Charles Hollenberg Summer Studentship Program 2024
Description:
The goal of the program is to introduce undergraduate and medical students to the field of diabetes research and to encourage research in diabetes and its complications as a future career.
Fourteen summer studentships are available for undergraduate and medical students to carry out summer research in diabetes under the supervision of a member of the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre (BBDC). Research projects may be carried out in-lab, remotely, or a combination of both.
Students will be required to work full-time for a minimum of 12 weeks commencing in the first or second week of May. Specific start and end dates are to be arranged directly with the hiring supervisor. However, students must commence work no later than May 15 as they will be asked to present their research findings at a Mini-Conference in the first week of August.
Students and their supervisors are required to participate in the Summer Studentship Program which consists of a Weekly Seminar Series held on Wednesdays from 4-5 p.m. throughout June and early July, and a half-day Mini-Conference in the first week of August. Both the weekly seminars and mini-conference will be held in person. The seminars and mini-conference expose students to diabetes research across disciplines and offer an opportunity to present and discuss their work.
Supervisors will be responsible for ensuring that their student submits a one-page abstract of their research findings to the Program Coordinator before the Mini-Conference. The supervisor should guide the student on how to write a complete scientific abstract.
Eligibility Requirements:
- The potential supervisor must hold a faculty appointment with the University of Toronto at the level of assistant, associate or full professor, and must be conducting diabetes research at the time of application submission.
- The potential supervisor must also be a registered member* of the BBDC at the time of application submission. (*Faculty who are new to the field of diabetes research and are not members of the BBDC can request free membership by contacting the Centre prior to submitting an application. For more information, please see the Membership section of this website).
- Potential supervisors may submit a maximum of two (2) applications as the primary and/or co-supervisor. However, under normal circumstances only one studentship will be awarded per primary and/or co-supervisor.
- Students must be currently enrolled in an undergraduate or medical degree program at a Canadian University.
- International students currently enrolled in an undergraduate or medical degree program at a Canadian university are eligible for the program if they are legally allowed to work in Canada. Those enrolled at a university outside of Canada are not eligible.
- Students may not submit more than one application.
Students Eligible To Apply:
- University students who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or medical degree program at a Canadian University.
- Medical students who have received a prior graduate degree are eligible to apply.
Students Not Eligible to Apply:
- High school students.
- University students who will complete an undergraduate or medical degree program by January 2024.
- Students who are currently enrolled or will be enrolled in a master’s or doctoral graduate degree program by May 2024.
- Students enrolled at a university outside of Canada.
Amount:
If the student is selected, the supervisor agrees to cover half of the student’s full stipend. The student’s full stipend will be $6,951 (based on a minimum hourly rate of $16.55 for a 35-hour work week for the 12-week program). Half ($3,476) will be provided by the BBDC and the other half ($3,476) must be provided by the supervisor.
IMPORTANT: The BBDC does not pay the student directly. The BBDC will instead provide the supervisor’s institution with half of the amount for the stipend and the supervisor must cover the other half. The supervisor will arrange to pay the student the full stipend through their institution’s payroll department. The supervisor is also responsible for any additional employment costs that may be required (examples: CPP, EI, vacation pay).
Relevance to Diabetes:
This funding program supports original discovery-based fundamental or clinical research in diabetes that would be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Research proposals can include any aspect of laboratory, animal, human, or clinical or health services research. Areas of research which are considered relevant to diabetes include the pathogenesis of diabetes or its complications, homeostatic or pathological pancreatic islet function, or metabolism, pharmacological mechanisms of drug or hormone action, biochemical or molecular aspects of biological or pathological processes, or research in population health or health services.
Evaluation Criteria:
Applications will be reviewed by the BBDC Trainee Advancement and Development Committee and will be evaluated on the following criteria:
- The research project, including relevance to diabetes
- The training environment in which the student will carry out their research project
- The student’s academic record
- Special accomplishments or attributes relevant to the Summer Studentship application
- A minor component of the evaluation will be based on other factors that the reviewers consider relevant to this competition
The Application Process
STEP 1 – Find a Potential Supervisor
Students must contact potential supervisors directly to discuss the possibility of a summer position. The potential supervisor must hold a full-time faculty appointment with the University of Toronto and must be conducting diabetes research. The potential supervisor must also be a registered member of the BBDC at the time of application submission.
Students may also directly contact other faculty not on the list above with whom they are interested in working to discuss the possibility of a summer position. Research profiles of BBDC members involved in diabetes-related research can be found on our website here.
STEP 2 – Submit an Application
Once the student has found a potential supervisor, the supervisor and student jointly submit a completed application form to the BBDC by the application deadline date. Students may not submit more than one application. Supervisors may submit a maximum of two (2) applications as the primary and/or co-supervisor; however, only one studentship will be awarded per primary and/or co-supervisor under normal circumstances.
Application Deadline:
4 p.m. January 16, 2024. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.
Notification
All students and their supervisors will be notified by early April. Funding decisions will also be posted on this website.
Other Terms
- Successful students cannot accept more than one summer studentship regardless of the funding source.
- All selected summer students must attend all of the weekly seminars held every Wednesday from 4-5 p.m. in June and early July, and are required to give a presentation of their work at the Mini-Conference in the first week of August. Failure to comply with the program’s requirements will result in future ineligibility of both the student and supervisor for BBDC funding programs.
- In cases in which a studentship recipient requests a subsequent change in supervisor or if there is a change in the research project, the BBDC must be notified as the awarding of the studentship may need to be reconsidered by the review committee.
- Successful applicants must acknowledge support from the “Banting & Best Diabetes Centre, University of Toronto” in relevant presentations, publications and communications arising from the supported research. Failure to acknowledge this support will result in future ineligibility of both the student and supervisor for BBDC funding programs.
Inquiries
Sanam Tajadod
Phone: 416-978-3498
E-mail: [email protected]
Program Coordinator
Dr. Raghunath Singh