Medical research foundation in Alberta to offer richest awards in Canada

Edmonton, AB – The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) says it will offer the richest and longest awards in Canada for medical researchers, commencing in 2007.

Starting July 1, the foundation will begin offering seven-year awards, an extension from the previous limit of five years.

These are not salary awards but amounts that will be given to the institutions to offset the direct costs of supporting AHFMR health researchers. Three new levels of support will be recognized with the increased amounts available to researchers over seven years:

– $110,000 per award at the junior levels of population health investigator, scholar, clinical investigator,

– $135,000 per award for the intermediate level of senior scholar, and

– $160,000 per award for the senior level of scientist and renewing scientist.

In addition to these amounts, researchers receive annual research prizes of $10,000 or $20,000 per researcher.

Other initiatives announced by AHFMR include the Polaris Award, a million-dollar-per-year prize, for up to 10 years, to help attract renowned scientists to the province to build research capacity.

In addition, team grants of up to $1 million will be made available for the first time in the foundations 26 years to help build collaborations and teams of interdisciplinary research around the province.