Postdoctoral Training

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Eligible applicants

• Applicants with a doctoral degree (Ph.D.)

  Applicants must have obtained their doctorate no more than two years before October 15, 2011 (except for applications for renewal).

• Canadian citizens or permanent residents (as defined in the Common Rules and Regulations, art. 1.1) domiciled in Québec on the date the award becomes effective, or by June 30, 2012

Not eligible: Those who hold an academic position, unless they take unpaid leave for the duration of the training award. An official letter confirming their employment status for the period and stating that they will resume their position once the training is completed should be provided by the employer.

Terms and conditions

• Must pursue full-time postdoctoral training in health sciences research
• Must be supervised by an independent investigator (as defined in the Common Rules and Regulations, art. 1.2)
• Choose a different host university from the university at which the applicant earned his or her Ph.D. (preferably outside Québec)
• the supervisor and co-supervisor must be from a university other than the one from which the doctorate was earned.
• Applicants unable to submit their doctoral thesis at the time of applying must provide, no later than September 30, 2012, an attestation that the thesis has been submitted.

Basic training in research ethics

Basic training in research ethics is compulsory for all FRSQ awardees when their research project involves human subjects.

The term "research project involving human subjects" applies when the research project involves:

• living human subjects
• cadavers, human remains, tissues, biological fluids, gametes, embryos or fetuses, cells or genetic materials
• personal information on file. Personal information is defined as information that enables a person to be identified.

This basic training consists of successful completion of Levels 1 and 3 of the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux On-line Tutorial in Research Ethics.

Awardees must complete this basic training within a year of receipt of a positive response concerning the FRSQ award.

FRSQ encourages awardees to obtain, when possible, one-credit research ethics training in addition to the compulsory basic training in research ethics.

TRAINING LOCATION

Choice of training location

Must be an internationally-recognized research environment

Change of training location

Awardees wishing to change their training location must send the FRSQ a written request detailing the reasons for the change and describing the new research project.

The new research supervisor must

• provide the FRSQ agreement via email to supervise the awardee
• send the FRSQ a copy via email of his/her Common Canadian CV in PDF format

DURATION OF AWARD

Effective starting date

Between April 1 and September 30, 2012

Duration

2 years and possibly 3 years, conditional upon the acceptance of a renewal application.

Parental leave

Awardees are entitled to a maximum of 6 months of paid parental leave (maternity, paternity or adoption), in which case the duration of the award will be extended by a maximum of 6 months. If both parents are awardees, only one of them is entitled to paid parental leave.

An applicant who wishes to take parental leave must have held the award for at least 4 months, unless he or she is already receiving an award from the FRSQ.

Awardees must give the FRSQ written notice of their intention to take parental leave, accompanied by a statement from their research director confirming that their training is being suspended for parental leave.

The paternity leave cannot begin before the first week of the child's birth. The awardee must attach a copy of the birth certificate to his application.

Sick leave

The awardee may defer the award in case of serious illness (his or her own or the illness of a close family member) upon presentation of a medical certificate that includes the precise length of leave prescribed by the physician. Payments will be suspended during that period.

AMOUNT OF AWARD

Amount

• Applicants with a Ph.D.: $30,000/year
• Applicants with a professional degree: $30,000 - $39,323/year, depending on the year the degree was earned

Awards granted for internships out of Québec will be adjusted upwards of an amount of $15,000.

Administration

The awards are paid in instalments at the applicant's training location.

Income Tax

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

Revenue Canada's T4A form and Revenue Québec's form 1 are sent to the awardee's mailing address (the one shown in the candidate's module /module du candidat) in February of the following year of taxation.

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

Parental leave

See Duration of award

OTHER SOURCES OF INCOME

Authorized paid work

Maximum of 250 hours per 6-month period

Requires the research supervisor's permission and the work must not interfere with the awardee's research activities.

Institution or supervisor

The awardee may accept additional funding from the institution or his/her research supervisor.

Concurrent funding

See Common Rules and Regulations, art. 6.13

Travel expenses

The travel expenses (one return economy airline ticket) of researchers carrying out their projects in institutions located outside Québec may be reimbursed upon the presentation of supporting documents.

REVIEW

Process

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

Criteria

First application

Academic record

• Awards
• Honours
• Distinctions

Aptitudes and experience

• Lectures and presentations
• Publications
• Internship abroad

Research project

• Clear, concise background for research problem
• Clarity and agreement between hypotheses and objectives
• Relevant methods and analysis
• Feasibility
• Originality of project and contribution to the advancement of knowledge

Training environment

• Justification of the choice of the candidate
• Quality of supervisor's publication record related to student training record

The weighting of the evaluation criteria and sub-criteria is detailed in the evaluation grid (see the toolbox).

