Backgrounder
As the pandemic has shown, Canada relies on its scientists to help us respond to and recover from health emergencies and uncover the scientific evidence we need to tackle other health challenges. That is why it is critical that we invest in the next generation of Canada’s health researchers.
As the pandemic has shown, Canada relies on its scientists to help us respond to and recover from health emergencies and uncover the scientific evidence we need to tackle other health challenges. That is why it is critical that we invest in the next generation of Canada’s health researchers.
To support the health research leaders of tomorrow, the Government of Canada and its partners are investing $31.1M over six years to support 13 new Health Research Training Platforms (HRTP), a pilot program that will embed early career researchers and trainees in collaborative health research teams with the goal of increasing their career prospects and building Canadian health research capacity. The funding as well as in-kind support is being provided by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the B.C. Women’s Health Foundation, Egale Canada, Mitacs, and the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Through HRTP, participants will conduct research while receiving extensive mentorship and training that goes beyond what standard research training programs usually offer, covering academic, science policy, and professional development skills, such as grant writing, project management, science communication, interdisciplinary research, open science, and knowledge mobilization, among other areas. Participants will also be trained in the science of conducting diverse and inclusive research, such as respecting Indigenous Ways of Knowing, incorporating sex- and gender-based considerations in research and recognizing unconscious bias.
This investment helps fill a gap in the career development opportunities available to trainees and early career researchers. Participants will develop skills that will increase their employability and set them up for success in careers that span academia and beyond. As a pilot program, CIHR plans to take the lessons learned into consideration for future enhancements to its capacity development activities.
Funded Health Research Training Platforms
Nominated Principal Investigator
Platform Name
Total Funding
Nicole Letourneau
University of Calgary
Alliance against Violence and Adversity (AVA): Health and Social Services Research Training Platform for System and Population Transformations in Girls’ and Women’s Health
$2,399,478
Amy Metcalfe
University of Calgary
GROWW (Guiding interdisciplinary Research On cis- and trans-gender Women’s and girls health and Wellbeing)
$2,400,000
Rebecca Pillai Riddell
York University
DIVERT Mental Health: The Digital, Inclusive, Virtual, and Equitable Research Training in Mental Health Platform
$2,387,582
Susan Samuel
University of Calgary
Empowering Next-generation Researchers in perinatal and Child Health (ENRICH)
$2,400,000
Dominique Piquette
Sunnybrook Research Institute
The Life-Threatening Illness National Group (LifTING) Research Training Platform: Spanning Boundaries Between Research and Care
$2,399,711
Robert Alexander University of Alberta
Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and Training Program 2.0
$2,399,987
Nicola Jones
Hospital for Sick Children
Training Researchers In the Next generation in Gastroenterology and Liver (TRIANGLE)
$2,399,999
Andre Tchernof Universite Laval
Training platform in diabetes, obesity and cardiometabolic health
$2,400,000
Alex Mihailidis University of Toronto
Early Professionals, Inspired Careers in AgeTech (EPIC-AT) Health Research Training Program
$2,399,754
Laura Rosella University of Toronto
Artificial Intelligence for Public Health (AI4PH) Training Platform
$2,394,218
Daniel Grace University of Toronto
2SLGBTQ+ Health Hub
$2,387,018
Anick Berard
CHU Sainte-Justine
The CAnadian Mother-ChIld COLlaborative Training Platform – The CAMCCO-L Training Platform
$2,400,000
Eric Smith
University of Calgary
Health Research Training to Address Vascular Contributions to Cognitive Decline: the Vascular Training (VAST) Platform
$2,380,292