Trainee Funding
Current VAST Opportunities
Graduate Student and Post-Doctoral Fellow Scholarships
VAST has funding to support a cohort of graduate students and postdoctoral fellows (i.e., VAST Scholars) at award values of $13,500 for MSc, $20,000 for PhD, $35,000 for PDF who will be engaged in VAST curriculum. This amount must be matched by the supervisor and/or external funding sources (when allowed).
The Graduate Student and Post-Doctoral Fellow Scholarship competition for 2024-25 is closed.
Eligibility:
Currently enrolled (or will be enrolled as of Sept 2024) in a master’s, doctoral, or postdoctoral program at a Canadian university.
Co-supervision by two PIs is required. Supervisor and co-supervisor must both be VAST co-investigators. Students supervised by ECRs (< 5 years since first academic appointment) who are registered VAST members and have contributed content development and/or are mentoring students in the VAST mentorship program are eligible, as long as the other supervisor/co-supervisor is a VAST co-investigator. ECRs who feel they meet these criteria can apply to become a VAST ECR Member here. Only those approved and accepted will be eligible for funding. Co-supervision may be done remotely (across Canada). Note that the co-supervisor can be outside of the supervisory committee but must encompass a meaningful collaboration.
Proposed project is related to vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia. Projects involving other neurodegenerative processes (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease) are allowed as long as vascular dysfunction is being investigated as a process cause, modulator, or outcome.
Funded trainees are required to complete the VAST individualized learning and mentorship program (est. 1 h/week; see Terms of Reference).
Please note that we have a strong commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion, and especially encourage (and prioritize) applications from persons who are members of groups traditionally under-represented in science, as well as ECR supervisors.
Application deadline:
Application will be submitted electronically via fillable PDF with all attachments in a single PDF file to vast@ucalgary.ca.
Application deadline is June 10, 2024 for 1 year of funding beginning September 1, 2024 (please note funding may be initiated between September 1 and January 1 2025).
Terms of Reference | MSc/PhD Application Form | PDF Application Form
Funding for Summer Student Support
VAST has funding to support summer students at 50% of the NSERC level (i.e., $3,000, max $750/month) from May to August, (4 weeks, minimum).
The Summer Student competition for 2024 is closed.
Eligibility:
Currently enrolled in an undergraduate program at a Canadian university.
Co-supervision by two PIs is required. Co-supervision can be done remotely.
Supervisor and co-supervisor must both be VAST co-investigators OR either the supervisor or co-supervisor may be eligible if they are both i) an early career researcher (< 5 years since first academic appointment), and ii) a registered VAST member contributing content development and/or mentoring students in the VAST mentorship program.
Proposed project is related to vascular contributions to cognitive impairment and dementia. Projects involving other neurodegenerative processes (e.g., Alzheimer’s disease) are allowed as long as vascular dysfunction is being investigated as a process cause, modulator, or outcome.
The supervisor must describea source of matching funds to provide student with minimum stipend of $1500/month.
Funded trainees are required to complete the VAST summer learning and mentorship program (est. 1 h/week; see Terms of Reference).
Application deadline:
Application will be submitted electronically via fillable PDF to vast@ucalgary.ca.
Application deadline is February 1, 2024 for funding that begins in summer 2024.
We aim to notify successful applicants by March 1, 2024.
Terms of Reference | Application Form
Travel Training Awards
VAST Travel Training Awards provide financial support to training of VAST Co-Investigators, or their designate. Training includes either travel to another lab within Canada or abroad for the purpose of learning a new technique, or travel within Canada or abroad for a training-specific workshop. Travel training awards cannot be used for conference attendance.
Travel Training Awards are lab-based awards, meaning the principal applicant on the award must be a VAST Co-Investigator, however they may designate a trainee (MSc, PhD, PDF) or research staff within their lab to complete the training. Applications for awards are accepted on a rolling basis, with priority given to early career researchers (faculty within 5 years of first appointment). Applications include a proposal and justification for the use of funds and a full budget outline (see application guidelines and fillable application below). A training report and travel expense form must be completed after the training for reimbursement. Applications may request up to a maximum award amount of $3000. Applications are subject to VAST internal peer review for eligibility (see rubric) and budget.
Eligibility:
Applicant must be a VAST Co-Investigator
Training must be novel to the applicant’s lab and be relevant to research related to vascular contributions to cognitive decline
Only one award per lab may be awarded in the same financial year
Funds must be used within 6 months following the notice of award and cannot be applied to previous training
Following the training, receipts (proof of expenditures) must be submitted for reimbursement, as well as a 250-500 word summary and photo(s) detailing the visit and its impact on your research. Material from the summary report may be used to publish a summary on the VAST blog, or social media accounts.
Applications must be submitted electronically with all attachments in a single PDF file to vast@ucalgary.ca.
Application form | Eligibility rubric
Outreach Initiative Funding
VAST Outreach Initiative grants provide financial support to VAST co-investigators, research staff, or trainees who wish to conduct knowledge mobilization activities related to vascular and brain health, with the support of or a plan for engagement with a relevant community partner. Outreach activities should be aimed at promoting engagement with under-represented groups interested in STEM and should include a broad or varied range of research outputs.
Eligible activities, projects, or initiatives include:
Presentations, workshops, hackathons, or symposia with members of the public (e.g., high school students, people with lived experience, health care workers),
Networking events that build connections between researchers and the public,
Development and validation of educational aids.
Applications must be submitted electronically with all attachments in a single PDF file to vast@ucalgary.ca.
We encourage applicants to consider also applying for a SSHRC Connection Grant and/or a NRC Outreach Initiative Grant.