New this year: Doctoral Research Award
The Cancer Research Society (CRS) is proud to launch a new annual program to support graduate students who are pursuing a doctoral degree in cancer-related research. This program will provide doctoral students the opportunity to apply for a two-year scholarship worth $70,000 to conduct their cancer research project at a Canadian university or eligible institution.
We are also thrilled to announce a new partnership with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR) which will co-fund up to 10 of these doctoral research awards.
“The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) is dedicated to supporting the newest generation of cancer researchers. That is why we are thrilled to partner with the Cancer Research Society (CRS) on this new opportunity to enhance the capacity of these curious and ambitious minds as they pursue their doctoral degrees. Together we are strengthening cancer research in Canada.”
– Dr. Fei-Fei Liu, Scientific Director of CIHR-ICR
At present, there are very few targeted scholarships to support Canadian doctoral students conducting cancer research. Furthermore, graduate student grants for scientific research are also rare except for a few government-funded ones. It was recently highlighted in the news that current doctoral students’ stipends fall below the poverty line, including through an open letter to the federal government signed by thousands of Canadian researchers.
The CRS has answered the call by launching this new scholarship program that will fill an alarming funding gap. As we believe in the importance of investing in future generations, we are pleased to offer this additional option to doctoral students.
“Young and good researchers are really struggling to start their career because they start with very little resources. Funding them will certainly have a great impact on how we understand and treat this disease in 10 years from now. I think that funding cancer research is really going to make a better future.”
– Barbara Grünwald, Assistant Scientist at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto and Recipient of the Scholarship for the Next Generation of Scientists in 2021
Cancer being a disease that affects more and more people (2 in 5 people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime), better studying it and therefore better understanding it, will certainly help to better outsmart it. If cancer research has come so far, it is thanks in part to several generations of researchers who have succeeded each other since the creation of our organization and the renewal of ideas they have brought.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research – Institute of Cancer Research (CIHR-ICR):
The Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) is one of the thirteen virtual institutes at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). As one of the leading cancer research funders in Canada, CIHR-ICR is dedicated to supporting research that reduces the burden of cancer on individuals and families through prevention strategies, screening, diagnosis, effective treatment, psycho-social support systems, and palliation.