TD Bank Financial Group Grant for Health Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Fund Awards

The TD Bank Financial Group in agreement with the University of Alberta has established an endowment fund to be administered by the College of Health Sciences, University of Alberta.

For 2026, the fund will provide two (2) $10,000 awards to support students and trainees at the masters, doctoral, post doctoral, or fellowship level.

One (1) award (Precision Health Stream) will be granted to applicants from the University of Alberta who have active roles with an interdisciplinary (cross- faculty or multiple health/allied health disciplines) research team, relevant to Precision Health and who demonstrate interest and potential to excel in interdisciplinary health research.

For this competition, Precision Health research is defined as research on the emerging healthcare model that leverages a vast array of data, new technologies, and the study of factors such as genes and their expression (e.g., genomics, metabolomics), personal characteristics (e.g., diet/nutrition) and environmental exposures, to better predict, delay, understand and address diseases and disabilities of individuals. Under this definition, Precision Health also includes the study of population data to deliver new approaches to health promotion, rehabilitation, and increased equity of health outcomes in populations.

One (1) award (General Stream) will be granted to applicants from the University of Alberta who have an active role in an interdisciplinary health research team. The proposed research should demonstrate the integration of knowledge/expertise from two or more disciplines.

These awards will be administered through the College of Health Sciences, according to University of Alberta Student Financial Supports Policy. The recipients will be chosen based on the recommendation of an adjudication panel appointed by the Research Director of the College of Health Sciences.

Eligibility of Candidates

Those candidates who meet the following criteria are eligible to apply:

• Registered full-time in a graduate or fellowship program for the duration of the award at the University of Alberta that links to health research.
• A GPA of 3.5 or higher from the most recent academic year.
• Interest in exploring opportunities to increase interdisciplinary or team-based scholarship in health research and/or collaborative practice in the healthcare system.
• Has a supervisor who holds an academic appointment from the University of Alberta and possesses a record of productive health-oriented research, including peer-reviewed grants, publications, and conference presentations/abstracts.
• Involvement in a health research project with an interdisciplinary focus and interdisciplinary team (i.e., cross-faculty or two or more health disciplines) relevant to Precision Health or another area of interdisciplinary inquiry.
• Holds less than $20,000 in concurrent awards/scholarships by the beginning of the award (April 1, 2026)

Applications

Please use the TD Award Application (fill-in) form using the font as set in the form, and must be signed and dated appropriately by required signees. RSO signatures are not required for this application.

• • 2026 TD Awards Application Form
  • 2026 TD Award Information

Application Checklist

Completed application form includes the following:

1. Applicant’s personal data (Section 1)
2. Signatures (Section 2). If Applicant does not have a department, only the Faculty’s Dean (or the Dean’s office deemed equivalent) is required.
3. Applicant’s current program (Section 3A)
4. Most recent academic transcripts (Section 3B)
5. Applicant’s interest in interdisciplinary health research scholarship (Section 3C)
6. Applicant’s CIHR format CCV Biosketch (Section 3D)
7. Supervisor’s contact information (Section 4A)
8. Supervisor’s CIHR format CCV Biosketch (Section 4B).
9. Research Project summary (Section 5).
   
   • Section 5A: Stream Designation
   • Section 5B: Project Overview
10. Letter of reference submitted separately from the main application to the College of Health Sciences, Office of Research at chsoor@ualberta.ca. (Section 6).

Evaluation Procedure + Award Process

For detailed information regarding the evaluation process and award process, please review the complete the Project Evaluation Criteria.

2025 Winners

• Zhiyao Ma (Precision Health Award)
• Adam McArthur (Precision Health Award)
• Jordyn Burga (General Award)
• Kathleen Glover (General Award)

2024 Winners

• Devarasa Giriyapura Murugeshappa (Precision Health Award)
• Steel McDonald (Precision Health Award)
• Elizabeth Kusi-Appiah (General Award)
• Simran Panesar (General Sward)

2023 Winners

• Nandini Basuray (Precision Health Award)
• Danielle Raylee Mattson (Precision Health Award)
• Muneeb Masood Raja (Precision Health Award)
• Neelam Saleem Punjani (General Award)
• Bahareh Behroozi Asl (General Award)
• Ewen Bryce Lavoie (General Award)

Term of Award

The award is for a maximum period of one year from the date of allocation.

Deliverables at end of the Award

Successful candidates will submit a final report to the CHS Office of Research within one month after the award completion (May 1, 2027). The report must acknowledge support from the TD Fund. Additional reporting requirements will be provided to the successful applicants, who may also be required to present their final report at a CHS meeting and/or conference (suitable meeting and date to be determined).