Snyder Institute Award for Research Excellence
Terms of Reference and Instructions for Applicants
The Snyder family and name are respected and prominently displayed within our institute. With the passing of Joan Snyder in April 2022, the Snyder Education Committee wishes to highlight her vision and philanthropy, formally, and to continue to champion her passions and efforts in the community. To this end, a unique “paired” award, bestowed annually, has been created to celebrate one scientist on the national or international stage for their research excellence while simultaneously recognizing an outstanding graduate trainee from the Snyder Institute. This paired award will provide a Snyder trainee with a unique opportunity for mentorship with an internationally renowned scientist.
Terms of Reference and Instructions for Applicants: The award recognizes an outstanding individual from an equity-deserving gender group (women, transgender individuals, non-binary individuals; see definitions section) , who is a trainee in the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. The recipient will have achieved scientific excellence during their time in the Snyder Institute through publications, scholarships, speaking invitations, research-related knowledge mobilization, research-derived innovation, and other scholarly output relative to their career stage.
Eligibility: Trainees may be nominated by any member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases in recognition of Scientific Excellence. All trainees (MSc., PhD., PDF) who self-identify as belonging to an equity-deserving/equity-denied/equity-seeking gender group are eligible to be nominated. See below for definitions. Trainees may self-nominate, but still require a letter of support from a member of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. Nominees must remain a part of the Snyder Institute until December 24, 2025.
Terms and Conditions: The purpose of this award is to recognize trainees who have achieved scientific excellence as members of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases.
Nomination Procedure:
The nomination procedure is comprised of 3 parts:
- A nomination form completed by a member (faculty, trainee, or staff) of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, including a short statement of nomination, will be submitted to the Snyder Education Committee by the specified deadline.
- Upon being nominated, nominees will be asked to submit and CV and personal statement.
- The top five shortlisted applicants will be asked to submit additional information as requested by the committee adjudicating this award.
Nomination Process for External Awardee: Nominees will be selected by the Snyder Institute Trainee Committee (SITC) together with the Snyder Education Committee with input from the Snyder Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Action Group portfolio lead.
Award Process for Internal Applicant: Applications will be assessed by a committee comprised of 1 faculty member from the Snyder Education committee, 1 faculty member from the Snyder Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Group and 2 faculty members-at-large from the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases. The Review committee shall include at least two members who self-identify as belonging to an equity-deserving/equity-seeking/equity-denied group (as defined by Statistics Canada). All members of the scholarship review committee will complete implicit bias training prior to assessing applications. Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest with applicants, which includes personal or familial relationships and mentorship/supervisory relationships. Reviewers cannot partake in assessing the applicant if there is a conflict of interest. All nomination information will be held confidentially by the awards committee and not shared with Institute leadership or the various Institute portfolios.
Adjudication of this award is based on scientific excellence as detailed above, focussing on the trainee’s achievements during their time at the Snyder Institute. Consideration will be given for degree/career stage and will be guided by best practices as outlined in the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA)
Citizenship
Unrestricted
Number of Awards
Up to 1 trainee may be recognized per year, subject to available funding.
Where Tenable
Snyder Institute, University of Calgary
Value
The award consists of two parts:
- $10,000 scholarship offered directly to the awardee; and a
- $5,000 research allowance
If the awardee receives major funding during the duration of this award, the value of this award will convert to a $5000 top-up. If the nominee graduates or departs the Snyder Institute during the duration of this award, funds will be awarded as an honorarium.
Duration
One year.
Nomination Deadline
The nomination deadline for the inaugural competition is September 29, 2025 at 11:59 pm MST. Completed nominations must be submitted as a pdf file to snydered@ucalgary.ca .
Definitions:
- Equity-deserving/equity-denied/equity-seeking groups: communities and groups that experience significant collective barriers in participating in society. This could include attitudinal, historic, social and environmental barriers based on age, ethnicity, disability, economic status, Indigeneity, gender identity and gender expression, nationality, race, sexual orientation, etc. Equity-denied groups are those who identify barriers to equal access, opportunities and resources due to disadvantage and discrimination and actively seek social justice and reparation.
- Equity-deserving* gender groups: groups who have experienced attitudinal, historic, social and environmental barriers based on the sex at birth, gender identity and/or gender expression.
*Alternative terminology: Equity-Denied, Equity-Seeking
- Transgender: refers to people whose reported gender does not correspond to their reported sex at birth.
- Non-binary: refers to people whose reported gender is not exclusively man or woman. Herein, non-binary is used to describe all genders that are neither exclusively man nor woman, although individuals might self-identify with other terms.
- Women: refers to people who identify as women, this may or may not match their reported sex at birth.
Application form: