StrokeCog Postdoctoral Fellowship

Four post-doctoral fellowships (PDFs), valued at up to $62,500 each, will be awarded by StrokeCog in a new national training competition aimed at improving representation in clinical trials focused on stroke and vascular cognitive impairment (VCI).
 
The fellowships are part of a broader national initiative, administered by CANTRAIN, a clinical trials consortium, that will see a total 35 PDFs awarded this year. As administrator of this Canada-wide program, CANTRAIN provides facilitation to a number of disease-specific Clinical Trials Training Platforms (CTTPs), including StrokeCog.
 
“The ultimate goal is to train high-calibre stroke and cognition clinical trialists who can conduct high-quality trials in Canada,” says the University of Ottawa Heart Institute’s Dr. Jodi Edwards, who leads the StrokeCog platform. “However, a unique feature of this competition is that, by embedding EDIA (equity, diversity, inclusion, accessibility) principles throughout this training, fellows can change the landscape of how trials are conducted in Canada.”
 
The StrokeCog post-doctoral competition has some unique features:

• It aims to award two of the four PDFs to people who come from under-represented communities. 
• Its application process considers a broad range of experiences and alternative achievements. “Unfortunately, some individuals don’t apply for funding opportunities because they don’t believe they meet the requirements,” Dr. Edwards says. “With this competition, we are enabling applicants to provide information about what they have done that isn’t necessarily captured as part of traditional academic metrics.”
• It seeks applicants who engage people with lived experience. 
• And, it rewards supervisors who show proof of an EDIA-principled approach to selecting their fellows.

Successful applicants will be required to complete EDIA training modules.
 
StrokeCog’s mission is to improve representation in research trials that have traditionally excluded diverse and marginalized communities. By partnering with other CIHR-funded CTTPs for this competition, StrokeCog can leverage CANTRAIN’s online tools, learning-management systems, training programs and its college of mentors. 
 
Applicants apply to the StrokeCog fellowship program through the CANTRAIN portal. CANTRAIN will organize the review process, based on criteria provided. StrokeCog’s scientific leadership will also provide input into the selection of reviewers.