Supervisors

Deadline: January 24, 2024. Applications now closed. 

Eligibility

Faculty of Medicine supervisors must:

  • Have a current faculty appointment with the FoM at UBC (includes affiliate appointments) at the rank of Instructor or higher (including clinical). Note that applications from individuals holding a rank within the instructor or clinical stream will require Departmental sign off.
  • Find a co-supervisor with a non-FoM appointment. If you need help facilitating this process please email the Student Research & Education Coordinator at med.studentresearch@ubc.ca.
  • Appoint at least one postgraduate student advisor for their project. This graduate student will be included on all correspondence and will attend and help facilitate relevant workshops. The postgraduate student advisor will be formally recognized for their contributions by the Faculty of Medicine Office of Research.

Non-Faculty of Medicine co-supervisors must:

  • Have a current faculty appointment at UBC outside of FoM (includes affiliate appointments) at the rank of Instructor or higher (including clinical). Note that applications from individuals holding a rank within the instructor or clinical stream will require Departmental sign off.
  • Non-FoM faculties include (but not limited to):
    • Applied Science (including Biomedical Science)
    • Science
    • Arts
  • Non-FoM departments may include (but are not limited to):
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Chemical and Biological Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Economics
  • Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • First Nations and Indigenous Studies
  • Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice
  • History
  • Linguistics
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Microbiology and Immunology
  • Nursing
  • Psychology
  • Sociology
  • Statistics
  • Zoology

Projects must:

  • Involve active student participation in the proposed study.
  • Be based on a clear and testable research question or hypothesis, and be interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary in nature.
  • The FoM MRPM award only provides a partial student stipend of $6,000. Supervisors must provide an additional $3,400 minimum for each non-MD undergraduate student (2 per project) contingent on eligible student awards through MRPM (see student website for award details).
  • Have operating funds in place to cover all research expenses (if applicable); supervisors are responsible for all other expenses.

Important Considerations

  • See previously funded MRPM projects to get a sense of projects that have been successful in the past
  • Applications for projects and for students should be submitted separately via separate application portals
  • Projects will be adjudicated by FoM researchers. Projects will be awarded based on the merits of the research project and benefit to the students
  • To be eligible, projects must be conducted from May 1 – Aug. 31
  • Supervisors will be informed of their successful application in February
  • Once projects are approved, the student application portal will open and students will apply directly to the funded projects
  • Supervisors will be given an anonymized list of eligible students to choose from. Supervisors will rank students based on their student statements and CVs and be given a contact list of their top ranked students to interview
  • Supervisors will have at least two weeks to interview student applicants
  • Tentative dates for student interviews will be late March
  • Supervisor pairs will receive up to 3 students:
    • two non-MD undergraduate students (required)
    • one MD student (optional)
  • Students chosen for this research project will conduct full-time research (35 hours/week for a total of 560 hours for non-MD students or 280 hours for MD students)
  • Supervisors may submit only one FoM MRPM

Postgraduate Student Advisor Information

  • Supervisor pairs will choose one postgraduate student to advise on the project
  • Advisors can be Master’s students, PhD students, or Post-doctoral researchers in either supervisor’s lab
  • Advisors will help facilitate research project and will be required to participate in three summer workshops (TBA)
  • Postgraduate Student Advisors will receive supervisory and adjudication experience and receive formal recognition for their work from the Faculty of Medicine Office of Research

Application Process

FoM MRPM Supervisor Applications must be submitted by eligible supervisors. If a supervisor plans to work with a particular student, the supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the student applies separately via the student application process.
  • FoM supervisors and non-FoM co-supervisors will apply together on one application
  • Supervisors are responsible for finding a research partner
  • Supervisors will submit the following via the application portal: supervisor information, project summary, and benefit to students summary
  • Supervisors will be informed of successful application in February
  • Students will then apply directly to the projects with a deadline in March
  • Supervisors will receive student information to conduct interviews in mid-late March
  • Supervisors will rank students based on interviews and be assigned up to 3 students
  • Award notices will be sent out to successful students in April
  • Students are permitted to choose only one summer research project (i.e. NSERC USRA, FoM SSRP, FoM MRPM, etc.)

