Doctoral Personnel Awards for Black Scholars

Heart & Stroke and Brain Canada are supporting a Doctoral Personnel Award for Black Scholars in committing up to a total of $360,000 in 2024. This award stems from a process of co-creation where Heart & Stroke engaged with Black leaders at all career stages to help inform this funding opportunity. The objective of the competition is to increase the number of highly-qualified Black trainees across Canada committed to working in the fields of heart and brain research (i.e. stroke and vascular cognitive impartment). In the context of this award, heart and/or brain health research refers to research addressing heart conditions, stroke, and/or vascular cognitive impairment that contributes to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health of people living in Canada through prevention, treatment and recovery.

Important Dates

Value: $30,000 per year for 3 years

Eligible Research Areas:

The applicant must estimate the proportion of the proposed heart and/or brain research that falls under the four (4) health research themes as defined by CIHR.

Theme 1. Biomedical Research

Research with the goal of understanding normal and abnormal human function, at the molecular, cellular, organ system and whole-body levels, including the 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. Biomedical research may also include studies on human subjects that do not have a diagnostic or therapeutic orientation.

Theme 2. 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. Clinical research usually encompasses research on, or for the treatment of, patients.

Theme 3. 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 behaviours affect access to health care, the quality and cost of health care, and ultimately Canadians’ health and well-being.

Theme 4. Social, Cultural, Environmental and 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.

Eligibility:

In order to be eligible to apply for the 2024 Doctoral Personnel Award for Black Scholars, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Applicants must self-identify as Black.
• As of the application deadline date, applicants must be Canadian citizens, permanent residents of Canada or Protected Persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada).
• At the time of submission, applicants must either
  • (a) be enrolled in a Doctoral program at an eligible Canadian institution,
  • (b) have applied for full-time admission to a Doctoral program at an eligible Canadian institution, with a start date of no later than September 30, 2024, or
  • are intending to reclassify from a Master’s to a Doctoral program at eligible Canadian institution, with a start date of no later than September 30, 2024.
• Applicants who began their Doctoral program before June 30, 2021 are not eligible without documented Institutional permitted leaves from the program
• As of September 1, 2024 applicants must have at least 12 months remaining in their program and be no greater than 36 months from the start date of their program (August 31, 2021). Eligibility consideration may be given to individuals that are greater than 36 months with documented Institutional permitted leaves from the program.
• Partial Doctoral Personnel Awards for less than one (1) year of funding are not available.
• Applicants must have an identified research supervisor based at an eligible Canadian institution where the research will be undertaken.
• Applicants must submit, from the institution, written evidence of being enrolled as a full-time student in a Doctoral program.

For more information and application, visit the Heart and Stroke, and the Brain Foundation Guidelines