University Killam Professors

The Faculty of Medicine has launched an internal selection process to nominate candidates for the Career Catalyst Research Grant, offered by the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Self nominations for the internal competition are permitted, but nominations can be submitted to Susan G. Komen by invitation only.

Career Catalyst Research Grant

• Open to full time faculty, having held any faculty appointment for no more than 8 years by application due date of October 13, 2021 (i.e. earliest start date: October 13, 2013)
• Not a current Susan G. Komen grant holder
• Not a current or previous PI on existing NIH R01 grant or equivalent (e.g. CIHR Project) as of date of Award Notification (on/around April 15, 2022)
• Up to $150,000 per year (combined direct and 15% indirect costs), for up to 3 years
• Research that addresses one of the following focus areas:
  • Development of novel treatment strategies for existing metastatic disease
  • Strategies to prevent or arrest metastasis and late recurrence
  • Innovative approaches to detect new or recurrent metastatic breast cancer as early as possible before symptoms may be detectable
  • Investigating the biologic, behavioral, social, and systems contributors to a higher burden of late-stage (metastatic) breast cancer in population groups affected by breast cancer disparities
• Up to two nominees if at least one of the two nominees identifies as someone from a racial or ethnic group that is underrepresented in the US biomedical research workforce as defined by the NIH.
• FoM internal selection deadline: July 30, 2021
• Successful candidate(s) will be provided a link to submit their LOI.
• LOI deadline: August 18, 2021, 10am
• LOI decision: August 26, 2021
• If the LOI is accepted, a full application will be required (details TBA).
• Full application deadline: October 13, 2021, 10am

Nomination Package

Interested candidates should submit the following documents by the internal selection deadline to bryan.wong@ubc.ca:

1. Letter of Intent (max 1 page), including:
   • Title (81 character limit)
   • Research question and specific aims
   • Innovation and impact statement
2. Applicant Biosketch (NIH format, max 5 pages)
3. Draft recommendation letter (max 2 pages), with confirmation that this has been vetted by your Department Head, addressing:
   • Why nominee should be selected
   • Institutional resources and mentoring environment that will be available to nominee
   • Description of nominee’s pathway to independence
   • Confirmation of the date and specific title of Applicant/PI’s current faculty appointment, or confirmation of a pending faculty appointment.
   • The total number of years the Applicant/PI has held a non-tenure or tenure track faculty appointment at the current institution and all previous institutions, if applicable. If the Applicant/PI has held a non-tenure or tenure track faculty position at institutions and/or departments other than their current appointment, the current institution should confirm these previous appointments as faculty and their duration in the Letter.
4. Self-declaration if you fit into a minority ethnic group

Further Information

Please see the following PDF documents for further information on eligibility, criteria, and timelines.

• Career Catalyst Research Grant LOI Announcement

If you have any questions, please contact bryan.wong@ubc.ca.

The Faculty of Medicine has been asked by UBC VP Research & International to suggest nominees for the upcoming Schmidt Science Polymaths competition. It is a great opportunity for those who fit the eligibility criteria, and applications are by invitation only.

We would greatly appreciate your assistance if you could identify up to 2 nominees from your unit (Department/School) that could take advantage of this highly competitive opportunity. We also ask that you consider equity, diversity and inclusion in your approach to nominations. The turnaround time is very tight as FoM needs to submit a maximum of 2 nominees to VPRI by August 24th.

Program Overview

The Polymath program will make long-term bets on recently-tenured professors with remarkable track records, promising futures, and a desire to explore interdisciplinary research. Each professor will be awarded $500,000 per year, paid through their institution, for up to five years to help support a research group through talent, such as three to four students or postdocs, and resources. These grants are intended to make possible the exploration of new ideas across disciplines, using emerging technologies to test risky theories that may not otherwise receive funding or support. They are not intended to relieve the researcher of pursuing other grants to continue their mainstream work, nor to be large enough to fully support a modern lab.

Candidate Considerations

We are seeking the names of the most outstanding research scientists who:

• Have achieved tenure in 2019 or later
• Have a remarkable record of accomplishment in area(s) of science and engineering,
• Have a demonstrated history of pursuing and publishing results in a diverse set of fields,
• Need for additional funding to enable experiments and shifts of research directions.

Nomination Package:

1. Department Heads, School Directors, and Centre Directors to put forward nominees. Centre Directors, please ensure the Department/School is in agreement.
2. For each nominee, please submit:
   1. Contact info (name, email address)
   2. Brief outline of their primary field of research (max 1 page)
   3. UBC CV

Please send your nomination package to bryan.wong@ubc.ca. Deadline for receipt is August 19th, 2022.

A central committee will review nominations submitted by Faculties across UBC and select the institution’s three nominations for submission. Should the Schmidt Futures program accept any of UBC’s nominations after an initial review, the identified candidate(s) will be contacted directly to submit an application, due October 17th. Selected candidates will have VPRI support in finalizing their materials, which includes a detailed nomination form.

Please visit the VPRI website (CWL required) for further details.

The Faculty of Medicine has launched an internal selection process to nominate candidates for the Killam Accelerator Research Fellowship, offered by the UBC VP Research & Innovation. Self nominations for the internal competition are permitted, but nominations must be submitted by the FoM Dean.

