2026 EPIC Future Leaders Prizes – Call for Nominations
The Emerging and Pandemic Infections Consortium (EPIC) is an integrated network for researchers, trainees and partners working to confront infectious disease challenges. We unite members across the University of Toronto and its hospital partners to accelerate cross-disciplinary work in the understanding of infection and development of new countermeasures against pathogens. A key pillar of EPIC’s work is training the next generation of infectious disease research leaders that will help stop future pandemics and reduce the societal burdens of infectious disease.
EPIC Future Leaders Prizes celebrate the best and brightest PhD students who graduate each year from among the EPIC research community. These competitive prizes identify the top graduate in each of four streams:
- applied and/or translational research
- clinical research
- fundamental research
- population, global and public health research
Nominees will be put forward by a faculty member (typically their supervisor) who has a primary appointment at the University of Toronto or one of EPIC’s partner research institutes. The nominees will have successfully defended their theses in the preceding calendar year. Prize winners will have submitted an excellent thesis, both in scientific content and communication style, as well as demonstrated a high degree of leadership outside of their scientific pursuits. These merit-based prizes will be awarded by evaluation of the submitted application package.
EPIC is strongly committed to diversity within its community and especially welcomes applications from racialized persons / persons of colour, women, Indigenous / Aboriginal People of North America, persons with disabilities, LGBTQ2S+ persons, and others who may contribute to the further diversification of ideas.
In addition to the cash award, winners of the EPIC Future Leaders Prizes may be invited to speak at EPIC knowledge translation events to highlight the innovative and impactful work they accomplished during their graduate studies. They will retain membership in EPIC for the year after they graduate and still receive priority access to EPIC events, including networking and career development sessions.
Eligibility
Nominees should have successfully defended their thesis in 2025, and the nominee should meet the following elibility criteria:
- Completed a research project that has an infectious disease focus aligned with one of the following research areas:
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- Applied and/or translational
- Clinical
- Fundamental
- Population, global and public health
- Presented an exemplary scientific thesis that illustrates excellent research, communication skills and impactful findings.
- Demonstrated a track record of undertaking leadership or advocacy roles within the scientific community and/or in community engagement.
- Primary supervisor must have a primary affiliation at the University of Toronto or one of EPIC’s partner hospitals (the Hospital for Sick Children, the Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Unity Health Toronto, and the University Health Network)
Value and Duration
EPIC Future Leaders Prize recipients will receive a one-time prize of $5,000 and may be invited to present their work at EPIC knowledge translation events as well as receive extended access to EPIC events for the year beyond graduation.
EPIC anticipates supporting four applications under this competition.
Awardee Responsibilities
Awardees must have fulfilled the academic requirements of their degree program and plan of study. Additionally, awardees must be open to engaging with current EPIC trainees and will be invited to share their work at future EPIC events.
Application materials
The nominee form should be submited online. For any questions or concerns, please email epic@utoronto.ca with “Future Leaders Prize” in the subject line.
This letter should be provided by the nominee’s primary supervisor.
Please comment on the nominee’s development of research skills throughout their training, their accomplishments in their program of study including the impact of their research findings, and the qualities that identify them as a future leader in infectious disease research, as outlined in the eligibility criteria.
Submit a PDF file to epic@utoronto.ca; Kindly use following naming convention: 2026_Future Leaders_[student last name]_[student first name]_nomination letter.
Please complete the online nominee form with relevant details about yourself, your supervisor(s) and your thesis, including the TSpace permanent link for your thesis. The nominee form will ask you to provide the following information:
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- Nominee information (name, email, student number, division, unit/department, institution)
- Supervisor information (name, email, primary affiliation)
- Co-supervisor information (if applicable)
- Thesis title and related information
- Year of PhD defense
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At the end of the nominee form, you will be asked to submit your supporting documents. Please submit the following documents as a single PDF file via the Nominee Form.
1. Nominee Statement (maximum 250 words): Summarize how your research aligns with and supports EPIC’s mandate as well as how the research skills and experiences you gained during your training has set you up to be a future leader in infectious disease research.
2. Research Project Description (maximum 300 words, references not included in word limit): Please include a plain language summary of the research project, the major findings and the significance of the work. Note: Inclusion of figures is permitted but figure legends will count towards total word count of the application.
3. EDI Statement (maximum 250 words): Please share your reflections on the importance of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) and how you have advanced EDI during your time in graduate school. This can be directly related to your research field and/or project or to your non-research activities (community engagement, volunteering, etc.). You can also share your perspectives on the gaps in EDI in research and how you have/plan to address them.
4. CV for the nominee (Canadian Common CV style preferred)
5. Academic transcript of the nominee (official transcripts are not required)
Kindly use following naming convention when submitting your supporting documents: 2026_Future Leaders_[student last name]_supporting docs_CV_transcript.
Nominees are asked to provide two reference letters from individuals other than the nominator who can attest to the scientific and/or leadership potential of the nominee. Referees do not have to be researchers themselves.
The referees should have a direct relationship with the nominee such that they can comment on the qualities, experiences and achievements that make the nominee an excellent candidate for the EPIC Future Leaders Prize, as outlined in the eligibility criteria.
Reference letters should be submitted by the referee via email to epic@utoronto.ca.
Kindly use following naming convention when submitting the letters: 2026_Future Leaders_[student last name]_[referee last name]_reference letter
Demographic Survey
Both the nominator and the nominee will be asked to complete our demographic survey as part of application process and will receive a link following receipt of all application components. While this survey is required, there is an option to select “Prefer not to answer” for all questions.
Important Dates
- Call for applications – September 2025
- Deadline to submit all application forms and supporting materials (through the online system) – January 23, 2026, 11:59 pm (EST)
- Anticipated review period – February 2026
- Anticipated Notice of Award – March 2026
