• Cancer Research Training Program

The Cancer Research Training Program (CRTP), annually supports approximately 40 Graduate Students, Postdoctoral Fellows and Clinical Research Fellows pursuing cancer research within cutting edge facilities overseen by successful cancer researchers across Atlantic Canada.  The program imparts a sense of community, allowing cancer research trainees to discuss their work and interact freely with their peers. The BHCRI peer-review process identifies excellence in our trainees.

In addition to salary support for top-ranked trainees in Atlantic Canada through the CRTP Award, the Cancer Research Training Program provides:

• • Work-in-Progress sessions where trainees present their work to peers;

• • Quarterly Integrated Learning Sessions where local and national speakers share their expertise;

• • Travel awards enabling trainees to attend cancer research conferences around the world;

• • Training via our annual Cancer Research Workshop and biennial Cancer Research Conference; And

• • A Skills Acquisition Program, offering financial support to cancer research trainees wishing to visit another institution to learn new techniques.

Faculty supervisors place a high value on the program.  They report that the program allows these supervisors to conduct more and larger research studies and that their trainees’ efforts are crucial to the success and productivity of their research programs.

• • Since inception in 2009, the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute (BHCRI) has awarded over $5.6M to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in Atlantic Canada

• • Since 2009, BHCRI has supported over 187 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and residents

• • All BHCRI funding stays in Atlantic Canada to support cancer research taking place in our own region

• • Since 2009, CRTP trainees have captured over $5.5M in prestigious salary awards from government funding agencies, not-for-profits and private sector sources, including Canadian Institutes of Health Research Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships, Killam Postdoctoral Fellowships, Nova Scotia Health Research Foundation Scotia Scholar Awards, and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada Alexander Graham Bell Canada Graduate Scholarships

• • Fifteen former CRTP trainees are now training the next generation of scientists, including current BHCRI members Dr. Sherri Christian (Memorial University in Newfoundland), Drs. Shashi Gujar and Paola Marcato (Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia), Dr. Daniel Gaston (NS Health) and Dr. Patrick Murphy (University of Prince Edward Island)

Changes to the Cancer Research Training Program allows greater access to the program for trainees in Atlantic Canada.

The new program is a work in progress and will be evaluated over the next two years. Initial benchmarks of success include:

• • An increase in the number of trainees in the program, particularly from outside Dalhousie

• • Notations (either transcript or co-curricular record) for ALL trainees

• • Eligibility to apply for BHCRI program funding for all trainees (stipends, travel, Skills Acquisition Program, interdisciplinary grant)

All trainees working in cancer research in Atlantic Canada are encouraged to apply for the new Program to become part of CRTP.

The application consists of a letter of support from the trainee’s supervisor/program director, a letter from the applicant (trainee) outlining their cancer program and commitment to CRTP, and a lay summary of the cancer research. Supervisors must be members of BHCRI in order for trainees to apply. Trainees who are accepted into the program will automatically become members of BHCRI.

The Cancer Research Training Program (CRTP) call for applications is now closed. Thank you to those who applied. The next CRTP application date will be announced on this page when the information becomes available.

“CRTP exposed me to the power of a cross-disciplinary approach to cancer research.  The program brought in experts from diverse fields and patient perspectives.  Through the program I became aware of aspects of cancer that far surpassed the end of my tissue culture dish.”   Maya Shmulevitz, Former CRTP Trainee; Associate Professor, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, and Canada Research Chair in Molecular Virology and Oncotherapy, University of Alberta