The Northern Contaminants Program (NCP) engages Northerners and scientists in research and monitoring of long-range contaminants in the Canadian Arctic, that is, contaminants that are transported to the Arctic through atmospheric and oceanic processes from other parts of the world and which remain in the Arctic environment and build up in the food chain (see NCP’s list of contaminants of concern).

The data generated by the NCP is used to assess ecosystem and human health, and the findings of these assessments are used to address the safety and security of traditional country foods that are important to the health and traditional lifestyles of Northerners and northern communities. The findings also inform policy, resulting in action to eliminate contaminants from long-range sources.

The NCP funds research, monitoring and related activities in Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Nunavik and Nunatsiavut. This includes the traditional territories of Yukon First Nations and of the Dene and Metis of the Northwest Territories, and all of Inuit Nunangat. Proposals for work to be conducted outside these regions will be considered on a case-by-case basis according to their relevance to priorities and objectives identified in the NCP strategic guidance documents (the ‘NCP Blueprints’). The 5 subprograms are:

1. Human health
2. Environmental monitoring and research
3. Community-based monitoring and research
4. Communications, capacity and outreach
5. Program coordination and Indigenous partnerships

Starting in 2020-2021, the NCP began supporting multi-year projects under each of the 5 subprograms. As a consequence, a portion of the funds for each subprogram has already been committed to projects extending to 2022-2023.

For this call for proposals, $1 million is available in 2021-2022 for new projects that will address priorities and objectives described in the NCP Blueprints, particularly in relation to human health biomonitoring and plastic pollution in Canada’s Northern and Arctic regions. Applicants may request funding for up to 3 years.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative invites applications for challenge grants in the field of Visual Proteomics. This Request for Applications (RFA) aims to advance technology directed at the goal of obtaining near-atomic resolution readouts inside the cell.

The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative invites applications for three-year collaborative projects for the generation of healthy, single-cell reference data from pediatric tissue samples for the Human Cell Atlas (HCA). Read our Medium post for more information. Please register your interest with the HCA to find collaborators and connect with ongoing efforts.

ear Lakehead Faculty, 

Do you have any research collaborations with Korean partners?  Mitacs and the National Research Foundation of Korea are partnering on the Globalink Research Award program to offer Korean graduate students and post-doctoral fellows the opportunity to come to Canada for short-term research projects (from 12 to 24 weeks).  

Applications are submitted by a Korean PI to NRF, but require the support of a Canadian supervisor as well as institutional support from the Canadian host institution.  I am available to provide assistance with the applications.  

Please feel free to reach out to your partners in Korea if you would like to host a student.  If you intend to support an application, please contact me as soon as possible, as the co-pay from Lakehead requires approval in advance.  And of course, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at  intl.research@lakeheadu.ca.

1. National Research Foundation (NRF) call for proposals (Korea — inbound to Canada):

Canadian Blood Services is pleased to announce its 2021 Intramural Research Grant Program Competition. The objective of the Intramural Research Grant Program is to support collaborative research projects that will generate knowledge and lead to new discoveries that will improve the safety and efficacy of blood products and the blood system in general.  

Applications are welcomed from project teams led by an investigator affiliated with a Canadian academic program as a faculty member. Project teams must be composed of at least two investigators (including the Principal Investigator) and at least one of the investigators must be affiliated with Canadian Blood Services as a scientist, medical officer/director/consultant, or adjunct scientist.

For detailed information about the Intramural Research Grant Program competition, please refer to blood.ca.

The deadline to submit a Registration Form is February 26 2021. Full applications are due April 23 2021.

To further the understanding of economic resilience, Scotiabank and Mitacs have partnered to create the Scotiabank Economic Resilience Research Fund (SERRF). This $300,000 partnership over three years will support research to advance economic resilience in communities across Canada. 

The objective of SERRF is to: 

• Support the next generation of problem solvers to ensure that students are actively engaged in innovative, useful, and relevant community research
• Enable Canadian NFP organizations and charitable organizations to access talent from academic institutions in order to provide insights related to the economic resilience of Canadian communities
• Narrow the gap between the need for academic research and community impact
• Strengthen relationships between Canadian NFPs and academia through collaboration and knowledge sharing
• Reduce financial barriers for Canadian NFPs to access research expertise
• Increase the number of researchers representing the Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour (BIPOC) community 
• Continue to inform Scotiabank’s social impact strategy to ensure that it invests for impact 

SERRF Research Themes 

Through this initiative, the partnership will solicit research applications that support the three key themes below:  

1. Accelerate newcomer integration  

Successful and rapid newcomer integration enables financial self-reliance and contribution to society. Canada’s prosperity and economic resilience are closely tied to the number and success of its immigrants. 

Proposed research projects will target newcomers to Canada (in past three years) including immigrants, refugees, and temporary foreign workers to help fast track meaningful employment for newcomers to the country. Integration essentials might include language, culture and life skills, training help qualifying for and finding employment, and support networks.

2. Increase high school graduation and post-secondary participation 

Secondary and post-secondary education increases employment prospects, life opportunities and the likelihood of financial success. 

Proposed research projects will target disadvantaged populations, including Canadian Indigenous communities and at-risk youth to ultimately facilitate a higher rate of high school graduation and post-secondary participation. Post-secondary education is defined broadly, to include university, college, and trades programs.

3. Remove barriers to career advancement for marginalized groups 

Disadvantaged people and groups experience barriers to career entry and advancement more frequently than others. This is both unjust and unproductive. 

Proposed research projects will be targeted to support women, BIPOC, and other equity seeking groups (e.g., persons with disability, veterans, LGBTQ, etc.) to determine how to remove barriers to meaningful employment, reduce the gaps in leadership representation, and find solutions to career entry and advancement. 

What makes a strong proposal? 

Factors critical to a successful SERRF application are as follows: 

• Inclusion of members of the target community, ideally those with lived experience, throughout the development and implementation of the researchThe research being conducted is filling a gap in knowledge across the ecosystem related to one of the three key themes outlined above 
• The knowledge gained will be impactful to the charity/NFP sector and beyond with the intention to disseminate the results of the research
• Presence of an experienced academic supervisor at the intern’s institution to help guide the development of the project, and ensure research rigour and adherence to academic standards 

• The project creates a meaningful experience for the eligible intern to apply their skills in a non-academic environment and broaden their network