Canadian Academy of Health Sciences - Emerging Healthcare Leaders

Eligibility

The members of the Board elect emerging leaders to the Academy following a process of self-nomination and peer review. The CAHS seeks to recognize individuals who have demonstrated or have exceptional potential for showing sustained exceptional accomplishment and impact in health sciences in Canada. Individuals working in government, NGO or private sectors are eligible if they have proven potential or achievements in the public interest that attests to their ability to advance health sciences. At the time of election, Emerging leaders working in a university will not hold the rank of Full Professor and those working in other non-academic sectors will not have senior positions. 

The eligible candidate must be:

• within 8 years of the last degree completed (PhD, MSc., M.D., J.D., DVM, PharmD, etc.)
  • For candidates who have obtained a dual degree MD/PhD (or equivalent, such as DMD/PhD) or consecutive degrees in the following order: 1) PhD, 2) professional degree, and 3) residency program degree (professional specialty), the 8-year period will begin at the end of the specialization training. However, if this training is followed by postdoctoral research, the duration of the postdoc will be counted within the 8 years.
    
    (Please note that leaves of absence are not included in the 8 years. Leaves of absence should be reported to explain any period that is beyond 8 years).
• have achievements or recognitions that demonstrate: 
  • their leadership skills/ abilities in their discipline;
  • their ability to establish collaborations and networking in the local, national or international scientific and/or scholar community;
  • they have contributed positively to improve the health sciences and;
  • their commitment or success in promoting inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) in healthcare, research, education, or outreach activities.

The successful candidates will be recognized for a period of five (5) years, during which they will participate, among other things, in a CAHS mentoring program.

Summary

Emerging Leaders in Health Sciences in Canada will be recognized by the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (CAHS).  The intent is, on an annual basis, to select top emerging candidates to be recognized for a term of five years.  These emerging leaders must have achieved independence in their activities, recognition from their peers, preferably on a national or international level, and they must demonstrate commitment to work with the Academy to advance its mission.

These leaders will receive mentorship from senior Academy members. The CAHS is committed to:

• Excellence in research and scholarly work that improves health and well-being of Canadians;
• Leadership to ensure a sustainable, diverse, equitable and accessible health and health care systems;
• Regional representation of its membership.

Emerging leader candidates will have demonstrated strong proof / evidence of leadership in their discipline and even beyond, ability to establish collaborations and networking in the scientific community, improving the health of Canadian society and/or community and promoting/advancing inclusivity, diversity, equity, and accessibility (IDEA) inhealthcare, research, education, or outreach in Canada. Emerging leaders’ candidates must also make a clear declaration of interest in participating in CAHS activities. 

The Emerging leaders in health sciences Nomination Dossier includes:

1. Data sheet on candidate, citation and key words.
2. three (3) Letters of support: Each letter no longer than two (2) pages. - more information below
3. Personal statements from the candidate, which includes outlining their desired participation in CAHS activities, their desired outcome/focus of mentoring, and a description of their contributions relevant to the CAHS’ mission and activities. (600 words combined). 
4. Curriculum vitae condensed to a maximum of 10 pages.

Submissions should follow the order below and be submitted by email to kbimm@cahs-acss.ca

To access the guidelines for submission, the application form and the rubric, please click here.

PLEASE NOTE: The Academy will not accept any letters or applications prepared with the help of AI/ChatGPT or other tools. If the agency AI has been used, the candidates will be automatically disqualified. 

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

CAHS Emerging Healthcare Leader Information Session

CAHS will hold a bilingual information session to review the guidelines and answer questions on April 7, 2025 at 11 am ET. Please click here to register.

Decision Timeline:

Decisions will be made by the Board of Directors of the Academy of Health Sciences on Monday, June 16, 2025 and the results will be announced in the last week of June, 2025.

Letters of Support:

Three letters of support are required. 

• Letters should be no more than 2 pages. 
• Letters should be submitted on organizational letterhead and include the supporters’ contact details. 
• The letters may come from:
  • an institutional leader from the emerging leader’s organization
  • colleagues from a different institution, local, national or international. 
  • Letters do not have to be written by current CAHS Fellows.

Letters should:

• describe the nature and duration of the professional relationship(s) with the candidate and must address, in specific paragraphs, the candidate’ strengths in terms of the four (4) characteristics: leadership in the discipline, ability to establish collaborations and networking, improvement in the health of Canadian society and/or community and promotion of IDEA in Canada. 
• be based on personal knowledge of the work of the candidates.
• expand on statements made in the CV but not restate them as presented by the candidates.