Opportunities
EPIC is creating opportunities for training, new research questions and collaborations, and the translation of knowledge across academic disciplines, economic sectors, and regional and national borders.
Research Support
By providing funding support and opportunities for collaboration, EPIC will drive innovative, interdisciplinary advances for infectious diseases across the full research spectrum from basic and pre-clinical research to translational and clinical research to implementation studies.
Catalyst Grants (in partnership with the Institute for Pandemics)
These Catalyst Grants are funded in partnership with the Institute for Pandemics to help researchers from multiple disciplines connect and collaborate on projects related to pandemic readiness, resilience, and recovery. This program aims to provide seed funding to support collaborative, interdisciplinary research projects (e.g., development, proof-of-concept, data access, pilot studies to generate data) which represent a step towards the pursuit of more comprehensive applications to external funding opportunities.
New Connections Grants
EPIC New Connections Grants support innovative projects that are fostered through cross-disciplinary collaboration across at least two research groups. Successful proposals will feature joint lead investigators from different university divisions and/or departments and/or EPIC partner institutions coming together for their first significant research collaboration. The joint investigators will tackle an infectious disease research question by applying innovative methodologies that capitalize on their different areas of expertise for impactful outcomes.
Proof-of-Principle Grants
EPIC Proof–of–Principle Grants support early stage and pilot level projects that show promise in developing novel understanding or innovations in the area of infectious disease and/or pandemic preparedness. This funding is intended to be agile and adaptive so that it can be deployed as rapid response funding when needed or provide seed funding within the EPIC community to support a strong pipeline of innovations in infectious disease research.
Training and Talent Support
Through funding support, events and programs, EPIC aims to enable immersive and cross-disciplinary training with access to leading-edge technologies and facilities, spanning the full range of infectious disease research — with an inclusive view to personal and social differences that influence disease burden and control, locally and globally.
Career Transition Awards
EPIC Career Transition Awards support postdoctoral trainees and research associates who are ready to lead an independent project. The awards will establish a discrete fund for the recipient to facilitate an achievable, small-scale project led entirely by the applicant, while being mentored by their supervisor and a dedicated mentor in the EPIC community. This work is intended to become a cornerstone of their independent program as they develop the next stages of their career.
Convergence Postdoctoral Fellowships
EPIC Convergence Postdoctoral Fellowships support postdoctoral trainees who are driving innovative infectious disease-focused projects that bridge two research disciplines. These senior trainees are expected to engage faculty from at least two different departments and/or divisions, with formal co-supervision by each. By linking together expertise from different research areas, EPIC Convergence Postdoctoral Fellowships will help strengthen the connectedness and interdisciplinarity of EPIC’s research community while advancing leading-edge research.
Doctoral Awards
EPIC Doctoral Awards are designed to support a cohort of multi/interdisciplinary trainees engaged in collaborative research in infectious disease. These competitive, $10,000/year awards support excellent students supervised by faculty from the University of Toronto and EPIC’s partner research institutes.
Future Leaders Prizes
The Future Leaders Prizes are awarded annually to PhD students who have defended an exemplary scientific thesis that illustrates excellent research and communication skills and have demonstrated a track record of undertaking leadership or advocacy roles within the scientific community and/or in community engagement. One winner will be selected in each of the following areas: applied research, clinical/community-based research, fundamental research.
GSK EPIC Convergence Postdoctoral Fellowship in Antimicrobial Resistance
Established through a generous gift from GSK, the GSK EPIC Convergence Postdoctoral Fellowship in Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) will support a postdoctoral fellow who is driving an AMR-focused project that bridges two research disciplines. The fellow is expected to engage faculty from at least two different departments and/or divisions, with formal co-supervision by each. By linking together expertise from different research areas, the GSK EPIC Convergence Postdoctoral Fellow in AMR will help strengthen the connectedness and interdisciplinarity of EPIC’s research community while advancing leading-edge research on AMR.
Inspire Summer Studentships
The EPIC Inspire Summer Studentships will foster inclusive excellence by providing third-year Black and Indigenous undergraduate students with opportunities to engage in infectious diseases research with and receive mentorship from EPIC’s faculty members. These awards aim to support Black and Indigenous students who are interested in infectious diseases and to create a more diverse talent pool for the next generation of infectious diseases research leaders.
Nominated Trainee Membership
To build our network of senior and engaged trainee members, EPIC principal investigators are encouraged to nominate trainees from their lab for full EPIC membership. These nominated trainee members will have priority access to EPIC events, receive first notification of all EPIC awards and support announcements, and have opportunities to sit on committees to shape the future direction of EPIC.
Call for nominations now open!
Researcher Mobility Awards
The EPIC Research Mobility Awards supports high-calibre doctoral students or postdoctoral fellows developing new skillsets and strengthening global linkages by providing financial support for them to undertake research training or complete collaborative field work outside of Toronto. Through these opportunities, Research Mobility Award recipients will bring back new knowledge and techniques to our local infectious disease research community and strengthen our research network’s ties to national and international research partners.
Knowledge Translation
EPIC can advise policy-makers on how to address future pandemics. Colleges and Universities Minister Jill Dunlop, above, right, visited one of the labs.
Development of strategies and pathways to establish EPIC as a ‘knowledge broker’ in infectious disease research, policy and commercialization. Planned activities include:
- Annual symposium with government, industry and academic leaders
- Industry partnerships and events including workshops and mini-symposia
- Global scholars’ speakers’ series
- Communications and media outreach
- Development of regulatory expertise and approval programs