Postdoctoral Training – Career Transition Award - National Institutes of Health (NIH) - FRQS (Phase 1) / 2019-2020

• Applicants with a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) Applicants must have obtained their doctorate no more than two years before October 15, 2018 (except for renewal applications).

This period could be extended by a maximum of one year if the candidate has been on a parental leave after the doctorate.

• Canadian citizens or permanent residents domiciled in Québec, within the meaning of the Quebec Health Insurance Act (RLRQ, c.A-29).This status must remain in effect for the duration of the award.

Not eligible : incumbents of a university position.

• Must pursue full-time postdoctoral training in human health sciences research

• Must be supervised by a researcher  whose laboratory or clinic is located on an NIH research campus (the location must be identified prior to submitting the application form);

The candidate’s supervisor must meet the criteria of university researcher or clinical university researcher in terms of university affiliation and autonomy (see the Definitions section of the Common General Rules).

• Applicants that did not submit their doctoral thesis at the time of applying must provide, no later than September 30, 2019, an attestation that the thesis has been submitted.

• Current and former holders of a postdoctoral fellowship from a Quebec granting agency (for example, FRQNT, FRQS, FRQSC) are not eligible for this competition (except for a renewal application).
• Applicants are not eligible for a renewal if they have already received 3 or more years of postdoctoral fellowships since the initial offer of the FRQS postdoctoral fellowship, regardless of the granting agency.

Basic research ethics training is mandatory for all FRQS awardees conducting research projects that involve human beings.

Research on human beings involves :

• Participation of human beings
• Use of human biological materials (parts, products, tissue, cells, genetic materials, derived from a living or dead individual)
• Assisted procreation activities or the use of human embryos derived therefrom, within the meaning of the Act respecting clinical and research activities relating to assisted procreation (CQLR c. A-5.01)
• The use of administrative, scientific or descriptive data from human participants

Awardees must therefore successfully complete levels 1 and 3 of the Online Tutorial in Research Ethics developed by the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux.

This training must be completed within one year of the date of confirmation by the FRQS that the award was granted.

The FRQS encourages awardees to follow a one-credit research ethics training course in addition to the mandatory basic research ethics training, whenever possible.

By October 15, 2018, 4:30 pm (EDT)

Documents sent via mail or e-mail will not be accepted

Letters of recommendation will not be accepted

Transmission via the FRQS electronic Portfolio only

Any missing document or document that is not in conformity with the program rules and forms may result in the ineligibility of the funding application.

No extension will be permitted. After the application deadline, forms that are not already submitted will be automatically rejected.

IMPORTANT : Once the application is submitted, it will no longer be possible to modify it.

• Canadian Common CV, Funding CV version, for the FRQS (updated since June 2016);

• Detailed contributions updated since June 2016 (attachment required through the FRQS Electronic Portfolio on the Canadian Common CV page), consult the document entitled Guidelines for the CV attachment in the Toolbox

• Electronic application form : Formation postdoctorale (citoyens canadiens et résidents permanents)
  PDF version – for information

• A copy  of doctoral degree. If not available, a copy of official doctoral transcripts (except renewal applications)

• Copies of all award, honours and distinction notices, including FRQS awards

• Acknowledgements from publishers for articles that are submitted or accepted for publication

• Copy of a valid Quebec health insurance card OR evidence of eligibility to the RAMQ (official RAMQ document before the issuance of the card) (except renewal applications)

Candidates will be notified of the reception of their application and of their eligibility via email by the month of November at the latest.

• Canadian Common CV, Funding CV version, for the FRQS (updated since June 2016);

• Detailed contributions updated since June 2016 (attachment required through the FRQS Electronic Portfolio on the Canadian Common CV page), consult the document entitled Guidelines for the CV attachment in the Toolbox

• Supervisor’s electronic form (and if applicable, co-supervisor’s)
  PDF version – for information

The awardee must submit PDF file by email:

• A written confirmation of the beginning or the continuation of the project from the research supervisor by email

To start the second year of the award, the awardee will have to provide:

• Ethics training certificates (levels 1 and 3) , if necessary (by email in a single PDF document)

The NIH will:

• Appoint the award recipient as a Supplemental Visiting Fellow, fulfilling the requirements as described in the NIH policy manual;

• Provide assistance in obtaining the appropriate work-authorized immigration status required by the research fellow;

• After obtaining the scientific supervisor’s approval, provide each Fellow with laboratory and/or clinical space as well as access to databases, computers and other relevant scientific resources available as provided to similar trainees;

• Ensure that the award recipient and his/her mentor are aware of NIH guidelines regarding oversight and progress review of each Fellow in the program.

