Applications from McMaster health professional students will be accepted by Health Research Services (HRS), Faculty of Health Sciences, Room 1B7, from August 31, 2011 until December 13, 2011. Award recipients will be notified by January 31, 2012.

Each year the Faculty of Health Sciences receives a grant from the CIHR that enables us to encourage our health professional students to become involved in high quality research projects. The grant allows us to provide research scholarships, known as the CIHR Health Professional Student Research Awards. The scholarships are paid directly to the successful students.

If you:

• are enrolled in the undergraduate health professional program leading to licensure,
• have completed the first year of study,
• want to gain hands-on research experience,
• not currently holding any other Tri-Council funding,

then you are eligible to apply for a research scholarship of $4,251.

The Health Research Services (HRS) administers these awards, HSC 1B7, 905-525-9140 Ext. 26367, e-mail hodgel@mcmaster.ca.

It is expected that projects will be undertaken during block electives, but horizontal elective projects will be considered as will projects conducted in enrichment years. There is no application form but please refer to submission guidelines on the (below).

Note: Students cannot hold more than one Tri-council award concurrently; if you currently hold a SSHRC or NSERC award you are ineligible to apply.

GUIDELINES GOVERNING HEALTH PROFESSIONAL STUDENT STUDENTSHIP AWARDS

The Health Research Services has established the following guidelines for review and approval of applications.  These guidelines apply to CIHR Health Professional Student Research Awards and the Heart and Stroke Summer Medical Student Awards.

1. Proposal must be submitted in writing.
2. Project must reflect prospective work.
3. Student must be explicit about his/her time commitment and start/end dates.
4. Student must confirm ongoing enrolment and provide a support letter from their Supervisor.
5. Proposals should be similar to that submitted to a granting agency (i.e. include information on the supervisor, and their relative role in the current research work, as well as the specifics about methods, subjects and methodology).
6. Proposed research work, the dates; funding is NOT available to cover past expenditures for projects.
7. Consideration may be given for smaller research projects, and for projects conducted during horizontal electives.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applications (1 original and 3 copies) must include the following:

1. Brief description of the proposed project (background, rationale, hypothesis, methods, data analysis);
2. Cover letter of interest stating the relevance of this experience to your career goals (include previous or related experience);
3. Letter from your proposed Research Supervisor indicating:
   • Availability of necessary resources to enable you to complete the project.
   • Opportunities for your attendance at research seminars and presentation of the research in progress.
   • Opportunity for continuity of your research experience throughout the academic year.
4. Copy of a completed "Elective Objectives Form" (available in the MD Electives Office, HSC 2E10) clearly stating that this is a research elective;
5. Copy of recent CV

Examples of funded projects:

• Preoperative Epidural Fibrosis in Disc Herniation:Clinical Implications
• Predictive factors for aggressive behaviour in children with pervasive developmental disorders
• Efficacy of different surgical approaches to thyroid carcinomas
• Assessing outcomes in patients with burns to the hand
• The role of caspase-mediated cell death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in vivo
• Emergency Department Utilization for Non-urgent Care
• Tracheostomy procedures performed in Hamilton
• Surveying first and third year medical students on attitudes concerning rural training and practice
• Long term bone and mineral abnormalities in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia