For researchers

What's new

Two Black scholars, a man and a woman, look at a computer screen together.

Personnel Awards for Black Scholars

Please see application guidelines below.

Heart & Stroke is proud to fund Canada’s best heart and brain health researchers. The links below provide a comprehensive guide to our funding opportunities, application processes, peer review and more.

Apply to current funding opportunities
Personnel Awards for Black Scholars +–

Heart & Stroke and Brain Canada are excited to announce the second year of the Personnel Awards for Black Scholars. These awards aim to promote strategic growth in heart and brain health science with Black communities by supporting Black students pursue their post graduate studies. 

Competition closes May 22, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Applications are to be submitted via Heart & Stroke’s online grants management system, CIRCUlink.

Meet the recipients of the 2023 Personnel Awards for Black Scholars

BrightRed Student Research Awards Program +–

Program Overview
Research is at the heart and soul of what we do. Since its inception in 1952, Heart & Stroke has invested more than $1.65 billion in vital heart and stroke research, making it the largest contributor in Canada after the federal government. During that time, the death rate from heart disease and stroke in Canada has declined by more than 75 per cent.

Offered exclusively in Nova Scotia, Heart & Stroke’s BrightRed Student Research Awards Program is a donor-funded investment.  In collaboration with training institutions, this scholarship opportunity for student investigators strengthens recruitment and retention of researchers in Nova Scotia, aligning with Heart & Stroke’s strategic mission priorities.

 

Goal
The goal of the BrightRed Student Research Awards Program is to recognize excellent emerging cardiovascular and cerebrovascular researchers in Nova Scotia at differing stages of career development. It provides financial support to students and trainees enrolled in research-based Masters, Doctoral, Postdoctoral and Doctor of Medicine training programs at academic institutions in Nova Scotia. 

Heart & Stroke is seeking applications for the 2024/2025 BrightRed Student Research Awards Program. This donor-funded investment supports students at the Masters, Doctoral, Postdoctoral and Doctor of Medicine levels studying in Nova Scotia.

 

For the 2024/2025 academic year, Heart & Stroke will offer up to three (3) awards, each valued at $5,000, as follows: 

  • The BrightRed Mission Award: to the highest rated candidate of any level
  • The John and Judy Bragg Family Foundation Award: to the highest rated Masters level or Doctor of Medicine candidate
  • The Paul and Mary O’Regan Graduate Research Award: to the highest rated Doctoral or Postdoctoral candidate


Application deadline: Friday, May 10, 2024, at 11:59pm (AST). 


Questions regarding the 2024/2025 BrightRed Student Research Awards can be directed to:

Hilary Richardson-Murphy
Senior Advisor, Health Policy & Systems (NS)
Hilary.Richardsonmurphy@heartandstroke.ca

 

Use the documents below to complete your application:

 

Research Networks of Excellence in Women's Heart and or Brain Health +–

Heart & Stroke, along with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute of Gender and Health (IGH), is excited to announce the launch of a NEW funding competition, the Research Networks of Excellence in Women’s Heart and/or Brain Health. This funding competition will support the development of two (2) new research networks in Canada, dedicated to women’s heart and/or brain health. The registration deadline is November 30, 2023. Eligible registrants will have until April 18, 2024 to submit their full application.

Grants and awards
Congenital Heart Disease Team Grants +–

CHD refers to all congenital defects, including but not limited to: structural heart disease, arrhythmias, and other cardiomyopathies.

Heart & Stroke, together with Brain Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and Institute of Genetics, are launching a new research funding opportunity, the Congenital Heart Disease Team Grants. This team grant competition will focus on congenital heart disease (CHD) throughout the lifespan of people living with CHD, with considerations for sex and gender, Indigenous health and wellness, health equity, and include a whole-person approach. 

The registration deadline is Sept. 15, 2023. Eligible registrants will have until Nov. 15, 2023 to submit their full application. 