Program Highlights

• Eligibility:
  • recently tenured faculty (within 3-4 years), no more than 15 years post-PhD
  • PhD must have been received no earlier than November 15, 2009
  • Faculty members who are more than 15 years post-PhD at the time of nomination who have had legitimate career interruptions (e.g. parental leave, extended sick leave, clinical training, family care) remain eligible. If applicable, these details must be outlined in the Contextual Perspective section of the nomination form.
  • not be nominated for a Killam Faculty Research Fellowship in the same year.
  • Faculty members who currently hold a fellowship or salary award that provides funds for full teaching relief (e.g. MSFHR Scholar Award, NSERC E.W.R. Steacie or Arthur B. McDonald Fellowship) may not be nominated for a Killam Accelerator Research Fellowship until the term of their fellowship or award has concluded.
  • has not received a KARF in the past.
• Term: Two academic years, beginning July 1
• 1 time research allowance: $50,000
• $60,000 over 2 years provided to recipient’s academic unit to help offset teaching load
• FoM is limited to 2 nominees
• Nominations must be submitted by the Dean’s Office
• FoM internal selection deadline: October 28, 2024 

Interested candidates should submit the following documents by the internal selection deadline to evelina.tolstykh@ubc.ca:

Nomination Package

1. Statement (required, 2,400 words max):
   • The statement should be written for a multidisciplinary adjudication committee (please avoid jargon) and summarize the nominee’s most significant research contributions and a description of the research to be pursued during the two-year term.
   • Recommended sections include:
     • Most Significant Contributions
     • Research Description:
       • Clearly demonstrate how the research funds and teaching release awarded through the Fellowship will enable impact over-and-above what the nominee may otherwise achieve with funding they currently hold, and emphasize the impact of the nominee’s work on their field of scholarship.
       • Clearly describe the research to be undertaken during the two- year term of the fellowship and demonstrate its novelty, significance and impact.
       • Include clearly defined objectives, methods, outcomes and a timeline.
2. References (optional, 2 pages): up to two pages of references to accompany the Statement
3. Research Impact (required, 1 page):
   • Please describe the impacts of the research in a way that is accessible to a multidisciplinary committee.
   • Impacts are understood broadly, extending beyond traditional academic impacts, to include intended and unintended, and direct and indirect impacts on society, culture, health, community, the environment, economy, governance, training and education, and innovation as well as contributions to advancing equity, diversity and inclusion and decolonization.
   • Please refer to the ORPA page on Research Impact for examples of categories of impacts and examples of relevant indicators. 
4. Contextual Perspective (required, 1 page): To assist multidisciplinary reviewers in understanding the context of a nominee’s career trajectory or field of research, nominees should provide the following relevant contextual information:
   • The specifics of their field of study or research, such as standard type or quantity of publications for a given career stage, choice of journals to publish your research results, type of field work, length of time to complete studies, etc.
   • If their training or career has taken place outside of Canada and the study or research environment was significantly different from that in Canada, provide an explanation of the specifics relevant to their research and career (availability of research infrastructure/equipment, funding, grants, fellowships, academic positions, opportunities to publish research results, etc.).
   • Circumstances leading to interruptions in research, training, or mentoring activities are not unusual and may result in delays or reduced productivity for researchers or HQP. If applicable, detail any career interruptions or relevant circumstances that may have impacted productivity and/or career progress. Include the length of the interruptions and the extent to which they impacted or reduced (in %) productivity. Common causes of interruptions include:
     • Parental leave;
     • Medical leave, for reasons relating to chronic illness, mental illness, or disability associated with reduced research activity;
     • Leave for family-related illness or responsibilities;
     • Bereavement;
     • Leave for extraordinary administrative duties; or
     • Leave relating the COVID-19 pandemic.
   • Please provide any additional relevant information.
5. Letters of Support (required, 3 letters): Three external letters of support from arm’s-length referees. Recommended 1,200 words max per letter.
   • The letters of support are critical to the selection process and should focus on the nominee’s research. They must be from individuals who are able to objectively assess the proposed work. Given that nominees represent varied disciplines with different expectations about kinds and quantities of scholarly output, letters of support which place the nominee’s record in the context of their field are recommended.
   • At least two of the letters must be from individuals from outside UBC.
   • All of the referees should be at arm’s length — this may not include the nominee’s thesis or dissertation supervisor(s), anyone the nominee has supervised, or anyone with whom the nominee has collaborated (as co-author or co-investigator) within the last 6 years.
   • Letters written by referees with a confirmed conflict of interest with the nominee will not be included and the package will be considered incomplete. Incomplete packages will not be reviewed.
   • Letters must be signed and dated.
   • Letters in excess of three will not be considered.
6. CV (required): Official updated UBC CV including complete list of publications (no page limit)
   • For instructions, please visit: https://hr.ubc.ca/managers-admins/managing-and-leading/faculty-relations/faculty-tools-forms-and-checklists
7. Citation of the candidate’s research written for a non-expert audience (required, max 50 words)
8. Description of how the department will relieve the nominee of teaching responsibilities during the 2-year term of the Killam Accelerator Research Fellowship (required, 150 words max)
9. Confirmation of support for nomination from Department Head/School Director (email is sufficient, required)
10. Self-declaration by the candidate if they identify with one or more of the equity-deserving groups (optional):
    • Women
    • Indigenous Peoples
    • Persons with disabilities
    • Members of visible minorities/racialized groups
    • Members of the LGBTQ2S+ community

Further Information

Please be sure to visit the VP Research website for full details regarding the Killam Accelerator Research Fellowship.

If you have any questions regarding the FoM internal selection process, please contact evelina.tolstykh@ubc.ca.