Criteria

Renewal application

Research project's state of advancement since the start of postdoctoral training

• Advancement with respect to methodology and discipline
• Justification for renewal and potential for successful outcome
• Research supervisor's evaluation

Achievements since the start of postdoctoral training

• Lectures and presentations
• Publications

AWARDEE'S AGREEMENT

 

In accepting this award, the awardee agrees to observe the Common Rules and Regulations, the Policy regarding open access to published research outputs as well as the terms and conditions stipulated in this program description.

The award will be revoked if the awardee fails to observe these rules.

The awardee must notify the FRSQ of his/her acceptance of the award within 30 days of receiving the offer.

Failure to give notice of acceptance will be regarded as refusal of the award.

The awardee agrees to provide official proof of enrolment from the Registrar's Office at the start of each academic year.

SUPERVISOR'S AGREEMENT

 

The research supervisor agrees to oversee the awardee's work and to provide the material and financial resources required for the research project.

IMPORTANT MODIFICATIONS SINCE LAST COMPETITION

 

• Required documents
• Evaluation grid now available in the toolbox
• Partnership awards

SPECIFIC THEMES FUNDED BY PARTNERS

 

FRSQ offers a certain number of awards in collaboration with its partners. The portion of financing from the FRSQ and the partner respectively, as well as other funding features such as the duration of the award and renewal options, if any, may vary according to the agreement entered into with each partner.

There is a four-step process for selecting applicants eligible for partnership funding:

1. Applicants select a partner or partners from a list. The applicants must be involved in research in the fields targeted by the potential partner(s). See the Partenaires page of the form. To be considered for a partnership award, applicants must select a partner on the form.
2. The FRSQ transmits an anonymous list of applicants to the partner(s) for evaluation of how the proposed research fits in with the field(s) of research and the research priorities of the partner(s)
3. The FRSQ receives a list of the applicants approved by the partner(s)
4. Further to review by a peer committee or expert committee, the applicants who obtained the rank of excellence for scientific merit may be selected by the FRSQ for an offer of partnership funding

As with all FRSQ awards, partnership awards are granted by merit and applications are subject to scientific review by an expert committee or a peer committee and to the FRSQ's standards of excellence.

Ageing
(biology and social impact of ageing)

• Quebec Network for Research on Aging (RQRV)

Prestigious postdoctoral awards for research in aging for applicants who will be carrying out their work at the National Institute on Aging (NIA)/National Institutes of Health, an affiliated centre or an NIA-funded extramural laboratory. This award includes a research support supplement.

Alzheimer's disease
(Ph.D. only)

Alzheimer Society of Canada

Applicant must also submit an application to the Alzheimer Society of Canada.

Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health

Fondation des maladies du cœur du Québec

For applicants working with a researcher whose work is currently funded by the FMCQ.

Child health
(Ph.D. only)

Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP)

Applicant must submit also an application to the CCHCSP.

Chiropractic

• Fondation de recherche chiropratique du Québec
• Ordre des chiropraticiens du Québec

(Only applicants who hold a doctor of chiropractic are eligible.)

Chiropractic

Fondation de recherche chiropratique du Québec – Bourse Normand Danis

Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis

Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of Canada (CCFC)

Emergency

Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS)

Genomics and Proteomics

Genome Québec - Bourse Louis Berlinguet

Hypertension

Société québécoise d'hypertension artérielle (SQHA) = Bourse Jacques de Champlain

(Includes a research support supplement)

Infectious diseases and AIDS

Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux – Service de lutte contre les infections transmissibles sexuellement et par le sang (SLITSS)

Kidney health
(Ph.D. only)

The Kidney Foundation of Canada - KRESCENT Research Program
(Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training)

The applicant must also submit an application to the KRESCENT Program.

Canadian Society of Nephrology

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada

Applicant must also submit an application to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada.

Optimal drug use

Conseil du médicament

Parkinson's disease

Parkinson Society Canada

Applicant must also submit an application to the Parkinson Society of Canada.

Perinatology

Integrated Research Network in Perinatology of Quebec and Eastern Ontario (IRNPQEO)

(Only applicants who are members of the Integrated Research Network in Perinatology of Québec and Eastern Ontario (IRNPQEO) are eligible.)

Public health

Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+)

Prestigious postdoctoral awards in public health for students from Québec (i.e. students who earned a doctorate in a Québec university) pursuing their work in Switzerland. The award includes a research support supplement.

Suicide

Réseau québécois de recherche sur le suicide (RQRS)

Trauma

Traumatology Research Consortium

• Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux (MSSS)
• Société de l'assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ)
• Institut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en sécurité du travail (IRSST)
• Provincial Rehabilitation Research Network (REPAR)
• Association québécoise d'établissements de santé et des services sociaux (AQESSS)
• Quebec Association of Rehabilitation Establishments for the Physically Impaired (AERDPQ)

Updated: 04-07-2011