Application Instructions

Application Portal

Deadline

A complete application must be submitted via the online application system by  January 24, 2024. Applications now closed. 
If your application is not successful:
  • Applicants will be contacted in February with the results of the adjudication process
  • Unfortunately, many excellent projects may be unable to be funded due to the limited scope of this program
If your application is successful:
  • Applicants will be contacted in February with the results of the adjudication process
  • Once students apply, supervisors will be provided with anonymized contact list of eligible students
  • There will be at least two weeks allotted for supervisor pairs to interview students
  • Supervisors will rank top students and be assigned up to 3 students based on rankings
  • Successful student applicants will receive their full stipend through the Student Services Centre (SSC). Payment will be handled by the FoM Dean Office
  • Supervisors will need to top-up non-MD student awards by at least $3,400 ($6,800 total supervisor commitment). The FoM Dean’s Office will handle the transfers via Workday and will reach out for grant information prior to dispersing student stipends. You may draw from multiple grants for the top-ups (i.e. from both supervisor’s accounts)
  • The FoM MRPM will also purchase student accident insurance for all successful awardees for the duration of their placement
  • Supervisors will receive a request (via email) to complete a brief online program evaluation and a short Project Impact Questionnaire at the conclusion of the FoM MRPM placement

FAQs

Supervisor FAQ's

Can I hold both a FoM SSRP and a FoM MRPM for the same time period?

  • Yes, supervisors can hold both a SSRP AND a MRPM, as long as they are with different students. Students can only hold one source of summer research funding.

What is the role of the primary supervisor? Who is eligible?

  • The role of a supervisor is to mentor and support students in fulfilling their proposed research project. The primary supervisor needs to have a UBC Faculty of Medicine appointment (can be affiliate appointments) at the rank of Instructor or higher (i.e. Instructor, Senior Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, Clinical Instructor, Assistant Clinical Professor, Associate Clinical Professor, Clinical Professor, Professor of Teaching). Instructors and clinical faculty may be asked to provide a signature by the relevant signing authority prior to approval.

What if I am unable to find a co-supervisor for a research project?

  • Email med.studentresearch@ubc.ca to help facilitate the process. Include a synopsis of your research project and an idea of what area or expertise you would prefer for a co-supervisor.

If I am a FoM researcher can my co-supervisor also hold a FoM appointment?

  • It depends. We want to facilitate multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary research so co-supervisors from other faculties/departments are preferred. There are some circumstances in which interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research may be conducted with two supervisors who hold FoM appointments. Please reach out to med.studentresearch@ubc.ca prior to applying to ensure eligibility. In your email please give a synopsis of your research project and the supervisors names and appointments.

Can I be the primary supervisor if I do not hold a FoM appointment?

  • It depends. Some non-FoM supervisors conduct medicine-related research such as those in Biomedical Engineering. These supervisors may qualify as primary “FoM” researchers and may be able to partner with other departments outside of the FoM. Please reach out to med.studentresearch@ubc.ca prior to applying to ensure eligibility. In your email please give a synopsis of your research project and the supervisors names and appointments.

Can I choose only one student for this research award if my project is successful?

  • No. Supervisors must choose at least 2 non-MD undergraduate students for this program. This is to ensure student engagement and interaction in interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research.

Adjudication Criteria

Adjudication Criteria

CRITERION POINTS NOTES
Project Summary
The project must be based on a clear and testable research question(s) or hypothesis. Projects not meeting this requirement are not eligible for the FoM MRPM and will be excluded from the competition.		 (60 points) This section should address the scientific merit and feasibility of the proposed project. Considerations when scoring this section include:

  • Clear interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary focus
  • Clear rationale for the proposed research approach and methodology, including the context within the relevant field of research.
  • Clear and testable research question or hypothesis.
  • Feasibility of the research approach including the project timeline.
  • Expected project outcomes.
Benefit to the StudentStudents should benefit from their involvement and come away with new knowledge, new skills, and a better understanding of what interdisciplinary/multidisciplinary research entails.

(40 points)

 This section must address how involvement in this project will help the student gain an understanding of how high quality research is conducted. This includes addressing the opportunities to learn new skills (or develop existing skills) in the context of the following learning objectives (as applicable – not all will be applicable to all projects).As a result of their FoM MRPM experience the student will gain an understanding of:

  • How to generate testable research questions and/or hypotheses
  • How to critically evaluate & analyze existing literature/data
  • The principles of experimental design
  • The ethical principles of research
  • How to critically analyze data; appropriate statistical analyses
  • Effective scientific communication (such as presentations, manuscripts, guidelines, patient learning materials, etc.)
  • Specific techniques/skills required for the project (of lesser importance in scoring than the above learning objectives)

Additional considerations when scoring this section:

  • The student’s learning objectives and role are clearly defined
  • The fulfillment of additional learning objectives (not discussed above) related to the conduct of health research
  • Student has the opportunity to interact with and learn from other researchers (will help the student gain a broader understanding of what research entails)
  • The project has strong research and educational merit
  • The project can be completed in the time available