2015 Research Trainee Program Competition for Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards

Transcription

1 2015 Research Trainee Program Competition for Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards GUIDELINES DEADLINES: Letter of Intent: Tuesday, March 17, 2015 Full Application: Monday, April 20, 2015 LAST UPDATED: NOVEMBER 28, 2014

2 Table of Contents 1. Preface Purpose Eligibility Requirements Award Amount and Duration Incentive and Top-Up Funding for Stipend, and Research and Travel Allowance (RTA) Deferral of Start Date Authorized Paid Work Supervisor(s) Partnership Awards Contact Information... 6

3 1. Preface The Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research empowers British Columbia s (BC) best and brightest health researchers to pursue world-class innovation and stretch the bounds of what health research can achieve. The Foundation helps BC s health research community discover solutions to our greatest health challenges; connect knowledge and action; and engage partners to address provincial priorities. Learn more at 2. Purpose The MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards support highly qualified applicants at the post-phd and post-health professional degree (MD, DDS, DVM or DPharm) stages to prepare for careers as independent health researchers. MSFHR has allocated 70 percent of the total funding for the 2015 Research Trainee Post-Doctoral Fellowship Program to applications from the four research themes (biomedical, clinical, health services, and population health). MSFHR has allocated 30 percent of the total funding specifically to clinical, health services, and population health research. Knowledge Translation (KT) MSFHR encourages applicants across all research themes to include a range of appropriate KT activities, from traditional dissemination activities such as conference presentations and publications, to non-traditional activities such as development and implementation of toolkits; educational sessions with patients, practitioners, or policy makers; media engagement; or commercialization of scientific discoveries, in their research projects, where applicable. Applicants may submit research projects that are fully focused on KT science; these will be evaluated against set KT science evaluation criteria. KT science relates to exploring the theories, mechanisms, concepts and/or methods by which evidence is used in healthcare practice and policy. 3. Eligibility Requirements At the time of application, the applicant must: Be eligible to hold a post-doctoral fellow position at the BC Host Institution for the duration of the MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award. Conduct all research activities in British Columbia. Apply for at least one year of support. Not have held a PhD degree for more than five years or a MD, DDS, DVM or DPharm for more than 10 years during the duration of the MSFHR award. Justified career interruptions since PhD MSFHR Research Trainee Program: Competition for Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards Guidelines 2015 Page 1

4 (e.g. parental leave for birth or adoption, medical leave) or for health professionals only, postdegree continuous non-research related clinical training (residency, etc.) may be deducted from the calculation. If PhD follows health professional degree, calculation of years since degree completion starts from PhD. Commit at least 75 percent time to research training; this commitment does not include holding a full-time paid research position. Health professionals with active clinical service must commit at least 50 percent time to research training. Be a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or foreign national. Foreign nationals must be sponsored by a BC supervisor who holds an academic appointment at a BC university. Not have held a previous MSFHR post-doctoral award. Conduct research in one of the four health research themes as defined by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research: biomedical research, clinical research, health services research, or population health research. A clear link to human health research must be made in the research project. At the start date of the award, September 1, 2015, the applicant must provide proof of degree completion if the degree was not complete at the time of application. If unable to provide proof of degree completion by September 1, 2015, the award offer will be withdrawn. MSFHR reserves the right to declare applications ineligible. The decision is final. 4. Award Amount and Duration The award consists of a stipend, and a research and travel allowance. The stipend amount is calculated at the time of application. No changes are made to the stipend during the term of the award. MSFHR s financial contributions beyond year one of the award are subject to our receiving sufficient funding from the BC government and annual budgetary approval by MSFHR s Board of Directors. The amount and duration of an MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award is determined by the amount of time since the applicant completed their PhD, MD, DDS, DVM or DPharm. The table below demonstrates the stipend amounts. Years Since Degree Stipend Amount Research and Travel Allowance <3 $37,000 $4, $42,000 $4,500 >5 10 $47,000 $4,500 MSFHR Research Trainee Program: Competition for Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards Guidelines 2015 Page 2

