Arthritis Society Training Postdoctoral Fellowship (TPF)

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 the Arthritis Society’s new 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.

Value

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 pf $40,000 includes 50% matched funding. Successful l applicants will receive up to $20,000 annually from the Arthritis Society for this award. The other 50% of the award must come from one more partners (government, industry, NFP or academic institution) or be allocated from an existing research agency grant.
• 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 the Arthritis Society 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.

Eligibility

• Work at an eligible research institution in Canada on a research project that is relevant to the research priority areas in the Arthritis Society’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.

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.

The roles and responsibilities of the Trainee and Host Institution in the management of the Arthritis Society’s research and training funds are defined on the Arthritis Society’s website.

Criteria

• 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 the Arthritis Society's 2020-2025 Research Strategy
  • It is the applicant’s responsibility to make convincing arguments supporting the relevance of their proposals to the Arthritis Society'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.

Application

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’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 the Arthritis Society’s Society’s 2020-2025 Research Strategy priority areas (Max. 250 words)
• Lay summary sections (Max. 100-150 words per section)
• Knowledge translation (KTE) plan sections (Max. 250 words per section)

Required Attachments

• Signature page (candidate, supervisor(s), department head and Host Institution)
• Candidate and supervisor(s) Canadian Common CV (CIHR Project Biosketch)
• 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.