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Funding Opportunity Details

Funding Organization Canadian Institutes of Health Research Program Name Fellowship
:

        Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program (Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program: 2025-2026) **Program Launch Date** 2025-07-08 **Deadline Date** TBD

Important Dates

| Competition | 202509PTA
CLOSED |
| --- | --- |
| Application Deadline | 2025-09-17 |
| Anticipated Notice of Decision | 2026-03-31 |
| Funding Start Date | 2026-04-01 |

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Notices

The content of this funding opportunity has been updated
Date updated: 2025-12-08
Section(s) updated: Description

Please note that the on-screen instructions in the ResearchNet application form may temporarily differ from the requirements stipulated on this Funding Opportunity and related Application Instructions. Therefore, applicants should follow the instructions detailed on this Funding Opportunity and related literature.

Applicants can request accessibility accommodations or other support by emailing support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca. Applicants can also call the CIHR Contact Centre at 1‑888‑603‑4178.

Applicant should consult the Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program description for a general overview of the program.

Note: The CPRA program is not intended to support Health Professional (HP) or Allied Health Professional (AHP) degree holders pursuing graduate degrees. HP or AHP degree holders seeking support for a graduate degree must apply to the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master's (CGRS M) or Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS D) program as applicable.

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Table of Contents

• Description
• Objectives
• Eligibility
• Guidelines
• Review Process and Evaluation
• How to Apply
• Contact Information
• Sponsor Description

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Description

CIHR's Health Research Training Strategy aims to equip research trainees so that they emerge from their training as scientific, professional, or organizational leaders within and beyond the health research enterprise. Generating Research Leaders of tomorrow is a key objective for CIHR.

The Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA)  provides support for highly qualified applicants in all areas of health research at the postdoctoral degree or post-health professional degree stages to add to their experience by engaging in health research either in Canada or abroad.

Research Areas

Additional funds are available through this competition to support CIHR Canada Postdoctoral Research Award applications in the following specific research areas:

Canada Postdoctoral Research Award: Fall 2025 Priority Announcements (Specific Research Area)

Funds Available

CIHR and partner(s) financial contributions are subject to availability of funds. Should CIHR or partner(s) funding levels not be available or decrease due to unforeseen circumstances, CIHR and partner(s) reserve the right to reduce, defer or suspend financial contributions to awards received as a result of this funding opportunity.

• The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $ 32,760,000, enough to fund approximately 234 awards (Updated: 2025-12-08)
• $840,000 will be available over two (2) years to fund at least six additional awards to support meritorious Black scholars.
• The maximum amount per award is $70,000 per annum for two (2) years. Award funding is allocated as follows:
  • Training stipend: $70,000 per annum Applicant self-identification information may be used by CIHR to consider individuals for designated funding, should it become available.

CIHR may reserve funding for awards in priority research areas.

Designated funding

Black postdoctoral researchers

The Government of Canada has allocated additional funds to increase direct support for Black Scholars. Canadian Applicants (including permanent residents and Protected Persons under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada)) who self-identify as Black and provide consent to be considered for funds designated to specific groups may be able to receive funding through this initiative.

For more information, consult the Frequently asked questions about the new Black scholars funding.

Supplement: The Alice Wilson Award

A $1,000 award is offered yearly by the Royal Society of Canada (RSC) to three women of outstanding academic qualifications entering a career in scholarship or research at the postdoctoral level via the Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program from the Tri-Agencies (one award is granted per Agency). CIHR will seek the consent of top-ranked applicants who self-identify as women who accept a Canada Postdoctoral Research Award to share their information as potential nominees to the RSC, who will make the final determination and inform successful candidates upon completion of their selection process.

More information is available on the Royal Society of Canada website.

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Objectives

The objective of the Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program is to recognize and support the next generation of outstanding innovators, knowledge workers, creative thinkers and researchers at a pivotal time in their careers. The program provides funding and flexibility, empowering Canadian and international leaders in innovation and scholarship of tomorrow to develop the skills to build world-class research and drive Canadian prosperity and competitiveness.

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Eligibility

Eligibility to Apply

Note: The CPRA program is not intended to support Health Professional (HP) or Allied Health Professional (AHP) degree holders pursuing graduate degrees. HP or AHP degree holders seeking support for a graduate degree must apply to the Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Master's (CGRS M) or Canada Graduate Research Scholarship – Doctoral (CGRS D) program as applicable.