5 The award will provide support for up to a maximum of three years. MSFHR will not fund post-doctoral fellows who hold a PhD beyond five years of degree completion or who hold a MD, DDS, DVM or DPharm beyond 10 years of degree completion during the term of the MSFHR award. Applicants must apply for at least one year of support. Stipends and research and travel allowance are valued in Canadian dollars and are taxable. 5. Incentive and Top-Up Funding for Stipend, and Research and Travel Allowance (RTA) Post-doctoral fellows who hold other peer-reviewed salary awards at the time of application or who apply and receive such an award in the period that they hold an MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award are eligible to receive a top-up and incentive award. Example: MSFHR Stipend Award $47,000 $47,000 External Stipend Award 1 Received by Award Recipient Greater than or equal to $47,000 Greater than $23,500 and less than $47,000 Effect on MSFHR Stipend Award 2 MSFHR stipend award reduced to $0 Receives MSFHR incentive award of $7,000 MSFHR stipend award reduced to the amount that, when added to the external stipend award, will equal $47,000 Receives MSFHR incentive award of $7,000 1 To be considered an external award, the award must have been granted through an open competition with a peer-review process and the award amount must be more than half the MSFHR award amount. 2 The top-up and incentive funding would be available for the duration of the MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Award or to the end of the other peer-reviewed award, whichever comes first. MSFHR RTA Award External RTA Award 3 Received by Award Recipient Effect on MSFHR RTA Award $4,500 Greater than or equal to $4,500 MSFHR RTA award reduced to $0 $4,500 Greater than $0 and less than $4,500 MSFHR RTA award reduced to the amount that, when added to the external RTA award, will equal $4,500 3 The research and travel allowance (RTA) award must be a component of the external stipend award received above. MSFHR Research Trainee Program: Competition for Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards Guidelines 2015 Page 3

6 6. Deferral of Start Date MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards are normally offered with a start date of September 1. The start date may be deferred up to 12 months and must commence on the first day of any month within the deferred period. It is not acceptable to defer the start date of the award to meet the eligibility requirement for PhD degree completion. Deferral of the award may affect the term of the award if it impacts the five or ten-year eligibility requirement as previously described. Deferred start dates, once confirmed by MSFHR, will not be revised. 7. Authorized Paid Work Award recipients are expected to spend 75 percent time in research training. Health professionals with active clinical service are expected to spend 50 percent time in research training. All award recipients, with the approval of their supervisor(s), earn additional amounts from other sources by engaging in work outside of their research activities. For example, they may engage in and accept remuneration for limited departmental activities that contribute to their development as an independent researcher. This work must not exceed 200 hours per year and cannot interfere with their research training progress. An award recipient cannot hold a full-time paid position while holding an MSFHR award. 8. Supervisor(s) An applicant can have up to two supervisors. The primary supervisor must be an established researcher who holds an academic appointment (at the level of an assistant, associate or full professor) with a BC university. The co-supervisor must also hold an academic appointment with a BC university. However, the co-supervisor can be an adjunct professor or equivalent. Supervisor(s): Can support up to a maximum of four fully funded MSFHR trainees at any one time. Must have a productive health-oriented research record and sufficient resources to ensure the satisfactory conduct of the research. The primary supervisor agrees to: Commit to supervising the applicant s research and to provide the resources that are necessary for the successful completion of the research project including any KT activities, as appropriate. Commit to administering the research and travel allowance of the award recipient. MSFHR Research Trainee Program: Competition for Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards Guidelines 2015 Page 4

7 Respect the obligations described in the MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards guidelines and conditions of award, as well as those of the Host Institution as they relate to the role as a trainee supervisor. Ensure the award recipient: o o o Respects and abides by the obligations described in the Research Trainee Post- Doctoral Fellowship guidelines, conditions of award, and the Host Institution s policies and procedures. Uses the MSFHR award funds only for the purposes intended, informs MSFHR and the Host Institution immediately of any substantive changes including eligibility status, and meets all reporting requirements of MSFHR in a timely fashion. Complies with the ethical and research policies outlined by the Host Institution and the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research. This includes, but is not limited to: i. Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans 2 nd Edition ii. Canadian Council on Animal Care Policies and Guidelines iii. Canadian Environmental Assessment Act iv. Laboratory Biosafety Guidelines The co-supervisor agrees to all of the above and in addition provides academic support when the primary supervisor is unavailable (e.g. sabbatical leave, extended sick leave) and cannot provide full guidance. 9. Partnership Awards MSFHR is actively pursuing funding partnerships as part of the MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards. These partnerships are based on and reflect the commitment of MSFHR and the partnering organizations to build capacity in health research and meet strategic priorities. Applications that fulfill the funding criteria for both MSFHR and a partner organization will be considered for a partnership award. Please refer to the instructions for details on applying for a partner award. MSFHR and partner(s) financial contributions are subject to availability of funds and the annual budgetary approvals by both MSFHR s Board of Directors and the partnership organization beyond year one of the award. MSFHR Research Trainee Program: Competition for Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards Guidelines 2015 Page 5

8 10. Contact Information For detailed information on the application and submission processes, refer to the MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards instructions document, which will be available February For questions on the MSFHR Research Trainee Program Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards guidelines or how to apply, please contact: Rashmita Salvi Manager, Programs & Competitions Phone: MSFHR Research Trainee Program: Competition for Post-Doctoral Fellowship Awards Guidelines 2015 Page 6