OVERVIEW

The LINK Grant (Launching Innovative Novel Knowledge Translation) creates new links between clinical observations and discovery research by fostering collaborations between clinicians and basic scientists. By supporting the earliest stages of translational research, the program enables investigators to generate the preliminary evidence needed to understand disease mechanisms, identify therapeutic opportunities, and build competitive external funding partnerships. Through a matched funding model, the LINK Grant also encourages investigators to leverage institutional, departmental, industry, and other partner investments to maximize research impact.

Click here for the full grant Terms of Reference.

AWARD OBJECTIVES

The LINK Grant supports projects that:

• Foster new collaborations between clinicians and basic scientists to address clinically relevant research questions.
• Translate novel or poorly understood clinical observations into hypothesis-driven research.
• Generate the preliminary data needed to compete for external funding and attract additional partner investment.
• Advance discoveries that improve understanding of disease mechanisms and identify future therapeutic opportunities.
• Promote independence and competitiveness within the postgraduate trainee pool.

ELIGIBILITY

1. To be eligible for a LINK Grant, the application must:
   • Include one clinician and one basic scientist as the Principal Applicant and Principal Co-applicant. At least one must be a full member of the Snyder Institute.
   • Demonstrate that the applicants have the resources and capacity to undertake the proposed research, including appropriate laboratory space, staffing, timely access to reagents and, where applicable, access to patients.
2. For the purposes of this grant, a clinician is broadly defined as an individual who provides direct, hands-on patient care. This may include physicians, nurses, veterinarians, respiratory therapists and other allied health professionals, such as emergency medical technicians, dietitians, physical and occupational therapists, and clinical exercise physiologists. Basic scientists may be faculty members or postgraduate trainees, including postdoctoral fellows (PDFs) and postgraduate medical trainees (PGYs).
3. Preference will be given to applications involving partners from different departments.
4. Researchers or clinicians are eligible as early-career researcher (ECR) applicants if they are within five years of their first independent research-related appointment at the time of the application deadline, excluding eligible career interruptions (e.g., parental, bereavement, medical, or family medical leave).
5. Postgraduate applicants only: 
   • Completed a doctoral (PhD) or equivalent degree (MD) and be a current research associate, postdoctoral fellow, or clinical fellow at the University of Calgary.
   • Applicants must include a Principal Investigator as a co-applicant who is a full member of the Snyder Institute. The applicant’s Principal Investigator cannot be the Principal Co-applicant.
   • Applicants should be maximum six years post-degree, with exceptions made on a case-by-case basis for parental, caregiver, medical leave or other circumstances, with proven scientific excellence and high potential for innovation, transformation, and knowledge dissemination.
   • At the time of application, the applicant will have at least 9 months in the current position remaining and have protected research time.
   • Postgraduate applicant supervisors must provide a letter of support and continuing salary support for the term of the grant
6. LINK Grants cannot be used to support ongoing research projects, rather, the target will be the exploration of a new clinical observation-based research question(s) and collaboration. 
7. An individual may not submit, as the Principal Applicant, more than one application per intake. Grant recipients may only hold one LINK Grant at a time as the Principal Applicant or Principal Co-Applicant. Individuals can serve as co-applicant on any number of applications or active grants under this program. Principal Applicants who have held a Snyder Institute Incubator/LINK Grant or McCaig-Snyder SPARC Ignite Grant in the past two years are ineligible.

MATCHING FUND REQUIREMENT

Applications must include confirmed matching funds, documented in writing at the time of application. The Snyder Institute will provide up to $15,000 per grant, which must be matched 1:1 by an eligible partner, for a total award of up to $30,000.

Matching funds may come from departments, research chairs, institutes, philanthropic donors, industry partners or other faculties. Existing research grants (e.g., Tri-Council or NIH grants) are not eligible as matching funds.

Applicants who are unsure whether a proposed source is eligible should contact ryan.eng@ucalgary.ca before applying.

