2025 Cancer Research Institute (CRI) Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship

Eligibility

• Applicants for the CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship Program must be working in areas directly related to immunology or cancer immunology. An eligible project must fall into the broad field of immunology with relevance to solving the cancer problem.
• Applicants must have a doctoral degree by the date of award activation and must conduct their proposed research under a sponsor who holds a formal appointment as an assistant professor or higher rank at the host institution.
• Applicants with 5 or more years of relevant postdoctoral experience at the time of award activation are not eligible, with the exception of M.D. applicants, who should not include years of residency in this calculation.
• Only in exceptional circumstances will applicants who have already spent 3 or more years in a sponsor’s laboratory by the start date of fellowship be considered for a fellowship award.
• The fellowship can be performed in the United States or abroad but must take place at a non-profit institution. There are no citizenship restrictions.
• Only one fellow per sponsor may apply per application round, and faculty sponsors may not have more than three CRI-supported fellows at any time.
• Resubmissions: Applicants are permitted to resubmit their fellowship application at a subsequent deadline provided that the new application is improved to reflect progress. Changes to the application should be addressed within the subsequent application.

CRI invites applications from candidates who identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, or American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or other Pacific Islander. CRI also recognizes that underrepresentation can vary from setting to setting; individuals from socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and from other racial or ethnic groups that can be demonstrated convincingly to be underrepresented by the grantee institution are encouraged to apply. Both U.S. and non-U.S. citizens are eligible.

Summary

The CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship Program supports qualified young scientists at leading universities and research centers around the world who wish to receive training in fundamental immunology or cancer immunology.

A panel of scientists drawn from our Scientific Advisory Council rigorously evaluates each candidate, the intended sponsor and training environment, and the nature and feasibility of the proposed project.

CRI seeks hypothesis-driven, mechanistic studies in both immunology and tumor immunology. The applicant and sponsor should make every effort to demonstrate the potential of the proposed studies to directly impact our understanding of the immune system’s role in cancer.

Financial Information
Fellowships are for three years. Awarded fellowships provide a stipend of $74,000 for the first year, $76,000 for the second year, and $78,000 for the third year. An allowance of $5,000 per year is allotted to the host institution for use at the sponsor’s discretion to help pay for the fellow’s research supplies, travel to scientific meetings, health insurance, and/or childcare. CRI provides additional support for fellows to attend CRI’s annual International Cancer Immunotherapy Conference (CICON), and to participate in CRI’s soon-to-be-launched Bioinformatics Bootcamp. Payments are made monthly in U.S. currency to the host institution.

Deadlines
The application deadlines are March 3 and September 1. Applications are due by 9:59 MT on these dates. Applicants are notified of fellowship committee decisions within approximately 10-12 weeks of the application deadline.

Fellowships can be activated four months after the application deadline but no later than one year following the deadline. Awards activate on the first of the month.

Overhead

Deductions for administrative overhead are not allowed from either the stipend or the institutional allowance.

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

Application deadlines

RSO Detailed Review Deadline (Spring Intake)

RSO Final Internal Review Deadline (Spring Intake)

Program Application Deadline (Spring Intake)

RSO Detailed Review Deadline (Fall Intake)

RSO Final Internal Review Deadline (Fall Intake)

Program Application Deadline (Fall Intake)

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Postdocs, students, and trainees: For fellowships and externally-sponsored research training awards or opportunities, you must complete the Research Funding Application Approval (RFAA) Trainee PDF form, and submit it, along with a complete copy of the application, to Research Services at fellowships@ucalgary.ca. Trainees should not use RMS at this time.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Instructions for Applying

The application process requires you to access CRI’s Application Portal for institutional signatures and certification.  

CRI Application Portal

Applications Resources

• Terms and Conditions
• Invention Disclosure Form
• Annual Invention Update Form
• Standard Revenue Sharing Agreement
• Frequently Asked Questions