Social, Ethical, and Economic Implications for Regenerative Medicine

The Stem Cell Network is pleased to launch a new initiative, the Stem Cell Network – Doctoral Research Awards in Social, Ethical, and Economic Implications for Regenerative Medicine. The purpose of the Award is to support promising Ph.D. students in Canada who are conducting Social, Ethical and Economic Implications research focused on addressing the complex challenges and opportunities presented by the development and application of regenerative medicine technologies.

Up to two awards will be provided, with an award start date between January 1, 2025, and March 1, 2025. The application must include a description of the research project, a justification of the project’s alignment with the award criteria, and support from the doctoral supervisor. This award is one year in duration.

The application process is closed.

Congratulations to the award winner of the Stem Cell Network Doctoral Research Award in Social, Ethical, and Economic Implications for Regenerative Medicine

2024-2025
Naomi Hope Chouinard, PhD Candidate
PI: Jason Guertin, Ph.D. (Primary Supervisor) and Chanel Beaudoin Cloutier, M.D., Ph.D. (Co-Supervisor)
Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec- Université Laval
Project Title: Clinical and Economic Characterization of Severe Burn Patients in Quebec

While medical advances have significantly improved the survival rates for those suffering major burns in Canada, there remains a need for better treatments to improve the quality of life for survivors. Naomi Hope Chouinard’s research is focused on addressing the necessity of comparing cost and effectiveness of new skin grafting techniques to existing treatments for major burns to enable the approval and widespread implementation of these innovations. Naomi’s yearlong award is valued at $25,000 and will take place at the Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval in Quebec City.

Applicant Eligibility

• At the time of submission, applicants must either (a) be enrolled in a full-time Doctoral program at an eligible Canadian institution at the start date of the award; (b) have applied for full-time admission to a Doctoral program at an eligible Canadian institution with a start date no later than December 1, 2024; or (c) be intending to reclassify from a Master’s to a Doctoral program at an eligible Canadian institution with a start date no later than December 1, 2024.
• Recipients must not be simultaneously serving an internship or residency.
• Individuals must be supported by a Principal Investigator at a Canadian institution that meets the eligibility criteria for Tri-Agency funding.
• Please consult the detailed program guidelines for full eligibility criteria.

Application Process

All interested applicants must access and submit full applications to Stem Cell Network via ProposalCentral by September 17, 2024, at 17:00 ET. The application consists of the following components:

1. Completed application form, including:
   1. Applicant expertise
   2. Research contributions and impacts
   3. Training, mentorship, and career development plan
   4. Research project title
   5. Research proposal and justification
   6. Research project lay summary
2. Applicant Canadian Common CV, in CIHR Academic Format
3. Doctoral Supervisor Canadian Common CV, in CIHR Academic Format
4. Up to three (3) letters of support (minimum two, maximum three) must be submitted that assess the applicant’s research and scholarly abilities and contributions, as well as the applicant’s potential to undertake innovative and impactful research.
   1. Note: At least one letter of support should come from the current/prospective doctoral supervisor. Additional 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. Prospective doctoral supervisors should confirm in their letter of support their intent on hosting the doctoral student and outline the benefits to their research program.

Applicants may apply in English or French. Note: applications received in French will be professionally translated to English. The peer review committee meeting will be conducted in English.

Evaluation Process
All applications must be submitted by September 17, 2024, at 17:00 ET. Applications will be reviewed by SCN’s Training and Education Committee (TEC) in conjunction with external reviewers with expertise in the social, ethical or economic implications in regenerative medicine. The selected candidates will be notified of their award by October 4, 2024.

Applications will be evaluated on:

• The quality of the research proposal (weighting 25%)
• The candidate’s expertise and CV (weighting: 25%)
• The candidate’s contributions and research impacts (weighting: 25%)
• The candidate’s career development plan (weighting: 10%)
• The letters of support: description of the candidate’s abilities and research potential (weighting: 15%)

Terms & Stipend

• Each award is for $25,000 per year, for one year.
• 100% of the award is for stipend support.
• SCN will also provide the Awardees with a registration and travel support to attend SCN’s annual scientific meeting, the Till & McCulloch Meetings (TMM). This is an additional, non-transferrable, value of up to $1500.00. SCN will coordinate this support directly with the Awardees.
• Awardees will be eligible to participate in the TMM abstract and poster competitions. The awardees will also be eligible to apply for other training opportunities offered by SCN during the duration of the award, including technical skills development, foundational skills for industry, clinical translation, and equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) training.

Timeline

Questions
For more information about this funding opportunity, please contact: trainingSCN@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.