Previous LINK matching partners:

• Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology
• Division of Respiratory Medicine
• Division of Nephrology
• Department of Critical Care Medicine
• Division of Dermatology
• Crohn’s and Colitis Canada Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Potential LINK matching partners:

• Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
• Department of Rheumatology
• Faculty of Kinesiology
• Schulich School of Engineering
• Department of Pediatrics
• O’Brien Institute for Public Health
• Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute

FINANCIAL SUPPORT & AWARD DETAILS

1. The value of the matched grant is $30,000.
2. Three to four grants per year will be awarded.
3. One grant will be reserved for an early career researcher or postgraduate trainee (see Applicant Eligibility for definitions). 
4. Duration of the award is twelve months. Any unspent funds remaining after twelve months return automatically to the Snyder Institute. 
5. Funding is to be spent on data generation (reagents, assays etc.) and cannot be used for salary support (See use of funds below).
6. In the event that no suitable proposals are identified in a particular cycle, the Snyder Institute Executive Leadership may exercise the option to roll funds forward into a subsequent call for applications.

USE OF FUNDS

Expense eligibility is generally governed by the institutional policy and procedure and program aims. Examples of eligible costs include: collection of pilot data, materials and supplies, student or research assistant stipends, participant recruitment, publication costs. They may not be used for investigator stipends (including applicant postgraduate trainees), travel, relocation or other purposes.

PROCEDURES & CONDITIONS

1. Grants will be evaluated by the following criteria.
2. The following additional aspects will be considered in the review process:
   • Whether applications demonstrate a need for funding. Depending on the program’s budget envelope, smaller requests may be easier to fund than larger requests;
   • Whether applications include matching funds and/or are leveraged with other contributions, including in-kind contributions.
3. Applications will be reviewed and adjudicated by a review committee established by the Snyder Operations Committee. Committee members may include members outside of Snyder as well as community members. For this reason, applicants are encouraged to write their grant in language accessible to those with an advanced degree (PhD/MD). This committee will then report their decisions to the Snyder Operations and Snyder Executive Committees.
4. Extensions: If delays are experienced, extension requests will be granted with formal documentation of an interruption to research duties for up to an additional six months. Requests must be submitted no later than three months before the award end date.
5. Within two months of the completion of the funding period, applicants must submit an Outcomes Report to the Snyder Operations Committee that includes the following information:
   • Expenditures incurred;
   • Current Status of the Project including details regarding external funding applications submitted, their status, any funding received, and next steps in the program of work; and
   • Any additional information on outputs and impacts associated with the funding, including publications, presentations, funding applications, honours/recognition, trainees involved, partnerships established or strengthened, etc. recognizing that institutional expectation for such downstream outcomes is realistically modest given the early-stage work being supported by the LINK Grant.
6. Applicants who have not submitted an Outcomes Report will not be considered for further Snyder Grants.
7. If a Postgraduate LINK recipient leaves their position prior to the conclusion of the funding period, any unspent funds will be transferred to the host Principal Investigator and used at their discretion to ensure completion of the approved LINK project.
8. Recipients must acknowledge the support of the Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, the Snyder Institute LINK Grant Program, and the Joan Snyder Legacy Fund in all publications, abstracts and oral presentations.
9. Recipients must participate in Snyder Grant Review Committees, the Snyder Research Day, and Snyder Seminar events, if requested.

APPLICATION DOCUMENTS

Please assemble your application items in the order listed here. Application items must be typed single-spaced, 2.0 cm margins, Times New Roman (font size 11). A single, digitally generated and text-searchable PDF attachment with all items included in order is required. Applications will be submitted through an online application via the below link.

COVER: Basic Applicant and Grant information submitted through the online application process.

SECTION 1: Description of team and novel partnership (maximum 0.5 page).

SECTION 2: Project description (maximum two pages including references, figures, and tables) including a clearly defined clinical observation and need for funding.

SECTION 3: A team bio-sketch (maximum 0.5 page) describing the profile and project role of each team member. Do NOT include team member CVs.

SECTION 4: Budget and budget justification, including in-kind and leveraged contributions (maximum 0.5 page).

SECTION 5: (Postgraduate Trainees only): Description of how the proposed work differs from that of the supervisor and will advance the career trajectory of the applicant (0.5 page) and mentor Letter of Support (maximum one page; stating stipend support, protected time, use of resources, independence).

SUBMISSION

1. Deadline – November 2, 2026 (4 pm MST).
2. If any problems are encountered, please contact ryan.eng@ucalgary.ca.
3. Upload application as a single PDF document.