Objective

The Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence at the University of British Columbia (UBC) launched in November, 2021 with the goal of accelerating novel type 1 diabetes (T1D) cure research towards clinical translation. The objective of the J. Andrew McKee Fellowship Program in Type 1 Diabetes, supported by SCN & Breakthrough T1D is to attract new qualified, promising post-doctoral scientists entering their professional career in the T1D research field to join the Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence at UBC. One award will be provided through the program each year in 2022-2026 for the successful applicant to take up at UBC as part of the Centre team. This award is 1 year in duration and is intended for those in a relatively early stage in their career. The supervisors at the Centre of Excellence have committed an additional 2 years of funding support for each recruited Fellow, as such, the successful candidate should anticipate their time at the Centre to be at least 3 years in length.

Applicant Eligibility

Required: MD, DMD, DVM, PhD, or equivalent received at least two months prior to the commencement of the fellowship. Must not be simultaneously serving an internship or residency. Individuals that already hold a position as a student, fellow or staff member in a lab affiliated with the Centre of Excellence at UBC are not eligible to apply.

Application Process

All interested applicants must access and submit full applications to Stem Cell Network via ProposalCentral by February 27, 2024, at 17:00 ET.

Application Instructions for ProposalCentral

Terms

$60,000 per year, of which $57,500 is stipend and $2,500 is research allowance.

Timeline

Funding opportunity launch	November 1, 2023
Application deadline	February 27, 2024, 17:00 ET
Applicants notified of outcome of phase 1 review	March 2024
Notice of decision	May 2024
Funding start date	Aug 1, 2024 (October 15, 2024 latest)

Description

The Breakthrough T1D  Centre of Excellence at the University of British Columbia (UBC) launched in November 2021 with the goal of accelerating novel type 1 diabetes (T1D) cure research towards clinical translation. The objective of the J. Andrew McKee Fellowship Program in Type 1 Diabetes, supported by SCN & Breakthrough T1D is to attract new qualified, promising scientists entering their professional career in the T1D research field to join the Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence at UBC as a trainee. Successful applicants will pursue research, including stem cell and regenerative medicine approaches, that can be used to treat and/or cure T1D. One award will be provided through the program each year in 2022-2026 for the successful applicant to take up at the University of British Columbia as part of the Centre team. Awards are 1 year in duration and are intended for those in a relatively early stage in their career. Applicants are not required to present a research proposal as part of the application; a list of potential supervisors and possible projects is available and the successful candidate will be able to explore these or other projects with the Centre teams.

The applicant must have a doctoral degree (PhD, MD, DMD, DVM), or the equivalent from an accredited institution by at least two months prior to the commencement of the Fellowship, and must not be simultaneously serving an internship or residency.

Applications can be made in English or French, but applicants should note that the primary language of communication at the Breakthrough T1D Centre of Excellence at UBC is English.

Project Areas

Upon receipt of the award, the successful applicant will work with a UBC laboratory affiliated with the Centre on a specific project of interest in an area of T1D research of relevance to regenerative medicine and/or stem cells.

A list of potential projects and supervisors is appended to this call. The best fit for the successful Fellow’s supervisor and project will be explored during application review and confirmed upon receipt of the award. The Fellow’s project may or may not be among those listed with this opportunity.

Eligibility

Applicant
This opportunity is open to applicants based in Canada or internationally. There are no citizenship requirements for this program. Applicants must be legally permitted to reside and work in Canada to take up the award. For international applicants, if a work permit is required, the successful candidate must seek an expedited process to obtain their permit and relocate no later than October 15, 2024, where possible. Neither SCN nor Breakthrough T1D will provide assistance with the immigration process for international applicants. For assistance with work permit related questions, contact immigration.help@ubc.ca. To assure continued excellence and diversity among applicants and awardees, Breakthrough T1D and SCN welcome applications from all qualified individuals and encourage applications from persons with disabilities or members of minority groups underrepresented in the sciences.

This Fellowship is intended for those at a relatively early stage of their career. Ordinarily, the most recent doctoral degree (PhD, MD, DMD, DVM, or equivalent) will have been received no more than 5 years before the application is submitted. Individuals that already hold a position as a student, fellow or staff member in a lab affiliated with the Centre of Excellence at UBC are not eligible to apply.

