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Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQ) salary award competitions:

• Chercheurs-boursiers / chercheuses-boursières (CB)
• Chercheurs-boursiers cliniciens / chercheuses-boursières cliniciennes (CC)
• Chercheurs-boursiers / chercheuses-boursières de mérite (CHA)

Program Objectives

Application Requirements

Submission Deadlines

Support and Resources

Guidelines for 91������ Applicants

Program Objectives

The FRQ - Santé Chercheurs-boursiers (CB) and Chercheurs-boursiers cliniciens (CC) salary awards are designed to support early and mid-career PhD scientists and clinician-scientists as they develop and grow their health research programs.

The Chercheurs-boursiers de mérite award recognizes the excellence of a select few among those graduating from the CB or CC programs (i.e. at the end of the FRQ Senior level).

Application Requirements

Please consult the applicable FRQ program page for details:

Expression of Interest for the 2027-2028 Competition

Please submit an internal webform to receive communications and updates from the 91������ FMHS Research Office.

Submission Deadlines for the 2027-2028 Competition

All applications must be submitted through FRQnet by the deadlines below as set by 91������, and not the agency deadlines listed on the FRQ program page. 91������ reviews and approves all submissions to FRQnet. Please be available to make edits after submitting.

Support and Resources

The Research Office of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences administers all applications from across 91������.

• Researchers from all 91������ Faculties may contact riac.med [at] mcgill.ca (riac[dot]med[at]mcgill[dot]ca) for support.
• Our office reviews and approves all submissions to FRQnet. Please be available to make edits after submitting.

Guidelines for 91������ Applicants:

These guidelines follow the general timeline of the application process, from Pre-Award to Post-Award:

Eligibility

• All applicants must hold a faculty appointment at 91������, and all applications must be approved by the Department Head/School Director and the Faculty Dean. New employees must have a signed Letter of Offer by the Full Application deadline, with an employment start date no later than the FRQ award start date (i.e. July 1 of the following year).
• FRQ Research Scholars may not hold a similar startup grant (e.g. CIHR New Investigator award) or external career award (e.g. CRC, CERC). Holding other operating grants or internal career awards (e.g. William Dawson Scholar) is allowed.

Classification

• Classification as Junior 1, Junior 2, or Senior is based on years of experience conducting independent research. The Research Experience section of the FRQ program page describes when the "clock" starts ticking (i.e. when an applicant is classified as Junior 1 with 0 years of experience, on July 1st of the calendar year).
• Please consult the "Expérience de recherche" section of the FRQ program page. Classification is confirmed by FRQ in the Pre-Request response.

Institutional Approval

• All submissions to FRQnet are checked by the FMHS Research Office before final approval. Please be available to make edits after submitting, and promptly respond to any emails from riac.med [at] mcgill.ca (riac[dot]med[at]mcgill[dot]ca).
• This award comes with University salary commitments, including, i) covering the cost of benefits not provided by the award, and ii) long-term employment for Senior award recipients. Within FMHS, Academic Affairs secures a Letter of Guarantee for all non-tenure track applicants. Other Faculties may have their own approval process. Applicants will be notified if there are any issues to resolve.

Language of Submission

• For the Pre-Request, the application title must be submitted in French, while the rest of the application may be submitted in English or French.
• For the Full Application, the application title and a brief public summary (Résumé destiné au grand public) must be submitted in French, while the rest of the application may be submitted in English or French.
• An additional (optional) document may be uploaded under "Autres Documents" to translate the application title and public summary from French to English ("titre et resumé en anglais").

Pre-Request Application

• The application title submitted at the Pre-Request stage cannot be changed for the Full Application.
• The Research Summary (Résumé du programme) is a 1-page section of the Pre-Request and Full Application which summarizes the objectives, methodological approach, and relevance of the proposed work.

Evaluation by FRQ Committees

• Reviews are based on the FRQ Evaluation Grids accessible in the "Boîte à outils / Toolbox" section of the FRQ program page.
• FRQ reviewers are often not experts in the discipline or specialized methods of the application. The proposed research program should be easy to read and strongly linked to the applicant’s training.

FRQ Detailed CV

• This narrative curriculum vitae (CV) must be completed directly online in the “FRQ CV” section of the FRQnet portal
• The information provided in the narrative CV should align with the program’s objectives and evaluation criteria. It is therefore essential to review the FRQ Evaluation Grids in the "Boîte à outils / Toolbox" section of the FRQ program page to determine
  the relevant content to include in your narrative CV.
• Please consult the for detailed guidance, specifically the Documents section below the FAQ, which includes links to: i) FRQ-CV instructions, ii) FRQ-CV template, iii) Presentation standards for attachments, and, iv) Ressource | Writing a successul narrative CV
• Note: the Canadian Common CV and Detailed Contributions are no longer required.

Internal Peer Review

• Internal Peer Review is optional and available for the Pre-Request (Research Summary only) and Full Application.
• Eligibility: applicants located at 91������ campus, the RI-MUHC, and St. Mary’s Hospital are eligible for internal review. Applicants from other units have their own internal review programs.
  • Members of the Department of Medicine are eligible for a dedicated Departmental Peer Review service (contact: dom.adminassistant [at] mcgill.ca (dom[dot]adminassistant[at]mcgill[dot]ca)).

Applying via FRQnet

• Instructions to apply in FRQnet (French) 
• FRQ strongly encourages the use of unique and persistent digital identifiers, particularly ORCID, to ensure reliable identification of individuals and to support the recognition of research activities. Applicants to the research scholar programs are invited to provide their 16-digit ORCID identifier, or a link to another recognized equivalent identifier.

