Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

Lab to Market/Impact: advancing health research and technologies with high potential for commercial success and/or real-world impact. 

Key considerations (at least one should apply):

• Intellectual Property Development: Does the project foster the creation, refinement, or protection of key intellectual property—whether through patent filings, licensing plans, or other mechanisms—that could enhance the likelihood of successful commercialization?
• Proof of Concept & Prototype: Is there a well-defined plan for moving foundational insights beyond theory—through iterative experimentation or pilot-scale implementation—to lay the groundwork for a proof of concept or demonstrable prototype?
• Progress Along the Health Innovation Pathway: Does the project involve any activity in steps 2 through 8 on Alberta Innovates’ health innovation checklist?
• Accelerated Development Methods: Does the project use computational or other advanced methods (e.g., in silico drug screening, AI-driven design, simulation models) to reduce traditional development costs and timelines, speeding the path from discovery to application?

Clinical Research: engagement in clinical research activities, including study design, participant recruitment, data collection and analysis, or integrating research directly into care.  

Key considerations (at least one should apply):

• Clinical Setting or Participants: Does the project directly involve human participants or patient-care settings—such as hospitals, clinics, or community health environments?
• Clinically Relevant Data or Samples: Does the project involve the use of clinically derived data, biospecimens, or registries (e.g., biobanks, patient databases) to advance more precise treatments, diagnostics, or care approaches?
• Safe & Compliant Conduct: Is there a plan to address the ethical and regulatory measures required for clinical studies involving direct patient interaction or sensitive health information?
• Capacity Building in Alberta: Does the project contribute to strengthening Alberta’s clinical research ecosystem (e.g., developing clinical trial expertise)?

Innovative Care Model Implementations: collaborating with healthcare providers to pilot and scale new care models that improve patient outcomes and system efficiency. 

Key considerations (at least one should apply):

• Intervention Testing: Does the project involve testing an intervention or change in how care is delivered, aiming to enhance health outcomes or increase system efficiency?
• Addressing Priority Challenges: Does the proposed intervention directly tackle a recognized health system challenge or performance gap (e.g., major disease burden, resource bottlenecks, or service inefficiencies) identified by Alberta’s stakeholders (e.g., patients, care providers)?
• Monitoring & Evaluation: Is there a clear plan to track intervention fidelity and key performance indicators (e.g., adherence to protocols, timeline milestones) to assess how effectively the new model is being implemented?
• Collaboration & Knowledge Sharing: Are healthcare providers, decision-makers, and/or patients meaningfully involved in co-developing, evaluating, and refining the intervention?

Building Healthier Futures Through Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration: leveraging cross-disciplinary frameworks to advance more integrated and comprehensive solutions to health promotion.  

Key considerations (at least two should apply, including a mandatory human health component):

• Human Health Component (Mandatory): Is there a demonstrable plan to benefit human health—whether through preventing disease, enhancing care, or informing health policy? Example: Integrating knowledge from human medicine, veterinary science, and ecology to address complex challenges (e.g., antibiotic resistance or vector-borne disease), ensuring that any proposed solution includes safeguards for human health (not just animal and/or environmental).
• Potential for Greater Impact: Is there evidence that combining these disciplines can yield outcomes or insights that are more innovative, robust, or wide-reaching than single-discipline approaches?
• Relevance and Justification of Disciplines:  Does the proposal offer a clear and convincing explanation of why the specific disciplines selected are essential?
• Demonstration of Cross-disciplinary Collaboration (through any of the following):
  • Supervisory/Team Support: Supervisors or collaborators from different fields that will jointly guide the fellow’s project, expanding its relevance beyond a single discipline.
  • Fellow’s Own Trajectory: Transitioning from one field to another (e.g., a PhD in engineering to postdoc in epidemiology), enabling integration of knowledge that is typically siloed.
  • Ecosystem Engagement: Meaningful collaboration or knowledge exchange with multiple stakeholders (e.g., industry, policy, community), indicating a broader, cross-sector influence on the project.