Breakthrough T1D and SCN are sensitive to personal and COVID-related matters that impact career trajectories. Applicants who have taken leave from their career (e.g. parenting of a child, childbirth, long-term care of a parent/spouse/child/dependent, personal health issues), or experienced a delay in their training due to COVID shutdowns that put them outside of the eligibility time frame for the award mechanism should feel free to reach out ahead of their application submission. Breakthrough T1D and SCN aim to be flexible and adjust these time frames if necessary and appropriate.

Location
The award will be taken up at UBC in Vancouver, BC, Canada no later than October 15, 2024. Exceptions may be possible in the case that a successful candidate has an outstanding application for a work permit.

Application Components

Applicants must submit a full applications to Stem Cell Network via SCN’s ProposalCentral application portal by the application deadline of February 27, 2024 at 17:00 eastern time. An application will consist of:

• Completed application form in ProposalCentral, which will include completion of a written section:
  • Applicant expertise
  • Research contributions and impacts
  • Career development plan
  • T1D challenges and knowledge question
• Canadian Common CV, in CIHR academic format
• Up to three (3) letters of support (minimum 1, maximum 3) must be submitted that assess the applicant’s scientific abilities and contributions, as well as the potential of the applicant.
  • Note: The letter(s) of support should come from the individual(s) under whom the applicant has trained, who are familiar with the candidate’s characteristics and abilities and/or who have had a good opportunity to assess their potential for research.

Applicants may apply in English or French.

Evaluation Process

Applications will be reviewed jointly by Breakthrough T1D and SCN through a two-phase process as follows:

• Phase 1: All applications received through ProposalCentral will be reviewed by Breakthrough T1D and SCN’s Training and Education Committee (TEC)
• Phase 2: The top ranked 2-4 applications from Phase 1 review will be invited to participate in virtual interviews with a panel of investigators from the UBC Centre during the month of April 2024
• The selected candidate will be notified of their award by May 2024

Applicants will be evaluated on:

• Candidate expertise and CV (weighting: 25%)
• Contributions and research impacts (weighting: 25%)
• Career development plan (weighting: 10%)
• T1D challenges (weighting: 20%)
• Letter(s) of support (weighting: 20%)

Terms of Award & Stipend

• The Fellowship term is 12 months. Follow-on funding for a minimum of 2 years after the Fellowship will be provided by the Fellow’s supervisor at the Centre.
• The award is $60,000 per year, of which $57,500 is stipend and $2,500 is research allowance.
  • The research allowance of $2,500 CAD is aimed at providing the Fellow with funds to enrich their training experience (travel to scientific meetings, journal subscriptions, books, training courses). The research allowance cannot be used to purchase research supplies or equipment, including laptops.
  • Travel stipend can only support travel at economy level, accommodations, and meals. Purchase of alcohol or cannabis is not an allowable expense.
  • SCN will also provide the Fellow with a registration fee and travel support to attend SCN’s annual scientific meeting, the Till & McCulloch Meetings (TMM), during the year the award is held. This is an additional, non-transferrable, value of up to $1500.00. SCN will coordinate this support directly with the Fellow.
• The Fellow will be eligible to participate in the TMM abstract and poster competitions. The Fellow will also be eligible to apply for other training opportunities offered by SCN or Breakthrough T1D during the duration of the Fellowship, including technical skills, industry prep, clinical translation and EDI training.
• Fellows must devote at least 75% of their effort to the project assigned by the Centre upon receipt of the award.
• Fellows must undertake two rotations of at least 2 weeks in Centre laboratories other than that of their appointed supervisor; if the project undertaken by the Fellow does not directly involve stem cell work, at least one of these rotations must be done in a lab working on stem cells.
• Recipients of the award cannot hold another postdoctoral fellowship at the same time.
• There are no indirect costs allowed for fellowships and Breakthrough T1D will make no deductions for income tax, etc.
• Please contact Breakthrough T1D with specific enquiries about allowable costs.
• It is expected that during the Fellowship period the PDF will engage in knowledge mobilization activities, including with patient communities, and be available to support either Breakthrough T1D , SCN or the Centre in communication and outreach initiatives.
• A final report using a standard template must be submitted to Breakthrough T1D no later than 75 days after the end date of the Fellowship.

For more information about this funding opportunity, please contact: research@BreakthroughT1D.ca; jdraper@stemcellnetwork.ca

For technical assistance with the ProposalCentral portal, contact Customer Support at 800 875 2562 (Toll-free U.S. and Canada), +1 703 964 5840 (Direct Dial International) or by e-mail at pcsupport@altum.com.