Research Continuity and Supervision

Transitions in Medicine, Session 3

Going on Leave, Sabbatical or Retiring?

If you supervise students, run grants, or hold active research ethics protocols, stepping away from your PI role requires more than just setting a "last day" date for your leave.

This session focuses on what researchers need to think about to ensure continuity for their staff, learners, grants, data, and clinical trials.

We’ll walk through the practical steps involved in transitioning supervision, transferring or closing grants, managing signing authority changes, and clarifying what can and cannot continue under emeritus, post-retirement or leave arrangements.

This session is designed to answer the operational questions — the ones that impact payroll, compliance, students, and ongoing projects — so you can plan ahead and avoid last-minute surprises.

Session Highlights

 Key points:

• Key considerations for transitioning supervision of PhD, MSc, and postdoctoral trainees
• Financial and grant close-out implications for active funding
• What happens to signing authority and research accounts
• Data custodianship and record retention basics
• Clinical trial transition or closure considerations
• Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

Ideal for:

Researchers thinking of going on leave, sabbatical or retirement, or mid-to-late career faculty planning ahead, who: 

• Actively supervise trainees
• Hold active grants or contracts
• Run clinical trials
• Division Directors and leaders supporting research transitions
• Research administrators who want to understand the process

Dr. Joanne Lemieux, Vice-Dean, Research (Biomedical)

Dr. Neesh Pannu, Vice-Dean, Research (Clinical)

Christine Tyrie, Operations Manager, DoM

Dr. Nadia Jahroudi, Director of Graduate Studies, DoM

Eleni Karageorgos, Team Lead, Research, DoM

Julian Schulz, Graduate Program Advisor, DoM

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