Between May 2019 and January 2020, first day of the month

2 years and possibly 3 years, conditional upon the evaluation of a renewal application (renewal may be requested only once)

Applicants are not eligible for a renewal if they have already received 3 or more years of postdoctoral fellowships since the initial offer of the FRQS postdoctoral fellowship, regardless of the granting agency.

The awardee may benefit from an award payment deferral during parental leave (maternity, paternity or adoption) for a maximum period of 12 months as described in Section 6.13 of the Common General Rules.

Awardees must fill out the Award payment deferral form (Report de versement de bourse), accompagnied by the documents supporting the leave, to inform the FRQS of their intention to receive a supplement to their award for a parental leave.

The FRQS reserves the right to reject any request that is not properly justified.

The FRQS reserves the right to reject any request that is not properly justified.

FRQS’s stipends will be according to the NIH scale for post-doctoral fellows

Up to six awards (phase 1) will be granted.

The award will be paid to the awardee by installments.

The awardee is responsible for paying the income tax due on amounts received from the FRQS. No taxes are withheld at source by the FRQS on amounts disbursed during the taxation year in question.

The date the amount is granted determines the year in which the awardee must declare the amounts received as income for personal tax calculations.

Revenu Canada’s T4A form and Revenu Québec’s form 1 are sent to the awardee’s mailing address (the one shown in the Module My funding (Gérer mon financement) in the FRQS Electronic Portfolio) in February of the following year of taxation.

The details provided in this form are for information purposes only. The FRQS is not responsible for the validity of the information given about income tax.

This program does not benefit from the amount paid out by FRQS to cover indirect costs of research of the institutions.

Holding several scholarships is not allowed. Awardees who obtained an award from another public agency or a foundation recognized by the FRQS must notify the FRQS and decline the FRQS funding as soon as the award is offered.

However, if the amount of the other award is lower than the one given by the FRQS, the awardee is eligible to receive the difference.

The awardee will be reimbursed for any relocation expenses at the start and end of the first phase of the award, up to US $3,000.

In addition, every year, the awardee will be reimbursed for travel expenses (economy class) to Québec upon the presentation of supporting documents (up to two return trips per year).

Standard health insurance coverage provided by the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES)-NIH for the awardee and his/her close family (spouse and children, if applicable) will be paid for by the FRQS.

All applications are reviewed by committees of experts representing various health research disciplines and methodologies.

Quality and scientific value of the research project
– Clarity and conciseness of the research topic
– Clarity and consistency between the hypotheses and objectives
– Relevance of the methods and analyses
– Feasibility
– Originality of the project and contribution to the advancement of knowledge

Quality of the training environment
– Justification of the candidate’s choice
– Quality of supervisor’s publication record related to student training record

Excellence of academic record
– Awards, honours, and distinctions

Skills and experiences
– Publications
– Lectures, presentations and internships

Research project’s state of advancement since the start of postdoctoral training
– Level of completion of the project in view of the methodology and research area
– Justification for renewal and potential for successful outcome
– Research supervisor’s evaluation

Achievements since the start of postdoctoral training
– Lectures and presentations
– Publications

A final report is required at the end of the payment of the award, approximately one month following the last funded term. Award holders are notified by email of the availability of the form to be completed in their FRQS electronic portfolio. It is required to fill out and submit this form with respect to the mentioned deadline. Further funding in other FRQS programs is conditional to the reception of the duly completed report.

By submitting an application, the applicant must :

• Comply with the obligations outlined in the Common General Rules of the three Fonds and in the Policy Regarding Open Access to Published Research Outputs as well as with the conditions and requirements outlined in the electronic form and program rules.

• Comply with the ethics and integrity standards outlined in the FRQS document Standards en éthique de la recherche et d’intégrité scientifique and in the Policy for the Responsible Conduct of Research of the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

• Authorize the FRQS to retain and use the personal and scientific information included in the application documents, in keeping with the terms outlined in the document Énoncé relatif à la protection des renseignements personnels et confidentiels des dossiers des candidats, candidates et titulaires d’un octroi and provided that the people who are granted access to the information respect its confidentiality. 

The supervisor and co-supervisor must:

• Oversee the awardee’s work and provide the awardee with the material and financial means necessary to carry out the research project.

• Comply with the ethics and integrity standards outlined in the FRQS document Standards en éthique de la recherche et d’intégrité scientifique and in the Policy for the Responsible Conduct of Research of the Fonds de recherche du Québec.

• Ensure that the awardee also complies with them.