Grants-in-Aid +–

The Grant-in-Aid (GIA) program provides operating funds to support important, pertinent, novel research in the areas of heart disease and stroke. GIA funding promotes research discovery, exploration and innovation across all health research themes. Knowledge gained from scientific findings contributes to the cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health of Canadians through prevention, treatment and recovery.

Research is supported across the four health research themes:

  • Basic biomedical
  • Clinical
  • Health services/systems
  • Social, cultural, environmental and population health.

Researchers at all career stages are encouraged to apply to the GIA program. Principal Investigators (and co-PIs) must have a full-time academic or faculty appointment (i.e., at minimum, at the assistant or clinical assistant professor level) in Canada at the time of application.

Grant-in-Aid Program Guidelines

Personnel Awards +–

The National Personnel Award (NPA) programs provide salary support to Canada’s top researchers across the career continuum. This support helps ensure the training, retention and success of Canada’s cardiovascular and cerebrovascular researchers.

New Investigator Award 

This award provides salary support to individuals who have clearly demonstrated excellence during their doctoral and post-doctoral training in cardiovascular or cerebrovascular research. New Investigator awards are tenable in Canada only.

New Investigator Guidelines

Personnel Awards for Women’s Heart & Brain Health +–

Our new Women’s Personnel Awards will support young scholars invested in women’s heart and brain health early in their training stage (Doctoral) and during their transition (post-doctoral) to becoming independent researchers. These awards aim to jump start careers, sparking interest in women’s heart and brain health research. 

Personnel Awards for Indigenous Scholars +–

Heart & Stroke, along with Brain Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research-Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (CIHR-ICRH), is excited to announce the launch of the Personnel Awards for Indigenous Scholars. 

These new awards aim to promote strategic growth in heart and brain health science with Indigenous communities by supporting Indigenous students to pursue their post graduate studies. 

Competition closes September 1, 2023 at 3:00 p.m. ET

Personnel Awards for Black Scholars +–

Heart & Stroke and Brain Canada are excited to announce the second year of the Personnel Awards for Black Scholars. These awards aim to promote strategic growth in heart and brain health science with Black communities by supporting Black students pursue their post graduate studies. 

Competition closes May 22, 2024 at 3:00 p.m. ET.

Applications are to be submitted via Heart & Stroke’s online grants management system, CIRCUlink.

Meet the recipients of the 2023 Personnel Awards for Black Scholars

Heart-Brain IMPACT Award +–

After rigorous international peer review, the recipients of the Brain Canada and Heart & Stroke Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award are:

Douglas S. Lee, MD, PhD, FRCPC
University Health Network

Peter Liu, MD, FRCPC
University of Ottawa Heart Institute 

The multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional competition awards these two teams grants of up to $2.9 million each. Read more about the winning projects.  

With its unique competition guidelines, the Heart-Brain Connection IMPACT Award will enable breakthroughs in research aimed at generating new knowledge and accelerating its translation into action for people living with conditions that impact the heart and brain, such as heart disease, stroke and vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). 

Watch this space for information or sign up for our quarterly Research e-newsletter for updates.

Stroke Clinical Research Catalyst Grant program +–

Together with our esteemed partners Brain Canada and the Canadian Stroke Consortium, we are thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2022 Stroke Clinical Research Catalyst Grants. The purpose of this program is to increase capacity for clinical stroke research within Canada, with an aim to reduce the burden of stroke, prevent recurrence, and improve patient outcomes through clinical research that will improve our understanding of stroke and advance stroke care.

This exciting program provides ten leading stroke researchers with the initial seed funding they need to develop new lines of research and to generate preliminary data. The goal is that this initial investment will support successful applications to larger grants.

The ten projects receiving $100,000 grants include:

Dr. Sean Dukelow, University of Calgary: The TeleTaCAS Randomized Controlled Feasibility Trial.

Dr. Aravind Ganesh, University of Calgary: Development and testing of a system for remote ischemic conditioning in preparation for clinical trials in cerebral small vessel disease and pre-hospital stroke care.

Dr. Raed Joundi, McMaster University: Incidence, Trends, Determinants, and Prognosis of Post-Stroke Dementia (INTREPID): A 20-year registry and population-based cohort study.