Formatting of Uploaded Documents

• Please use the following format for all uploaded documents (except for the Detailed Contributions):
  • Filename: "LastName_FRQPIN_DocumentTitle.pdf"
  • Headers: "Last Name, First Name"
  • Footers: "Document Title" and "Page Number"
  • File size: maximum 2MB

Past Funding

• Copies of award notices for all scholarships and grants received, except for FRQ awards, must be uploaded in a single file under "Autres Documents" for the Full Application:
  • From the past 4 years for CB and CHA
  • From the past 5 years for CC
• It is encouraged to list current grant applications in the research proposal, especially for Junior 1 applicants (e.g. a component of the proposed research that was submitted for grant funding).

Resubmissions

• Please briefly address each past reviewer comment (2 pages max).

Directors of University Research Centres or Departments Form

• This form is required for all applicants, and should be completed by the Department Chair, or the person who is best acquainted with the applicant's available facilities and research context (e.g. to a Research Centre Director).
• Authors should be identified and contacted early in the application process. The PDF versions of the electronic forms are accessible on the FRQ program pages. Please consult and share the PDFs for early planning.
• While the Department Chair may delegate the writing of this letter, they must approve the application and its contents due to University manpower and resource implications. Any delegation agreement must be communicated to riac.med [at] mcgill.ca (riac[dot]med[at]mcgill[dot]ca).
• Please ensure that the percentage of time allocation provided in the Tasks and Responsibilities section aligns with the information presented in the Admissibility section of the Full Application.
• Support from the Department and/or Research Centre should be explicit and unconditional, rather than contingent on a successful application. It is helpful to emphasize applicants' distinct expertise, particularly when fulfilling a gap at the Department and/or Research Centre.

Letters of Support for Junior 1 Applicants

• 3 additional letters of support are required for Junior 1 applicants, i.e. 2 Respondents and 1 Mentor (in addition to the Directors of University Research Centres or Departments Form). Authors are ideally past research supervisors who will not contribute to the proposed research (as a sign of independence).
• Authors should be identified and contacted early in the application process. The PDF versions of the electronic forms are accessible on the FRQ program pages. Please consult and share the PDFs for early planning.
• Authors should review applicants' respective FRQ Evaluation Grids to determine the most relevant information to include in their letters. FRQ Evaluation Grids are accessible in the "Boîte à outils / Toolbox" section of the FRQ program page.
• Letters should highlight research skills and potential that are personal to the applicant. 

How to Submit Letters of Support in FRQnet

• Authors must login/setup their FRQnet portal and enter the applicant's FRQ PIN/NIP to submit. As soon as possible, applicants should confirm their NIP/PIN and email address with authors, and have authors login/setup their FRQnet accounts.
• "FRQnet 2.0" does not work for the FRQ Chercheurs-boursiers competitions. Authors must submit letters of support using the "Previous FRQnet portal" (instructions to access FRQnet).
• An FRQNet account may be created from the FRQNet login page by clicking “Créer un compte”. An EDI survey must then be i) completed, and ii) transmitted, to access the forms/competitions. (Tip: authors can find their own NIP/PIN on the top horizontal bar in their FRQnet portal).
• Once the applicant enters the author’s email address into their Full Application in FRQNet, the author receives an email with instructions to submit a Letter of Support (the author's email address must be the same one used to create their FRQNet account).

Contribution santé durable

• This is a mandatory section used by FRQ to collect data for reporting purposes only. This section is not shared with evaluation committees.
• Please use the drop-down menus to select research objectives, areas of action, and preferred domains. Please also upload the "formulaire santé durable" under "Autres Documents", which describes, in a few lines, how your research contributes to sustainable health.

Research Funding Checklist

• An online Research Funding Checklist is required following the Full Application deadline, to be submitted via eRAP. Applicants will be contacted by riac.med [at] mcgill.ca (riac[dot]med[at]mcgill[dot]ca) with instructions.

Research Ethics Meetings

• All awardees must attend a Research Ethics Committee meeting (per instructions in the FRQ Award Letter).
• Please contact the FMHS Institutional Review Board (FMHS REB representatives) to schedule your attendance at an upcoming meeting by the deadline indicated in the FRQ Award Letter.
• It is also possible to attend other Research Ethics meetings at 91������ or affiliated hospitals, or other private IRBs (for a fee).

Accepting the Award

• For awards including a grant portion, awardees must first accept the Salary Award in FRQnet before the grant portion appears with options to make modifications.
• Notices of Award for the grant portion are available in FRQnet as of mid-June / early July.

Declaration Solonelle

• Some awardees are required to submit a solemn declaration co-signed by the awardee and the Dean's office confirming working knowledge of the French language. Please check for this requirement in FRQnet, under the section "The grant is accepted by the candidate but remains conditional upon receipt of certain documents"; if required, please contact riac.med [at] mcgill.ca (riac[dot]med[at]mcgill[dot]ca) for an official letter immediately following acceptance of the award.

Chercheur-Boursier Chevronné

• This designation is separate from the Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (FRQ) salary award competitions, and is open only to individuals who have completed their FRQ career awards (Junior and Senior Clinician-Scientists) or who hold a Canada Research Chair.
• Applications are open in FRQnet in early July, where the PI must identify their Department Chair or Institute Director to submit a recommendation. No further institutional approval is required.
• Applicants located at 91������ campus may contact the FMHS Research Office for support (riac.med [at] mcgill.ca (riac[dot]med[at]mcgill[dot]ca)). Applicants from other units should contact their respective Research Office.
• Please conult the FRQ program page for official guidance and deadlines (there are no 91������ Internal Deadlines for this designation).