The Department of Medicine provides and fosters innovative research that advances knowledge and translates new discoveries to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities.
Research opportunities feature extensive collaborations across disciplines, health institutions and health partners throughout British Columbia, Canada and internationally.
Explore the information and support links provided below to help you plan and conduct your research at the UBC Department of Medicine.
I WANT TO…
- Depending on the size and scope of your project you can determine whether to focus on internal, local, national or international funding sources.
- Tri-council (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) operating grants and priority announcements, charities and foundations, local research institutes and internal divisional or centre funding may be available.
- Click here for a list of Funding Opportunity resources.
- Consider subscribing to newsletters which often circulate funding opportunity announcements
- UBC uses an online research administration tool to track funding applications, accounts, approvals and compliance called RISe. You can access this system using your UBC Campus-Wide Login (CWL) and you will use it for all your compliance applications.
- Before you apply for any funding you will need to complete a Research Project Information Form (RPIF).
- If you receive an award or donation for your research you will need to complete the RPIF before an account can be set up for your funds.
- ORS will create a research account (Project/Grant, or PG) for your study once you receive funding. You will need to provide your RPIF, award letter, and payment schedule, and complete any required compliance steps.
- Before you begin your study you may need multiple approvals, and this stage may be time consuming to complete.
- You can often complete all of these requirements simultaneously, and you can do many of them while you are applying for funding.
- ORS can let you know which requirements will apply to your study:
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- Human Ethics
- Biohazardous Materials
- Conflict of Interest and Conflict of Commitment
- Animal Care
- Radiation, Chemical Safety and Environmental Impact
- Financial Conflict of Interest
- Helpful links:
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- UBC Office of Research Services
- UBC Safety and Risk Services
- UBC Conflict of Interest and Commitment
- US Financial Conflict of Interest for applications to US Public Health Service Agencies
- All research involving human participants must have ethics approval.
- Sandbox for applications, templates, and other resources are available from UBC Office of Research Ethics and the RISe website. Regular workshops to guide researchers through the application process are held by the CREB.
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- UBC Office of Research Ethics
- RISe sample forms and sandbox
- Ethics guidance notes and tutorials
- Meeting dates for CREB and PHCREB
- Contracts and agreements between UBC and external partners need to be reviewed and approved by the University-Industry Liaison Office (UILO).
- Draft contracts are available on their website, and both VCHRI and PHCRI provide contracts support.
- If your research involves partnerships with industry, non-profits, or government, you have a research discovery you wish to commercialize, a technology you want to patent, or a spin-off company you want to create, you will need to work with UILO.
- entrepreneurship@UBC is a venture accelerator that can help provide seed funding, support your startup, and connect you with other entrepreneurs.
- The Department of Medicine has an active education program and supports the Experimental Medicine Program, which confers both Masters and Doctoral degrees.
- You can also work with residents and undergraduate medical students. The DOM Research Manager maintains a list of research mentors and potential projects for residents to access.
- UBC Program for Undergraduate Research Experience (PURE) is a program that invites Faculty, staff and students to submit proposals for innovative projects that will expand access to and/or enhance undergraduate research experiences at UBC
- If you are interested in mentoring graduate trainees you will need to meet eligibility criteria to become a member of the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies.
- Statistical support for data analysis can be accessed from UBC resources or services from affiliated centres.
- Before you develop your grant application ensure you are eligible to apply. Each funding opportunity will specify eligibility criteria, which may include:
- Education requirements (MD, PhD, etc..)
- Career stage requirements (e.g. time from first appointment, or completion of degree, etc…)
- Appointment type, protected time for research, and requirements for funding commitments
- Familiarize yourself with the evaluation criteria for the funding opportunity to ensure you fully address them in your grant. UBC Life Sciences Institute, UBC Research & Innovation, BCCHRI and the Department of Medicine have grant development resources to help you.
- When you’re working on your application, remember to identify specific requirements for the funding opportunity (partners, letters of support) and consider elements that will improve the competitiveness of your proposal.
- Review previous successful grants (SPARC and DOM Research Office maintain a library of grants), participate in an internal grant review process or one-on-one consultations, or engage a grant writer to strengthen your proposal.
- Consider working with a scientific illustrator to help communicate your research, develop knowledge translation elements and engage early with relevant partners.
- Confirm internal deadlines early in the process, check for internal requirements or additional documents needed by your Department and/or Faculty.
- Remember to allow adequate time for obtaining signatures ahead of the application deadline.
- Each funding application requires a completed and signed Research Project Information Form (RPIF), which is reviewed by your Department Head, Centre Director (if applicable), and Dean.
- Depending on the funding opportunity, there may be multiple signature requirements at the divisional, departmental, faculty, and institutional levels.
- For faculty appointed in the Department of Medicine, obtaining signatures is facilitated by the DOM Research Office.
- Any research conducted on a health authority site (Vancouver Coastal Health or Providence Health Care) will require Institutional Approval.
- Keep in mind the difference between your Clinical (i.e. hospital) and Academic (i.e. UBC) department heads and division heads so you obtain the appropriate signatures on approval forms
Need help? Contact the DOM Research Office