For an application to be eligible, all the requirements stated below must be met:

1. The Nominated Principal Applicant (NPA) must be a trainee (and maintain such status throughout the award duration) and meet the minimum commitment of 75% of their time in the proposed research training throughout the tenure of their award. For the purpose of this funding opportunity, trainees cannot hold or be on leave from an independent research position.
2. A primary supervisor must be identified on the application. An additional supervisor may also be identified.
3. The NPA must hold or expect to hold a doctorate degree or a regulated health professional degree by the latest possible date on which they can take up their award (see Conditions of Funding).
4. The NPA must have completed all requirements * for a doctoral or health professional degree no more than 36 months before September 1 of the year in which they are applying. For applicants who have completed more than one doctoral or health professional degree, the eligibility window applies to the most recent of these degrees.

***** This is not the conferred or convocation date indicated on your transcript, but rather the date on which all the requirements of your degree were met, including the successful defense and submission of the corrected copy of your thesis. If you have more than one doctoral degree, the completion date of your most recent relevant degree will be used to determine your eligibility.

Exceptions to the doctoral degree completion eligibility period are granted up to a maximum of three years only if you meet one or more of the following criteria:

• If your career was significantly interrupted after completing your doctorate or health professional degree due to extenuating circumstances, you may qualify for an extension of the eligibility period. Eligible interruptions may include parental, medical and/or family-related responsibilities, mandatory military service, disruptions due to war, civil conflicts or natural disasters in your country of residence, or limited research opportunities due to socio-economic reasons. The eligibility period can be extended by the duration of the eligible delay(s)/interruption(s).

"Career interruption" refers to a period of time when you were not working (full-time or part-time) and when your research was completely interrupted.
- If you have acquired at least six months of full-time, relevant employment in industry or government (experience in an academic institution or its affiliated hospitals, research institutions and other laboratories will not be considered) after you received your doctorate or health professional degree, the eligibility period can be extended by the duration of this employment.
If you became the primary caregiver after the birth or adoption of a child within three years before or after completing your doctorate or health professional degree, your eligibility period will be extended by three years.

If you have engaged in a non-research-related clinical training (e.g., residency) after you received your doctorate or health professional degree, the eligibility period can be extended by the duration of this training.
5. NPAs who are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) as of the application deadline are eligible to hold their award in Canada or abroad.

Note: For awards held abroad, applicants must have completed the doctorate or health professional degree at a Canadian institution. Up to 30% of all postdoctoral awards will be available to be held abroad.
6. NPAs who are not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), may only hold their award at a Canadian institution and must, as of the application deadline, be:
- currently enrolled in or have completed a doctorate or health professional degree at a Canadian institution; or
- conducting postdoctoral research or post-health research at a Canadian institution.
Note: Up to 20% of all postdoctoral awards will be available to international applicants. International applicants are those who are not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident of Canada, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) at the time of application.
7. The NPA may submit only one (1) application per academic year to either the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) or the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). Should more than one application be submitted, the eligible application submitted first chronologically will be retained.
8. The CPRA program has a maximum lifetime limit of 3 applications per NPA.
9. The NPA cannot have already received a postdoctoral-level scholarship from CIHR, NSERC or SSHRC (including the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship). If you hold or have held a CIHR award that is more focused on an internship, contact CIHR.
10. The NPA cannot hold a CPRA concurrently with another tri-agency research training award.
11. The NPA must complete one of CIHR's three interactive modules on sex and gender in research and include the completion certificate with their Canada Postdoctoral Research Award  application (see How to Apply section for further details).
Note: To be eligible for any designated funding, applicants must respond to the applicable question(s) in the self-identification questionnaire

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Guidelines

General CIHR Policies

Before submitting an application to this funding opportunity, applicants should review the relevant policies and guidelines on the CIHR Funding Policies page, including the CIHR Application Administration Guide – Part 2 General Requirements for Grants and Awards Applications, to ensure understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

CIHR is committed to promoting the inclusion and advancement of those who have been historically excluded from science as one of the means to enhance excellence in research, training and knowledge mobilization. This means recognizing and reducing systemic barriers, mitigating biases, as well as including and benefiting from the full pool of talented researchers and trainees. CIHR's position on equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) is available in the Tri Agency Statement on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. Beyond efforts to bolster EDI, CIHR recognizes that First Nations, Métis and Inuit are rights-holding as First Peoples of Canada, and initiatives should be developed through distinctions-based approaches, as found in the strategic plan and the Action Plan: Building a healthier future for First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples .

Use of Personal Information

All information is shared in accordance with the Privacy Act.As per the Privacy Act, personal information means information about an identifiable individual that is recorded in any form.

