Brain Canada Future Leaders 2024-25


Descriptions

Opportunity type:

Grant

Sponsor:

Brain Canada Foundation

Award amount and duration:

$100,000 over two years

Currency:

CAD

Eligibility

Type:
Faculty

This competition is open to early-career researchers, defined as being within five years of starting their first independent research position by the deadline to submit Full Applications. Leaves of absence (e.g., maternity and parental leave, sick leave) will be excluded when calculating the five-year window. 

New: Brain Canada is implementing an extended eligibility window, in line with federal granting agencies, to account for the ongoing delays to research caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• Applicants must be conducting research at an eligible Canadian institution for the entire duration of the grant, and must be considered an independent researcher at their institution. Such an individual normally holds the rank of assistant or associate professor; can initiate and direct their own independent lines of research as principal investigator; has full responsibility for running their laboratories; has full control of their research funds; and is permitted to supervise trainees (if applicable, as per their institution’s policy). Postdoctoral fellows or adjunct faculty are not eligible to apply. 
• Academic appointments must have started by the Full Application submission deadline. • Applicants must be able to devote a minimum of 50% of their time to research activities. 
• Research applications may be related but cannot overlap with any other currently funded projects. It is the responsibility of the applicant to notify Brain Canada immediately should overlap arise from new funding awarded during the application and review process of this competition. Overlap is defined as having the same objectives and/or experimental aims as any other funded work. 

Other Eligibility Requirements
• Applicants must submit a Letter of Intent in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application. 
• Applicants who are currently holding, or previously received, an Azrieli Foundation Early-Career Capacity Building Grant or a Future Leadersin Canadian Brain Research Grant are not eligible to apply. 
• Applicants may only submit one application per competition cycle. 
• Applicants must be able to initiate the project in September 2025 when funding is expected to begin

For questions related to eligibility, including accounting for leaves of absence, please contact futureleaders@braincanada.ca. 

Summary

Supported by the Canada Brain Research Fund, the purpose of the Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program is to accelerate novel and transformative research that will fundamentally change our understanding of nervous system function and dysfunction and their impact on health. The ultimate goal is to reduce the social and economic burden of neurological and mental health illnesses through prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment. Newly trained researchers in their first independent academic position are in a strong position to formulate innovative and impactful research projects. However, at the early stages of an investigator’s career, they often lack the preliminary data and resources that are required to obtain their first large operating grant. As such, promising early-career researchers are often at a disadvantage when applying to “open” funding programs, where more established researchers tend to dominate. 

The Future Leaders in Canadian Brain Research program has the potential to be transformative at a time when it is well recognized that there is a significant funding gap to support and retain our brightest early career researchers, who are well positioned to make major contributions to Canadian brain research. By providing early-career researchers with funding at a critical point in their careers, we can build Canada's pipeline of future leaders and a foundation of research excellence and innovation. 

Scope 

This Program encourages innovative, unorthodox, and exploratory research that may be in the early and conceptual stages of project development but has potential for significant impact on our understanding of the brain. The data generated will enable early-career researchers to apply for larger grants that will lead to long-term projects and create innovative and sustainable research programs. Projects should be distinct from other research projects conducted by the investigator. The research topic will focus on hypothesis-driven inquiries on the brain and nervous system, and may span the range of basic, translational, and clinical approaches, including: 
• Basic research into fundamental properties and mechanisms, including functional studies based on the use of “-omics” data. 
• Projects related to disease or dysfunction of the nervous system leading to new insights into fundamental biological mechanisms. 
• Projects that experimentally test novel hypotheses addressing therapeutic or interventional approaches for brain disorders. 
• Projects aimed at developing novel methods, if these methods allow new neuroscience questions to be answered. 
• Projects, such as those using epidemiological, “-omics”, or other approaches, that will generate large datasets, if hypotheses are clearly stated. 

Note: The following projects will not be considered for funding: 
• Systematic screening approaches aimed at identifying biological components or reagents. 
• Requests for operating grants.

Overhead

Indirect costs or overhead costs are ineligible. 


Deadlines

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Type:
LOI
Date:
November 30, 2024 - 12:00 PM

Pre-application program deadline

Date:
December 2, 2024 - 3:00 PM

Application deadlines

RSO detailed review deadline

Date:
February 28, 2025 - 12:00 PM

RSO final internal review deadline

Date:
March 11, 2025 - 12:00 PM

Program application deadline

Date:
March 14, 2025 - 3:00 PM

Approvals

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 rsotrainee@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.


Additional Information

Full Applications (By invitation only)

Please see full RFP for complete application instructions: https://braincanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-Future-Leaders-in-Canadian-Brain-Research-Request-for-Applications.pdf 

Additional Resources

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research:

Support with the development of your grant application is available internally through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

Support for Knowledge Engagement:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation is available internally through the Knowledge Engagement Team. Applicants can reach out by email to the KE team at knowledge.engagement@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information, please visit the KE team webpage.

Support for Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@libanswers.ucalgary.com and/or visit https://libguides.ucalgary.ca/researchdatamanagement.

Support for EDI in Research:

RSO can provide resources and support to research teams on the integration of equitable and inclusive practices in research design and research practice. Contact Erin.OToole@ucalgary.ca for more information.

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award LOI

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application


Contact Details


Keywords

Future Leaders
Nervous System Research
Early-Career Investigators
Neurological and Mental Illnesses