Dr. Aristeidis Katsanos, McMaster University: blooD prEssure management in sTroke following EndovasCular Treatment (DETECT).

Dr. Ethan MacDonald, University of Calgary: Developing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) based pH Mapping Tool for Clinical Stroke Assessment.

Dr. Michelle Ploughman, Memorial University: Verifying aerobic training protocols to benefit both heart and brain in subacute stroke.

Dr. Alexandre Poppe, Université de Montréal: A multi-centre, prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded endpoint (PROBE) controlled trial comparing acute cervical internal carotid artery stenting to no stenting during endovascular thrombectomy for anterior circulation stroke due to acute tandem occlusion: Endovascular Acute Stroke Intervention – Tandem OCclusion trial (EASI-TOC).

Dr. Deborah Siegal, University of Ottawa: Intensive Cancer Screening for Cryptogenic Stroke (INCOGNITO) Pilot Randomized Trial.

Dr. Nishita Singh, University of Manitoba: Adaptive Platform Trial to Investigate VArious ThErapies in Carotid-Associated Stroke (ACTIVATE-CAS)- Pilot Phase.

Dr. Luciano Sposato, Lawson Health Research Institute:  STARGATE (Sweet spoT for cArdiac Rhythm monitorinG After sTrokE) Pilot Trial: A pilot-feasibility randomized controlled trial.

 
Scholarships +–

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada - McDonald Scholarships

The McDonald Scholarship was established in honour of Ewing (Mac) McDonald, executive director of Heart & Stroke from 1968 to 1987. Each year, the scholarship is awarded to the highest-rated applicant in the New Investigator competition. Recent winners:

  • 2021-22: Dr. Emilie Belley-Cote (McMaster University) Beyond the Scalpel: Optimizing outcomes after cardiac surgery
  • 2020-21: Dr. Scott B. Widenmaier  (University of Saskatchewan) — Investigating the molecular interface underlying immunometabolic homeostasis in obesity-linked cardiovascular disease
  • 2019-2020: Dr. Marie-Annick Clavel (Universite Laval) - Sex-dependent differences in pathophysiological mechanisms, presentation, outcome, and treatment of aortic valve stenosis
  • 2018 – 2019: Dr. Gopinath Sutendra (University of Alberta) — Metabolic modulation as a novel therapy for chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.
  • 2017 – 2018: Dr. Wenbin Liang (University of Ottawa Heart Institute) — Role of Wnt signaling in cardiac arrhythmogenesis.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada - Henry J. M. Barnett Scholarships

The Henry J. M. Barnett Scholarship is presented annually to a highly rated investigator working in the area of cerebrovascular research. This prestigious award was established to honour Dr. Barnett’s exceptional contributions to stroke research, education, and patient care in Canada.

  • 2021-22: Dr. Maria Ioannou  (University of Alberta) The mechanisms and function of neuronal lipid particle release during ischemic stroke
  • 2020-21: Dr. Amy Yu (Sunnybrook Research Institute) — Determining sex disparities In Stroke Care and Outcomes to optimize recoVERy (DISCOVER) 
  • 2019 - 2020: Dr. Ashkan Shoamanesh (McMaster University) - Preventing hemorrhagic stroke and improving the lives of hemorrhagic stroke survivors
  • 2018 – 2019: Dr. Thalia Field (University of British Columbia) — SECRET: Safety of rivaroxaban for CeREbral venous Thrombosis.
  • 2017 – 2018: Dr. Glen C. Jickling (University of Alberta) — Genomics of high risk transient ischemic attacks.
Chairs and Professorships +–

A Chair/Professorship supports a leading investigator to focus on heart disease and/or stroke, often building a network or centre of excellence at the institution. These initiatives are typically designated endowments or done in partnership with like-minded organizations. They provide salary and infrastructure support to enable a leading researcher to develop a specific heart disease and stroke research focus at a Canadian university.

