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 $10.48 million in seed grants to some 433 peer-reviewed research projects at the University of Alberta Hospital, the Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute and the Kaye Edmonton Clinic over the past 21 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.

Contact Us

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

Current Competitions

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

Total Funds Awarded

$10.48 million in seed grants to some 433 peer-reviewed projects has been awarded over the past 21 years.

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 in October.

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.

2021 Award Recipients

In 2021, seventeen projects were funded out of a total of 42 submitted for a success rate of 40.5%

Dr. Mahesh Kate

Medicine

Remote Ischemic Conditioning with Novel Optical Sensor Feedback Device in Acute Ischemic Stroke

Dr. Angela Neufeld

Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine

Use of Large Volume Autologous Whole Blood Therapy for Treating Cardiopulmonary Bypass-Induced Coagulopathy In High Risk Patients: A Randomized Control Trial

Dr. Sue Tsai

Medical Microbiology and Immunology

Oxylipins as novel therapeutics to boost immuno-metabolism of life-saving total parenteral nutrition: a translational study

Dr. Angela Lau

Medicine

How much do subclinical patients contribute to tuberculosis transmission?

Dr. Paul Jurasz

Pharmacology

Monocyte-Platelet Aggregate Formation in Stroke

Dr. Stephanie Thompson

Medicine

Lower limb complications in hemodialysis patients: the feasibility of using non-invasive measurements of vascular function to identify risk and response to treatment

Dr. Thomas Jeerakathil

Medicine

Rapid clinical assessment of vertigo using non-invasive eye-tracking and markerless motion-tracking techniques

Dr. Martin Bouliane

Surgery

Total versus Reverse Total Shoulder Replacement: A Feasibility Randomized Control Trial

Dr. Rhea Varughese

Medicine

REVAMP: Remote Exercise program deliVery using A Mobile phone application for patients with Pulmonary hypertension

Dr. Andrew Pepper

Surgery

Customized humanized mouse model to advance cell therapies for type 1 diabetes

Dr. Darren Lau

Medicine

A randomized trial of intermittently scanned CGM versus Usual care with Diabetes Education and feedback, in adults with type 2 diabetes (iCUDE)

Dr. Mahua Ghosh

Medicine

Type 2 Diabetes in Women with and without Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: What is the evidence, risk and co-morbidities?

Dr. Kristi Baker

Oncology

Activating CD8+ T cell-mediated anti-tumor immunity in colorectal cancer

Dr. Hadi Seikaly

Surgery

Engineering Clinically Applicable Cartilage Grafts

Dr. Frank Hoentjen

Medicine

Metabolomic profiles to assess colorectal cancer risk in patients with ulcerative colitis

Dr. Carrie Ye

Medicine

Opportunistic bone densitometry using computed tomography scan in cancer patients taking immunotherapy: a translational pilot study in oncology

Dr. Karyne Rabey

Surgery

Promoting musculoskeletal health with exercise to improve nerve regeneration following peripheral nerve injury

*Statistics on this page are from the 2009-2018 UHFMRC Impact Report

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