Team Grant: The Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health Consortium

Eligibility

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met and clearly identified in the Participant Table (see How to Apply section):

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be an independent researcher affiliated with a Canadian postsecondary institution and/or its affiliated institutions (including hospitals, research institutes and other non-profit organizations with a mandate for health research and/or knowledge translation).
2. The NPA must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
3. For the Indigenous Peoples' health and cannabis pool: the NPA must self-identify as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) and/or provide evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples (see How to Apply section for more details).
4. The Institution Paid receives and administers the funds on behalf of the NPA and therefore must be authorized by CIHR before the funds can be released. If the Institution Paid is not on the List of CIHR Eligible Institutions, they are encouraged to contact the Contact Centre, in advance, to enquire about the authorization process and timelines.
5. Two additional independent researchers in the role of Principal Applicant (PA) must be identified.
6. At least one project participant, other than the NPA, must be a Knowledge User (KU).
7. Among the applicant team members on the application, at least one team member must be identified for each of the roles below. Applicants are strongly encouraged to develop a diverse and equitable team. The roles below can be served by a NPA, PA, or KU, who may hold other roles in addition to standing as those listed below (note that no individual may hold more than one of the roles below):
   1. Data Champion (NPA or PA) to ensure that data is used to answer questions and generate new and useful knowledge, and with expertise in data management and/or data science, and to ensure data harmonization. The Data Champion will be expected to collaborate with other cohorts of the CCBHC as well as any future platform(s) of the Consortium.
   2. A Knowledge Mobilization Champion (NPA, PA or KU) who has experience developing and implementing integrated approaches to knowledge mobilization that are inclusive and support equitable and sustainable partnerships. The Knowledge Mobilization Champion will be expected to collaborate with other cohorts of the CCBHC as well as any future platform(s) of the Consortium.
8. For any research applications (other than the Indigenous Peoples' health and cannabis pool – see eligibility criteria 3) involving First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis populations, the research team must include at least one PA who self-identifies as First Nations, Inuit, or Métis and/or who can demonstrate their experience of meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples in an Indigenous Health Research environment (see How to Apply section for more details).

9. The NPA must have successfully completed one of the sex- and gender-based analysis training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and have submitted a Certificate of Completion (see How to Apply section): Select and complete the training module most applicable to your research project.

   Note: A NPA can submit a maximum of 1 application under this funding opportunity. If the NPA submits more than 1 application, CIHR will automatically withdraw any subsequent application(s) based on time-stamp of submission. However, collaboration is encouraged and will be fostered in the Strengthening Workshop. As such, there is no limit of participation for other applicant roles.

Summary

To better understand the impact of cannabis exposures and regular, heavy or high-potency cannabis use on population health, Canada requires a consortium of cannabis and brain health cohorts to measure cannabis use and the impact on brain health across the lifespan, and to provide the mechanism to facilitate data harmonization, data pooling, and data access across provinces and territories. The current funding opportunity brings about the opportunity to leverage existing research infrastructure and expertise in Canada to create an integrated data collection and clinical trials infrastructure that will be accessible to all Canadian researchers to investigate key questions about cannabis harms and benefits to the population across the lifespan.

The specific objectives are to create a collaborative Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health Consortium to:

• Undertake data collection, harmonization, and sharing to create a Canadian Cannabis and Brain Health multi-site cohort that will develop a broader understanding concerning brain health effects of cannabis use, which may ultimately lead to guidance for therapeutic and recreational use, as well as for cannabis use disorder;
• Generate and share new knowledge concerning prevalence, patterns, and contributing factors of cannabis use to answer cannabis-related health research questions specific to one of the research priority areas stated above and outlined in the Legislative Review of the Cannabis Act;
• Address pressing issues on cannabis use and brain health from a lifespan perspective and assess the impacts of cannabis legalization/commercialization on health and public health;
• Facilitate data access and enhance knowledge sharing through the CCBHC to address key data gaps to inform policy development at the federal, provincial, territorial and local levels.

Overhead

n/a

Pre-application deadlines

Pre-application program deadline

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

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.

Submission Process:

Registration due directly to CIHR via ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on October 30, 2025. No RMS needed for this step.

Full application, plus approvals in RMS, will be required by RSO by noon on January 19, 2026. Please be sure to select "Submitted for approvals" (Under Save & Progress) in RMS in enough time to allow for approvals from your Department Head and/or ADR prior to the internal RSO deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines.

Do not submit through ResearchNet until RSO's signature has been granted!! 

Once institutional signature has been obtained, a copy of the CIHR signature page will be available via the RMS record, under Documents. Upload the CIHR signature page and routing slip in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on January 22, 2026.

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 Application