Meet our Heart & Stroke Chairs and Professors

Publication update +–

GIA

Only updates to the six (6) representative publications attached as part of the proposal and progress sections of the application will be accepted.

Please click to download the Publication Update form and send the completed form with the publication update to research@heartandstroke.ca. Heart & Stroke staff will notify the applicant on acceptance of the publication update.

Heart & Stroke will not accept letters indicating confirmation of acceptance for publication of a paper after 01 December 2023.

New Investigator

Only updates to the three (3) representative publications attached as part of section 13 of the New Investigator application will be accepted.

Please click to download the Publication Update form and send the completed form with the publication update to research@heartandstroke.ca. Heart & Stroke staff will notify the applicant on acceptance of the publication update.

Heart & Stroke will not accept letters indicating confirmation of acceptance for publication of a paper after 01 December 2023.

Policies and Resources +–

The following policies apply to all researchers funded by Heart & Stroke:

If you have questions about the above policies, please contact research@heartandstroke.ca.

Competition results
Latest results +–

Heart & Stroke is honoured to fund the best and brightest researchers across Canada. Our awardees will lead us to ground-breaking discoveries that will help people affected by heart disease and stroke live longer, healthier lives.

Our researchers and their projects represent innovative work within their respective disciplines, as determined by a rigorous peer review process by our Scientific Review Committee (SRC).

We are proud to support the following researchers (listed by research program):

Learn more
Post award administration
Post award grant management +–

The Grant Management Guidelines outline the administration and management of funded applications during the course of the grant. 

Grants-in-Aid +–

All reporting templates for Grants-in-Aid (GIA) are available on CIRCUlink, Heart & Stroke’s online grants management system. Submissions should adhere to the following schedule:

  • Progress reports: A satisfactory progress report must be filed with Heart & Stroke on an annual basis no later than 30 days following the one-year anniversary date.
  • Final reports: Following completion/termination of the award, a satisfactory final report must be filed with Heart & Stroke within 30 days (this may be the approved carry forward year which extends beyond the normal term of the grant).
  • Close-out reports: A satisfactory close‐out‐report must be filed with Heart & Stroke before the first anniversary of the project completion date.

Guidelines

GIA Financial Report

Personnel Awards +–

All reporting templates for Personnel awards are available for download below. Completed reports must be emailed to research@heartandstroke.ca.

  • Progress reports: A satisfactory progress report must be filed with Heart & Stroke on an annual basis no later than 30 days following the one-year anniversary date.
  • Final Reports: Following completion/termination of the award, a satisfactory final report must be filed with Heart & Stroke within 30 days.
  • Additional Funding Spreadsheet
Strategic Research Awards +–

All reporting templates for Strategic Research Awards are available for download below. Completed reports must be emailed to research@heartandstroke.ca.

Progress Report Template (Word Version)

Progress Report Template (PDF Version)

Final Report Template

Research Fund Initiatives Financial Report

Notify us of an upcoming paper +–

Heart & Stroke strives to showcase our amazing research and highlight the outcomes of our funding to our donors and volunteers. 

To facilitate transparency and promote our research, Heart & Stroke must be notified in advance of the publication date of any major publications and/or news releases arising from research funded by Heart & Stroke. Ideally, papers accepted for publication should be forwarded to Heart & Stroke when you send your revisions back to the journal. This ensures that we have appropriate time to review and identify potential opportunities for promotion. 

Important: Please send all research publications to research@heartandstroke.ca.

Should Heart & Stroke decide to promote your research, we will work closely with you to draft any relevant materials. While we can't issue a news release for every paper that we receive, we can communicate it via channels including our website and social media.

Peer review
Information on Peer Review +–

Peer review at Heart & Stroke is conducted through the Scientific Review Committee (SRC). The SRC’s primary purpose is to ensure transparency, integrity and impact of the resources available for research. In addition to application peer review and program development, the SRC is also responsible for the scientific post-grant administration of funded grants, including scientific monitoring of grants on behalf of multiple funders. The SRC also works with other advisory volunteer bodies within Heart & Stroke.

