has a PhD (or equivalent), M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M. or D.Pharm (must hold a Canadian degree or must be eligible for trainee licensing in Canada)
must justify if the proposed fellowship training is going to take place in the same lab or with the same supervisor(s) associated with the applicant's graduate training

At the time of award, the applicant:

must provide proof of degree completion if the degree was not complete at the time of application

MSFHR will not:

fund PDF trainee's who hold a PhD beyond five years of the completion of their PhD
fund PDF trainee's who hold a MD, D.D..S, D.V.M. beyond ten years of the degree completion

Interruptions and Delays
Applicants exceeding the eligibility time limits due to an interruption or delay may apply if they would have been eligible without the interruption. The applicant must clearly explain the nature of the particular interruption.

Award Amounts and Duration
Junior Graduate Studentship/Senior Graduate Studentship Award

Stipend Amount: $20,000/year
Research and Travel Allowance: $2,500/year
JGS maximum funding duration: two years
SGS maximum funding duration: three years
Awards must start in April or September of the year offered

Post Doctoral Fellowship Award

Maximum funding duration is three years
Awards must start within 12 months of the date of offer
Annual stipends will be determined by the completion date of a PhD (or equivalent), M.D., D.D.S., D.V.M., D.Pharm. The application deadline date will be the reference date

Years	Stipend Amount	Research and Travel Allowance
< 3	$35,000	$4,000
3-5	$40,000	$4,000
> 5-10	$45,000	$4,000

Incentives and Top-up
Award Recipients holding other peer reviewed awards and research and travel allowances of lesser value than the MSFHR award are eligible to receive:

a stipend top-up to the value of the MSFHR award category in which they are funded (if applicable)
a stipend incentive of $7,000
a research and travel award top-up to the value of the MSFHR award category in which they are funded (if applicable)

Authorized Paid Work
Award Recipients:

are expected to spend 75% of their time in research training
if applicable, must have permission from their supervisor to work outside of their research activities and this work must not exceed 200 hours per year
cannot hold any full-time paid position while holding an MSFHR award

Supervisor(s)

an applicant can have up to two supervisors
supervisor(s) can support up to four fully funded MSFHR Trainees
the Primary Supervisor must be an investigator holding an academic appointment in a BC academic organization; however the Co-Supervisor can be an Adjunct Professor
supervisor(s) must have a productive health-oriented research record and sufficient resources to ensure the satisfactory conduct of the research
supervisor(s) need to complete a Supervisor Form and Common CV - MSFHR Full Version

Partnership Awards
MSFHR currently has a number of funding partnerships as part of the Trainee Partnership Program. These partnerships are based on and reflect the commitment of MSFHR and the partnering organizations to build capacity in health research. Applications that fulfill the funding criteria for both MSFHR and a partner organization will be considered for a partnership award.

Contact the Trainee Program
If you have questions regarding the Research Trainee Program, please contact:

Biomedical theme:
Jelena Milovanovic
Program Coordinator, Research Trainee Program
Phone: 604.714.2785

Clinical, Health Services and Population Health themes:
Rachel Dawson
Program Coordinator, Research Trainee Program
Phone: 604.714.2781

E-mail the Research Trainee Program