Team Grant: Health Effects of Ultra-Processed Foods (2025)

Eligibility

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met:

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 mobilization).
2. The NPA must have their substantive role in Canada for the duration of the requested grant term.
3. 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.
4. Research teams must be comprised of no more than four (4) Principal Applicants (PAs) in addition to the NPA. Note that an individual can fulfill multiple participant types.
5. The NPA and all PAs must have successfully completed one of the Sex and Gender Training Modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and submit a Certificate of Completion by the full application deadline (see How to Apply for more details).
6. Inclusion of other applicant roles (i.e., Co-Applicants, Knowledge Users (KUs), and collaborators) is optional, but the following eligibility criteria must also be met by the NPA and PAs or additional applicants.
   1. The research team must be interdisciplinary and must include at least one (1) Early Career Researcher (ECR) in the role of NPA,PA or Co-Applicant. ECR eligibility status must be met by the full application deadline date. Refer to How to Apply to provide ECR status.
   2. For any research applications involving First Nations, Inuit, and Métis populations, research teams must include at least one applicant who self-identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, or Métis) and/or provides evidence of having meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples (see How to Apply for more details).

Notes:

1. An individual cannot submit more than one (1) application to this funding opportunity as an NPA and cannot participate on more than two (2) applications as PA. If the NPA submits more than one application, CIHR will automatically withdraw the subsequent application(s) submitted based on timestamp of submission.
2. PAs can be added to a team but not removed or exchanged between Letter of Intent and Full Application.

Summary

Research is needed to address limitations of existing epidemiological evidence and to explore the mechanistic pathways through which UPFs affect health. The Team Grants: Health Effects of UPFs aim to address these research gaps by supporting research that will generate evidence to inform policies and regulations related to UPFs that will improve health equity and the health of Canadians across the lifespan.

Research Areas

This funding opportunity will support projects relevant to the following research areas:

• Mechanisms of Health Effects of UPFs Pool
  This funding pool will support research to understand the biological mechanisms triggered by UPFs in whole or by specific components (e.g., food additives, by-products of food processing techniques) that contribute to non-communicable disease (NCDs). This includes the role of UPFs in modulating the microbiome and contributing to immune/metabolic perturbations associated with disease processes.

• Health Effects of UPFs on Older Persons Pool

  This funding pool will support research to understand the effects of UPFs on the health of older persons, in particular mechanisms by which they could result in tissue injury contributing to the development and progression of NCDs, including cardiometabolic processes, and lead to accelerated biological aging with onset of frailty and cognitive decline.

• Biological Mechanisms of UPFs and Development of Cardiovascular Diseases Pool

  This funding pool will support research focused on the biological mechanisms triggered by specific UPF components (e.g., food additives, by-products of food processing techniques) that contribute to increased risk of cardiovascular and/or cerebrovascular diseases. The research should include a focus on the early stages of the lifespan (before the age of 18, including fetal development), but may also include other life stages (e.g., adults) with the goal of informing policy and regulatory actions (e.g., threshold sensitive exposure, early clinical biomarkers, and/or improve the quality of food for people living in Canada).

• Health Effects of UPFs in Human Development, Child and Youth Health Pool

  This funding pool will support research to understand the effects of UPFs on human development, child and/or youth health, consistent with IHDCYH’s areas of focus. To be considered relevant, there must be a clear and direct link to the health and well-being of children, from preconception to youth.

• Structural Determinants of UPFs Pool

  This funding pool will support research to understand the structural determinants of UPF production, distribution, regulation and consumption in Canada and globally and their inequitable impacts on population health, including:

  • The identification of barriers and solutions to implementing UPF regulation in Canada
  • The evaluation and assessment of population health interventions and their impacts on UPF consumption, such as school food programs, subsidized workplace meal programs, food literacy initiatives, etc.

Overhead

n/a

Pre-application deadlines

RSO internal deadline

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

Complete LOI application PDF and an approved LOI/pre-award record in RMS are required by RSO by noon, 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 Research Services deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines. A step sheet for creating an LOI record in RMS is available in the Resources section below.

Once RMS approval and/or institutional signature have been obtained for your LOI, you may proceed with submitting to CIHR through ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on January 22, 2026.

Invited to Full Application

Full application and approved application/pre-award record are required by RSO by noon, November 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 Research Services deadline. Consult your department and faculty for more information on their approval processes and timelines. A step sheet for creating an application record in RMS is available in the Resources section below.

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 (must be in 'Edit' view). Upload the CIHR signature page including the routing slip in the Print/Upload Signature Pages task in ResearchNet by 6:00PM Calgary time on November 24, 2026.

**Note: This opportunity used the new Tri-Agency Narrative CV (TCV). For opportunities requiring the Tri-Agency CV, a Research Contributions attachment, or a Most Significant Contributions statement, applicants can refer to the Narrative CV Support webpage. 

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