The SRC peer reviews well over 500 applications on an annual basis. Membership spans all four themes of health research. SRC members donate an estimated 45,000 volunteer hours every year. 

The overall peer review system is led by the SRC executive chair and vice -chair along with approximately 26 members of the Executive Committee composed of SRC sub-panel chairs and deputy chairs.

The SRC oversees the peer review of all research led by Heart & Stroke; SRC panels are formed based on funding opportunities and applications submitted for Grants-in-Aid, Personnel Awards and Impact Awards.

Explore the steps and stages of peer review.

Resources
Find research participants +–

Heart & Stroke can promote research studies and clinical trials in Canada and help researchers recruit participants. We post short descriptions of studies on our website and in a monthly newsletter and circulate to our extensive e-registry of people with lived experience, both caregivers and survivors. 

Heart & Stroke prioritizes studies that have ethics approval, include gender and sex-based analysis and reporting and offer accessible participation (e.g., accommodate for linguistic, financial, medical/physical restrictions). 

If you are interested in having your study included, please complete the application form.

Heart & Stroke will review and respond within 10 business days after receipt of a completed application. Any questions about this process or the application form should be directed to kthp@heartandstroke.ca.

View current requests for research volunteers.

Clinical Trials Ontario: Decision Aids for Patient Partner Engagement with Clinical Trials

Women's Research Network +–

Since 2016, Heart & Stroke has sought to stimulate dialogue about heart disease and stroke in women, address sex and gender disparities in prevention and management, and ultimately transform and save women’s lives through strategic capacity building, research, and knowledge exchange. 

With the support of a $5 million grant from the federal government, Heart & Stroke supports early and mid-career researchers, funds research on women’s heart and brain health, and coordinates a community of interest to facilitate knowledge sharing and capacity building. The Women’s Heart & Brain Health Research Network aims to improve knowledge sharing and collaboration and to enable capacity building for the next generation of researchers. 

The network facilitates learning and sharing of opportunities and resources. Advancing knowledge and skills related to using Sex- and Gender-Based Analysis and Research (SGBAR) for researchers working on women’s heart and brain health is a priority. 

Knowledge sharing activities facilitate learning from researchers funded through our Women’s initiative as well as experts within the Women’s Heart & Brain Health Research Network. Learning opportunities are convened online and in person.

In this March 2019 webinar, Dr. Bernice Downey describes her effort to understand how Indigenous women’s heart health has been negatively impacted by various cultural and social factors, and how to remedy this problem.

Membership is open and diverse. The network includes Indigenous organizations and communities, individuals with lived experiences including survivors and caregivers for women, professionals such as researchers, clinicians, and knowledge users like government bureaucrats and policy makers. We solicit the engagement of trainees and early career investigators.

If you are interested in joining, please contact us for more information. 

To sign up for the Women’s Heart & Brain Health Research Network eNewsletter, please contact us.

View recent editions:

Women’s Heart Health Summit 2021

Hosted by Heart & Stroke and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, the 2021 Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit welcomes primary care providers, cardiologists, neurologists, gynecologists, pharmacists, nurses, rehabilitation providers, allied healthcare providers, researchers, policy-makers, Indigenous organizations, community partners and women with lived experience. 

The 2021 summit will feature plenary sessions, panel discussions, poster displays, and networking opportunities for speakers, delegates and sponsors.

Opportunities for trainees and early career investigators

The Women's Heart & Brain Health Research Network is working hard to enhance the capacity of junior and early career investigators and trainees working on women’s heart and brain health, to better prepare the next generation of researchers.

Trainees can showcase their work and enhance their presentation skills through mini research rounds. These mini-rounds are one-hour webinars open to members of the network and the public to raise the profile of early career investigators, exposing their work to feedback and potential collaboration and career advancement.

If you’d like to showcase your work, please submit an expression of interest.

Contact us and Subscribe to our Research Newsletter +–

If you have any questions regarding Heart & Stroke research programs, please contact us at research@heartandstroke.ca.

Sign up to get the latest news regarding Heart & Stroke’s research programs and funding opportunities.