Rapid Response 2026: Biomarkers program

Eligibility

Principle Applicants must be:
At or above the level of Assistant Professor.
Working in Canada at least 50% of the time.
Affiliated with a Canada Revenue Agency-qualified donee institution or non-qualified donee organization located in Canada.

Eligible projects should: 

• Be translational/applied research that can accelerate the validation to clinical implementation of biological, functional, and digital biomarkers for NDAs, with a preference for, but not limited to, enabling early detection and timely and accurate diagnosis of dementia.
  • Biomarkers must address unmet needs in the staging, prognosis, diagnosis, monitoring of disease progression, and differentiation of NDAs.
  • Projects should enable the development of biomarkers from the validation stage forward.
• Prioritize approaches that are scalable, minimally invasive, and feasible for implementation across diverse settings.
• Have preliminary data to support the rationale, hypothesis, and feasibility of the project. 

Summary

The Weston Family Foundation aims to catalyze and scale science-based approaches to significantly improve the health and well-being of Canadians. The Foundation takes a leadership role in tackling large problems that are under-addressed by supporting research that is particularly relevant to the health of Canadians and that empowers Canadians to improve their health and wellbeing. 

The Foundation, through the Weston Brain Institute, is pleased to announce the re-launch of the Rapid Response program with a focus on biomarkers. The Rapid Response 2026: Biomarkers program provides early-stage seed funding to support high-risk, high-reward translational research aimed at accelerating the validation to clinical implementation of biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases of aging (NDAs). 

The Rapid Response 2026: Biomarkers program supports translational/applied research to accelerate the validation to clinical implementation of:

• Biological (e.g., blood, plasma, cerebrospinal fluid),
• Functional (e.g., EEG signatures, sleep architecture abnormalities, olfactory tests,
  retinal changes), and
• Digital cognitive/behavioural (e.g., passive app-based cognition, gait patterns,
  speech analysis)

biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases of aging (NDAs), with a preference for, but not limited to, enabling early detection and timely and accurate diagnosis of dementia. Basic/discovery research, including but not limited to understanding disease mechanisms, discovering genes implicated in disease, and identifying new biomarkers, is not in scope and will not be funded.

Biomarkers must address unmet needs in the staging, prognosis, diagnosis, monitoring of disease progression, and differentiation of NDAs. Biomarker modalities must address barriers to accessibility and adoption by prioritizing approaches that are scalable, minimally invasive, and feasible for implementation across diverse settings. Examples include blood/plasma, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), or digital markers (e.g., sensory-derived, wearable technology, digital cognitive makers). Brain imaging biomarkers (e.g., MRI, PET) are not in scope but can be included as gold standards to validate another type of biomarker.

Projects should enable the development of the biomarker from the validation stage onward; those covering only the discovery and early development of biomarkers will not be considered.

Preliminary data are required for this program, which should serve to support the rationale, hypothesis, and feasibility of the study. Strong feasibility data from published literature may be used to support the rationale for the study; however, preliminary data generated in the applicant’s own laboratory are required to demonstrate prior experience and expertise in the research area.

Please note a webinar will be held February 17, 2026, at 1pm ET (11AM Mountain time) – Register here  

Full program details available here

Submission Instructions

LOI Stage:

1. Complete LOI application on the Weston Foundation Online application portal. A sample LOI application template is available here.
2. Upload a copy of your final and complete LOI application to the RMS Application record, and submit for academic approvals.  Please ensure that you allow enough time for academic approvals prior to the Research Services (RSO) final internal deadline of NOON, March 12, 2026.
3. RMS will notify you that institutional approval has been provided and will provide any institutional signatures if required. You may now submit on or before March 17, 2026 at 12:00PM Mountain time.

Full Application Stage:

Details and dates to be confirmed.

Overhead

Not allowed

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

Program application deadline

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.

RESOURCES

Reminder: The sooner the researcher engages with Research Services, the more help we can be!

Contact the following Research Service units for support with:

Projects Involving Indigenous Research:

Support with incorporating wise practices in Indigenous research, community engagement, and Indigenous data management is available 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.

Knowledge Mobilization, Research Impact Assessment, DORA:

Support for knowledge mobilization/engagement/translation, community partnerships, research impact, responsible research assessment (DORA), and open science, is available through the Knowledge to Impact team.

Applicants can reach out by email to the KI team at knowledge.impact@ucalgary.ca.

For more information and access to resource archives, please visit the KI team webpage.

Research Data Management:

For information on research data management plans, processes, or best practices for your research program, please contact research.data@ucalgary.ca.

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 edi.rso@ucalgary.ca for more information.

Research Security:

The Research Security Division is available to ensure researchers adhere to research security guidelines and policies, including the National Security Guidelines for Research Partnerships (NSGRP) and the policy on Sensitive Technology Research and Affiliations of Concern (STRAC).

Visit the Research Security website to learn more or contact researchsecurity@ucalgary.ca.

Pre-Award Submissions:

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award LOI
RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application