Charbonneau Postdoctoral Scholarships

Purpose of Award

Charbonneau Postdoctoral Scholarships are competitive internal awards for the purpose of providing salary support to postdoctoral fellows.

Funding per Award

Charbonneau Postdoctoral Scholarship recipients will receive an annual compensation of a minimum of $60,000 plus benefits through a partnered funding mechanism. The Charbonneau Cancer Institute (via the Phillips Emerging Cancer Scholarship Fund or one of the institute's programs/centres) will contribute between $12,500-$30,000 per year of the scholarship. If the applicant is also successful at the related CSM Postdoctoral Scholars competition, the CSM program will contribute $12,500 per year. The supervisor is responsible for providing the remainder of the salary plus full benefits each year. By submitting an application for a Charbonneau Postdoctoral Scholarship award the supervisor agrees to this financial partnership.

Duration of Award: 2 years

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates are eligible to apply for the Charbonneau Postdoctoral Scholarship if:

• The applicant is being recruited for, or currently holds, a position as a postdoctoral scholar with primary supervision by a member of the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute.
• The applicant does not hold other internal or external postdoctoral fellowship awards such as CIHR, NSERC, and other agencies. (Current holders of internal or external fellowship awards are eligible only if funding from these sources will be ending early in 2024.)
• The research project fits within the mandate of Charbonneau research priorities.

Selection process

Adjudication criteria include:

• Excellence as it relates to the applicant's academic background and research experience.
• Excellence and feasibility of the applicant's research proposal.
• The significance and/or impact of the scientific discoveries that will potentially arise from the proposed research on basic scientific knowledge or translatable health knowledge.
• The quality of the research and training environment provided by the applicant’s supervisor, and co-supervisor if applicable.

The 3 top-ranked applicants who are eligible for a CSM Postdoctoral Scholars award will be nominated for the CSM award. Note: To be eligible for the CSM award, the applicant must have been awarded a PhD or equivalent within the five years immediately preceding the appointment/award, or ten years from the completion of an MD, DDS, DVM or equivalent; aside from time taken for leaves or other circumstances. The applicant must not have previously received support through the CSM Postdoctoral Scholar program, and must not be continuing under the supervision of the same primary supervisor as their PhD work. In addition, the primary supervisor must not currently supervise another trainee being supported by a CSM Postdoctoral Scholar award. The CSM award is subject to final approval by the CSM’s Office of the Associate Dean (Research).

At least 3 applications will be selected for funding based on the above criteria. Additional awards beyond the three may be offered depending on availability of partnered funds.

Terms of Support

The term of the Charbonneau Postdoctoral Scholarship is 24 months. Please note that Charbonneau may request a written confirmation from the UCalgary postdoc office that all the eligibility requirements have been met by the awardee and their supervisor prior to release of funds. Awardees must submit salary applications to external agencies (e.g.  AIHS, CIHR, NSERC) for each year they are eligible.