The Health Research BC Scholar Program supports early-career health researchers who are building leading-edge health research programs, training the next generation of scientists and expanding their potential to make significant contributions to their field. Quick links and submission instructions are below.
All applications to the Scholar Program must be electronically submitted via ApplyNet. Please follow Health Research BC’s application procedures described in the “Guidelines” section of the funding opportunity.
Please find deadlines HERE
While ORS makes every effort to submit all applications on time, applications submitted after the UBC internal deadline will not receive a guarantee of administrative review from ORS, which includes confirmation for application completeness and compliance. As ORS must forward each application to MSHR-BC after the applicant’s final submission, we cannot guarantee that applications submitted after noon on the sponsor deadline day will be forwarded.
The application must be prepare using ApplyNet. Adhere to the acceptable application formats and attachments guidelines and Health Research BC’s version of the Canadian Common CV (Health Research BC Full Version). For more details on how to apply, so Health Research BC’s How to Apply webpage and ApplyNet Quick Start Guides.
In the “Host Institution” field, it is critical that you list the University of British Columbia as your host institution to ensure your application is routed to UBC ORS for approval. Failure to do so will result in your application not being routed to ORS for approval. This should be completed at the Letter of Intent and Full Application Stages. You will also be asked to list your department affiliation and position type (e.g., Assistant Professor).
Your application must be prepared using ApplyNet. Please Identify your Third Parties as soon as possible. Note that you cannot submit your full application until all of your Third Parties have completed their tasks. It is your responsibility to follow up with your Third Parties to ensure the timely completion of their tasks. The final approval of your MSFHR application will be made electronically by ORS.
NEW FOR 2024: Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in applications with the latest advancements and rapid uptake in generative AI (such as ChatGPT) to create content, Health Research BC discourages using generative AI tools in application development. Applications submitted to Health Research BC are expected to be the original concepts and ideas generated by the applicant. Applicants should be aware that the content created using generative AI tools may contain the intellectual property of others, false information, or biases. Applicants must ensure that their applications comply with the Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research, especially pertaining to research integrity. Using AI tools could also result in your original content and ideas being harvested and used without your consent or without crediting you.
Update for 2024: Health Research BC cannot accept letters of collaboration or support from departments within Health Research BC (including Clinical Trials BC, Knowledge Translation, Research Ethics BC, and BC SUPPORT Unit). Applicants who plan to collaborate with or receive in-kind support from Health Research BC departments should provide the contact details of the Health Research BC staff member in the “Collaboration or Support by Health Research BC Department” section (below). After the collaboration is successfully validated, the application will be modified so that peer reviewers will be able to see the name of the collaborating Health Research BC department, and the following statement will be added: “Health Research BC staff have internally validated this collaboration. This statement is intended to replace the Letter of Collaboration to verify plans for a collaboration between the applicant and Health Research BC Department. This statement is not an organizational endorsement of the proposed work.”
New for 2025: Guided by advice from Indigenous partners, award holders, peer reviewers and advisors, we are introducing a distinct peer review panel for Indigenous health applications to the 2025 competition. Applicants may choose a review by a panel with expertise in Indigenous health research who will review applications with a central focus on meaningful and culturally safe Indigenous-led research (see guidelines: Section 7, Indigenous Health Research and Section 13, Review Process).
Top-up funding from the BC SUPPORT Unit is available to recipients whose research involves meaningfully engaging Indigenous communities to support those engagement activities (see Section 7, Indigenous Health Research).
Applicants will no longer be able to include a Canadian Common CV in their application and instead will be asked a few new questions about supervision of trainees, career history, and experience leading or participating in funded research projects (see guidelines: Section 9, Assessment of Research Outputs)
An adjustment of the eligibility calculation to align with the Tri-Agency policy on leave credits for early career researchers, so that parental, medical, caretaking and bereavement leaves are credited at twice the amount of time taken (see guidelines Section 4, Eligibility Requirements).
Reminder: As Health Research BC is now a signatory of the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) we no longer allow the use of journal-based metrics, such as Journal Impact Factor, as surrogate measures of research quality. In keeping with best practices for responsible research assessment, we will no longer allow the use of article citation counts or H-index. Please do not include Journal Impact Factors, article citation counts or H-index in your application.
Use the Research Project Information Form (RPIF) to obtain the required internal signatures, as per UBC’s Signature Policy:
*NOTE: Currently, Southern Medical Program submissions are served by our colleagues in Vancouver. Southern Medical Program applicants should refer to the FoM Scholar program submission instructions for deadlines and procedures or contact the Office of Research Services at ors@ors.ubc.ca for more information.
Applicants must submit a complete and original digital copy of their application (see list of required pages below) and RPIF to the Office of Research Services for institutional approval. Digital copies can be sent to ORS administration via: ResearchOffice.UBCO@ubc.ca by the internal deadline. Applicants are encouraged to check ORS Funding Opportunities for current deadlines.
As the ORS processes a large number of applications during Health Research BC competition periods, the internal deadline is intended to ensure that all applications receive administrative review prior to institutional support / signature (by ORS). Please ensure you have collected ALL required signatures prior to submitting to ORS (the full UBCO signature policy can be found here), and that the documents submitted to ORS are identical to your ApplyNet submission. The following items should be included:
Upon receiving notice by the ORS to do so, submit your full application online using the ApplyNet and Health Research BC Full Version CCV by the portal e-submission deadline. To do this, please click PDF view to verify that all entries are complete and uploads are attached. Then click ‘Submit to Host Institution’. When you click “Submit to Host Institution”, the system will perform a validation check to identify if there are mandatory fields that have not been completed. A list of the incomplete fields will be displayed as active hyperlink on top of the application form. Complete the list, if applicable, and click “Submit to Host Institution” when done. Please notify ORS (ResearchOffice.UBCO@ubc.ca ) when you have done so.
Note that ORS cannot view or approve your application until you have submitted it online. MSHR-BC will not follow up with PIs who submit an incomplete application; the application is simply withdrawn from the competition.
If all requirements are met, ORS will approve your application in ApplyNet by the agency deadline. ORS has read-only access to your application and cannot make changes. If the application is not approved, ORS will return it to you for changes. ORS is no longer required to physically sign applications submitted on ApplyNet. Note that at this stage, ORS is unable to examine the application carefully for any problems.
Once ORS has approved your application, it can be submitted to the funding organization on your behalf. When ORS has submitted the application, the status will change to “Submitted to the Funding Organization.” The applicant will receive an email notifying them that the application was approved by the research institution and received by Health Research BC.
Submitting an application is final; this action cannot be undone. Additionally, no changes can be made to your application once it has been submitted to Health Research BC.
For more information, see MSHR-BC’s How to Apply and Quick Start Guides and the “Application Resources” on the Scholar Program webpage.
If you are experiencing technical difficulties with your ApplyNet account, or if you have any questions regarding the application process, please contact the Health Research BC Help Desk by telephone at 604.714.6609 or toll-free at 1.866.673.4722 or by email at helpdesk@healthresearchbc.ca. Help Desk hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PST, Monday to Friday (excluding holidays).
Note: The Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation has the discretion to reject grant applications that have not been submitted through the proper channels if the applicant has a history of non-compliance or the application has included unauthorized commitments.