Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, a Scholar Awards Program in Women’s Health has been established to ensure that Ontario attracts and retains pre-eminent women’s health scholars.  The community of women’s health scholars fostered by this Awards Program will excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge about women’s health and its translation into improved health for women, more effective health services and products for women, and a strengthened health care system, by:

a)	promoting, assisting and undertaking interdisciplinary, integrative women’s health research that pertains to one or more of the following aspects of women’s health: bio-medical research, clinical research and research respecting health systems, women’s health services, the health of populations, societal and cultural dimensions of women’s health, and environmental influences on women’s health, and other research as required;
b)	creating a robust women’s health research environment in Ontario, based on internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence and a peer review process, that will attract, develop, and keep excellent scholars and provide them with the opportunity to contribute to the improvement of women’s health in Ontario and the world;
c)	addressing emerging women’s health opportunities, threats and challenges and accelerating the discovery of cures and treatments and improvements to women’s health care, prevention, and wellness strategies;
d)	promoting the dissemination of knowledge about women’s health and the application of women’s health research to improve the health of women in Ontario;
e)	building the capacity of the Ontario women’s health research community through the development of scholars and the provision of sustained support for scientific careers in women’s health research; and
f)	exercising leadership within the Ontario research community and fostering collaboration with individuals and organizations in Ontario that have an interest in women’s health or women’s health research.

For 2009-10, up to two awards will be made at each of the Master’s and Doctoral levels, and one award at the Postdoctoral level:

Master’s Awards - $18,000 plus $1,000 research allowance Doctoral Awards - $20,000 plus $2,000 research allowance Postdoctoral Awards - $40,000 plus $5,000 research allowance

Conditions:

All applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents of Canada as of the application deadline date (January 30, 2009). All applicants must be sponsored and endorsed by the Dean of Graduate Studies at the Ontario university at which they are undertaking graduate study or postdoctoral research. To be eligible for a Master’s or Doctoral Award, applicants must be registered full-time in a Master’s or Doctoral graduate program at an Ontario university at the time of taking up the award (i.e., the fall term of 2009-10), and must remain registered full-time throughout the term of the award.  Master’s students remain eligible to the end of their sixth term of full-time study, and doctoral students to the end of their fifteenth term of full-time study. To be eligible for a Postdoctoral Award, applicants must be engaged in full-time research at an Ontario university at the time of taking up the award (i.e., September 1, 2009), and must have completed all requirements for the doctoral degree by the application deadline (i.e., January 30, 2009) and within 36 months of the application deadline (i.e., no earlier than January 31, 2006).  If a longer period of time has passed, for example for childrearing, applicants must submit a rationale for the delay in application. Holders of Women's Health Scholars Awards are precluded from holding any other major award during the term of this award.

Funding:

During the one year period commencing September 2009, master’s award recipients will receive $6,000 per term, for each of the three terms in which they are registered full-time in a master’s program in an Ontario university, as long as they do not exceed the sixth term of their master’s study. Payments will be made by the university through its customary procedures and on its customary schedule (typically equal monthly payments during the term). The accountable research allowance, to cover costs directly related to the research, including research equipment, materials and supplies, will be paid by the university through its customary procedures. During the one year period commencing September 2009, doctoral award recipients will receive $6,666 per term, for each of the three terms in which they are registered full-time in a doctoral program in an Ontario university, as long as they do not exceed the fifteenth term of their doctoral study.  Payments will be made by the university through its customary procedures and on its customary schedule (typically equal monthly payments during the term). The accountable research allowance, to cover costs directly related to the research, including research equipment, materials and supplies, will be paid by the university through its customary procedures. During the one year period commencing September 2009, postdoctoral award recipients will receive $3,333 per month, for each of the 12 months in which they are engaged full-time in postdoctoral research in an Ontario university.  Payments will be made by the university through its customary procedures and on its customary schedule. The accountable research allowance, to cover costs directly related to the research including research equipment, materials and supplies, will be paid by the university through its customary procedures.

Application Procedure:

(Application forms are available in the offices of the Deans of the Graduate Schools in Ontario universities, and at the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies, 180 Dundas Street West, 11th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1Z8. They may also be downloaded from the OCGS website at /_bin/home/womensHealth.cfm.) The Dean of the Graduate School at which each applicant is proposing to undertake study must sponsor the applicant, certify the applicant’s eligibility, and specify which term of their program the master’s or doctoral student will be in at the commencement of the award. Each applicant must submit to the Dean nine copies of the following documents by the date established by the Dean:

1.	The completed application form.
2.	A curriculum vitae (including information concerning the eligibility criteria).
3.	(For Postdoctoral applicants) a brief summary of the doctoral thesis (maximum 300 words).
4.	A statement of research to be undertaken during the period of graduate study or postdoctoral research (maximum 1,000 words). There must also be an additional non-technical summary (maximum 500 words). These statements must be written by the candidate.
The candidate must also provide:
5.	(For Master’s and Doctoral applicants) all undergraduate and graduate transcripts.  These may be either official transcripts sent directly by the Registrar's office of the issuing university, or copies verified and certified as accurate by the Registrar's office of the Ontario university of current registration.
6.	Confidential letters from two assessors for Master’s and Doctoral applicants, and four assessors for Postdoctoral applicants.  These appraisals should focus on an evaluation of the applicant’s research to date, and the research being undertaken during the graduate or postdoctoral period.  The applicant must obtain the appraisals and transmit them in a sealed letter bearing the evaluator’s signature across the seal.  For postdoctoral applications, two of the assessors should preferably be from another university and must not have been associated with the candidate as either a supervisor, or a member of the candidate’s supervisory committee, or a co-author.

By January 30, 2009, the complete application package is to be forwarded by the Dean of Graduate Studies of the sponsoring university to:

Dr. John ApSimon, Executive Director
Ontario Council on Graduate Studies
180 Dundas Street West
11th Floor
Toronto, Ontario  
M5G 1Z8        
Tel:(416) 979-2165 (x 235)

The Selection Committee:

Committee members are nominated by the Deans of the Graduate Schools in the Province of Ontario and by the Ontario Women’s Health Council, and selected by the Ontario Council on Graduate Studies. Applicants for Master’s and Doctoral Awards will be assessed on their talent, the excellence of their work, the vision that they bring to their endeavors, and the impact that they foresee resulting from their work, as measured by: The program of study and research and its potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge about women's health; Past academic results, demonstrated by transcripts, awards and distinctions; Relevant professional and academic experience, including research training, as evidenced by papers presented at conferences and the candidate's publication record; Written letters of appraisal; and Appropriateness of the choice of institution and supervising investigator. Applicants for Postdoctoral Awards will be assessed on their talent, the excellence of their work, the vision they bring to their endeavors, and the impact that they foresee resulting from their work, as measured by: The program of study and research and its potential contribution to the advancement of knowledge about women's health; The degree of originality and expected contribution to the advancement of knowledge about women's health; Significance of the research for women's health, understood to encompass scholarly or intellectual significance as well as social and cultural significance; The suitability of theoretical perspectives; The appropriateness and expected effectiveness of the research strategies or methodologies; The suitability and expected effectiveness of plans to communicate research results both within, and, as appropriate, beyond, the academic community; Where appropriate, the nature and extent of research training; Written letters of appraisal; and Appropriateness of the choice of institution and supervising investigator.

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