Medical
Research Competition

About the UHF Medical Research Competition

The University Hospital Foundation Medical Research Competition (UHFMRC) provides funds to innovative, translational research for clinician scientists in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry at the University of Alberta.

Community support of the UHFMRC has contributed more than $6.4 million in seed grants to some 250 peer-reviewed research projects at the University of Alberta Hospital, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic over the past 12 years.

Competition Criteria

Applications in all areas of biomedical, clinical, health services and outcomes research are acceptable, however a clear linkage to clinical problems in adults is required. Availability of funding may be guided by certain subject areas as outlined further in the Guidelines.

The University Hospital Foundation encourages applications from new investigators – those within five years of their first academic appointment.

Established investigators may apply but are especially encouraged to participate in projects as co-investigator(s)/collaborator(s) with new investigators.

Either the principal investigator or the co-PI are required to hold a primary appointment with Alberta Health Services at the University of Alberta Hospital, Mazankowski Alberta Health Institute, or the Kaye Edmonton Clinic and a faculty appointment with the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry.

Current Competitions

Registration to apply for funding through the UHFMRC for 2021 is now closed.

Contact Us

For questions concerning competition deadlines and requirements, please contact the grant administrator. Email

Total Funds Awarded

$6.4 million in seed grants to some 250 peer-reviewed projects has been awarded over the past 12 years. Download the 10 Year Report

Application and Review Process

Step 1

Review guidelines to ensure you meet the funding criteria

Download PDF

Step 2

Registration is mandatory through the UHF SurveyMonkey. Registration is now closed.

Step 3

Registrants will be advised within 3 business days of registration if they are eligible to submit a full application.

Step 4

Eligible registrants are invited to submit a full application by October 14, 2021.

Step 5

Grant Review Committee reviews and evaluates applications.

Step 6

2021 winners will be notified by the end of the year.

Dr. Ian Winship, Medical Research Competition Awardee

If you want to move closer to a cure for a complex disease like schizophrenia, you need new ideas. The grant from UHF allowed me to take the research in my lab in a whole new direction.

2019 Award Recipients

In 2019, nine projects were funded out of a total of 43 submitted for a success rate of 21%

Dr. Bo Cao

Psychiatry

Prospective prediction of opiod misuse using machine learning

Dr. Matthew Croxen

Laboratory Medicine & Pathology

Identification of etiological agent(s) in undiagnosed respiratory infections and microbial encephalitis

Dr. Esme Dijke

Laboratory Medicine & Pathology

Immunogenicity of Therapeutic Allogeneic Regulatory T Cells derived from infant human thymus

Dr. Carlos Fernandez-Patron

Biochemistry

New proteomics-aided approaches for identifying biomarkers of human pathologies: focus on rheumatoid arthritis

Dr. Nadr Jomha

Surgery

Vitrified cartilage transplantation in a porcine model

Dr. Jeremy Rempel

Radiology & Diagnostic Imaging

A diagnostic technique for assessing reperfusion quality following endovascular thrombectomy

Dr. Oleska Rewa

Critical Care Medicine

Midodrine for the early weaning from vasopressor support in the ICU - LIBERATE pilot study

Dr. Toru Tateno

Medicine

Novel biomarkers for human pituitary tumors

Dr. Toshifumi Yokota

Medical Genetics

Identification of novel biomarkers in facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

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