2026 Fellows Program

• The award is intended for principal investigators (PIs) located on the UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan campuses and affiliated hospital sites. 
• It is a one-year award
• The award is valued at $100,000.
• The awards must be used to support the salary/stipend of a postdoctoral fellow, or trainee to complete work specifically on the proposed project.
• If the PI determines that a graduate student would better support the project’s progress, the funds may be used in this way. However, priority will be given to applications supporting postdoctoral fellows/research associates.
  • The PI is responsible for selecting the fellow, who does not need to be a new hire.
  • If the fellow’s stipend exceeds the award amount, it is the PI’s responsibility to secure additional funding to cover the difference.
• The award is designed to support the PI in preparing a submission for a multi-year grant.  
• The award is not automatically renewed. However, both the PI and the funded fellow are eligible to reapply in future rounds of funding through this program.

The applicant PI must:

• Be engaged in activities directly related to the focus areas of the UBC AI and Health Network, with alignment to at least one of the Network’s pillars or themes.
  • Proposed projects are not limited to research.
  • This year, the Network will prioritize applications based on the education theme and can include hiring a teaching fellow to develop educational modules.
• Have a Full-time Faculty or Clinical Faculty appointment at The University of British Columbia (UBC; at UBC Vancouver, UBC Okanagan, or an affiliated hospital site). Eligible appointments* include:
  • Assistant Professor (or higher), full time, research or teaching stream
  • Assistant Professor (or higher), Partner
  • Clinical Assistant Professor (or higher)
  • *Other UBC faculty appointments may also be considered.
• For the cancer-specific stream, in addition to an eligible UBC faculty appointment, applicant PIs must have a BC Cancer appointment.
• Applicants can submit a single application as a group of two or more UBC PIs to fund one fellow.
• The funded fellow must be supervised or co-supervised by the applicant PI.
• Applicants can select a stream at the application stage; the proper allocation will be determined during the evaluation process to ensure the funding is allocated based on scientific merit.

A complete application includes a completed UBC AI and Health Network Fellows Program Application Form.

Applications are due by 12:00 pm PT (noon) on Tuesday, July 7, 2026 and should be emailed to ai.healthnetwork@ubc.ca in PDF format. The name of the PDF file should include the applicant’s name in the format of [last name, first name(s)]. Late submissions will not be accepted.

We anticipate notifying applicants of decisions in Fall 2026.

Applications will be evaluated by a review committee comprising faculty members in the UBC AI and Health Network and representatives from BC Cancer. All reviewers will be asked to review the Faculty of Medicine’s REDI Best Practices prior to assessing applications. Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

• Originality and quality of the proposed research project/activity
• Alignment with focus areas (pillars and themes) of UBC AI and Health Network
• Equity, diversity and inclusion considerations
• Existing data and/or pilot studies
• Potential and plan for additional funding in the future
• Applications from early career researchers (within the first 5 years of faculty appointment) are strongly encouraged and will receive additional points during the evaluation process.

The Principal Investigator must attach a CV of up to four pages (CCV format is acceptable).