• Personal information submitted during the application process, including but not limited to information provided through applicant CVs, the Tri-agency Self-identification Questionnaire and other application documents required by this funding opportunity, will be made available to select CIHR personnel with the appropriate training and security clearance and on a need-to-know basis, for the purposes of future program planning and design and evaluation and learning for organizational and program strengthening. In addition, CIHR may share de-identified, aggregated self-identification information with the sponsoring institutes and competition partners, for this purpose. For further information about the Self-identification Questionnaire and the use of personal information, see the Tri-agency Self-identification Questionnaire Frequently Asked Questions.
• For this funding opportunity, select self-identification questionnaire responses will be shared with authorized CIHR personnel to determine eligibility of applicant (s) for designated funding.
• For priority announcements related to this funding opportunity, some sections of the application containing information that directly or indirectly identifies the applicant(s), will be shared with some funding partner(s) and/or CIHR Institute staff, to assist with relevance review and funding decisions. Conditions of Funding

In addition to the general conditions of funding governing CIHR awards, the following are the program specific conditions of funding applicable to this funding opportunity:

• The award must be accepted within 15 working days of the date of offer or the award will be cancelled.
• Successful applicants must begin their award within 12 months of the earliest possible start date and start on the first day of any month between April 1 and March 1 following the offer of award.
• Individuals whose degree was in progress at the time of application must provide proof that they have completed all the requirements of the program prior to commencement of their award.
• Successful applicants are required to obtain the research institution's signature.
• For successful applicants who are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada), and seeking support to hold their award abroad, the award will only begin after a proof of visa to enter the foreign country has been provided.
• If the successful applicants holds another direct Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC) or agency-specific federal funding training award, it must be terminated prior to the start of the CPRA.
• Data related to research by and with First Nations, Inuit, Métis or Urban Indigenous communities whose traditional and ancestral territories are in Canada must be managed in accordance with data management principles developed and approved by those communities, and on the basis of free, prior and informed consent. This includes, but is not limited to, considerations of Indigenous data sovereignty, as well as data collection, ownership, protection, use, and sharing.
• The succesful applicants will be required to contribute to the monitoring, review and evaluation of CIHR's programs, policies and processes by participating in evaluation studies, surveys, workshops, audits, and by providing data or reports as required for the purpose of collecting information to assess progress and results.

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Review Process and Evaluation

For information on CIHR's peer review principles, see the Peer Review: Overview section of CIHR's website.

For information on the peer review process and evaluation criteria for this funding opportunity, see the CIHR Reviewers' Guide for Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program.

Peer review will be conducted in accordance with the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA).

Relevance Review Process

For applications submitted to this competition, and having also requested to be considered for one or more research areas, the applicant must consent to the use and disclosure of full application and nominative information (e.g. completed relevance forms, project titles) to CIHR and Partners for relevancy review and/or funding decision by the relevant sponsors.

Funding Decision

Upon completion of the peer review, CIHR will generate ranking lists for each committee. These lists will be used for funding decision-making purposes and will remain anonymous. Applications will be funded by committee from the top down in order of ranking as far as the budget will allow.

Up to 20% of all postdoctoral awards will be available to international applicants. International applicants are those who are not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or Protected Person under subsection 95(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (Canada) at the time of application.

Up to 30% of all postdoctoral awards will be available to applicants who have indicated a host institution outside of Canada.

CIHR reserves the right to break ties in ranking by using the committee percent rank for ties between applications in different committees, and the consolidated percent rank for ties between applications within a committee.

Applications that receive a final rating below 3.5 will not be funded.

The names of successfully funded applicants will be published on the CIHR website.

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How to Apply

To complete your Full Application, follow the Instructions in the Canada Postdoctoral Research Awards (CPRA) program – Application Instructions.

Important:

• Please read all instructions to familiarize yourself with the application process before applying.
• Consult the Canada Postdoctoral Research Award (CPRA) program – Frequently Asked Questions.
• Applicants may submit their application in the official language of their choice.
• Nominated Principal Applicants and their supervisor(s) are required to:
  • Have/obtain a CIHR PIN
  • Complete the Tri-Agency Self-identification Questionnaire.
• In order to ensure fairness in the evaluation of applications, equivalent time must be guaranteed for the assessment of each complete application. As a result, CIHR will not accept updates to applications after the submission. It is therefore the responsibility of the Nominated Principal Applicant to ensure that all required information and documentation is included in the application.
• This funding opportunity participates in the eApproval process. Please refer to the Application Instructions for details.

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Contact Information

For all inquiries, please contact:

CIHR Contact Centre
Telephone: 613-954-1968
Toll Free: 1-888-603-4178
Email: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

For service hours, please consult our CIHR Contact Centre page.

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Sponsor Description

Internal Collaborators

Canadian Institutes of Health Research
At the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), we know that research has the power to change lives. As Canada's health research investment agency, we collaborate with partners and researchers to support the discoveries and innovations that improve our health and strengthen our health care system.

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  Date Modified:

20260226.1