Investigators Awards

The VCH Research internal grants & awards program is an important tool for fostering, developing and celebrating research activity at Vancouver Coastal Health.

2013 VCH Research Investigator Awards

The purpose of this competition is to promote excellence and build health research capacity through peer-reviewed salary support awards for investigators located at VGH, UBC Hospital and G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre.

VCH Research Investigator Awards competition is funded by VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation through their Adopt a Young Scientist Program and Best of Health Fund.

VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation is a registered charity that raises funds for the latest, most sophisticated medical equipment, world-class research and improvements to patient care for Vancouver General Hospital, UBC Hospital, GF Strong Rehab Centre and Vancouver Coastal Health Research.

The Foundation is pleased to partner with VCH Research and to raise money for these awards through their Adopt a Young Scientist Program, Best of Health Fund and TD Grants in Medical Excellence.

Two categories of investigator awards

Mentored Clinician Scientist Career Development Award (MCS)
Clinician Scientist Career Development Award (CS)

These awards are aimed at clinician-scientists located at VGH, UBC Hospital and GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre, who want to reduce their clinical practice commitments in order to continue developing their research careers as independent investigators.

Mentored Clinician Scientist Career Development Award (MCS)

One of the hallmarks of VCH Research is its focus on translational health research – improving patient care by bringing multidisciplinary teams together to move research discoveries from the laboratory bench to the patients’ bedside.

One way that VCH Research fosters translational research is through its Mentored Clinician Scientist (MCS) Awards which support clinician scientists at the beginning of their research careers.

Each year, VCH Research grants MCS Awards to individuals who are up-and-coming in clinical practice, as well as research at VGH, UBC Hospital, GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre or Lions Gate Hospital (2010).

MCS Awards are funded through VGH & UBC Hospital Foundation’s Best of Health Fund and TD Grants in Medical Excellence, with Lions Gate Hospital Foundation also contributing in 2010, and provide award recipients with $50,000 a year for two years.

The award is renewable for a third year based on productivity and funding availability.

Award holders also receive $20,000 in start-up funds from their UBC academic department to assist with costs typically associated with starting a research program, such as equipment and other resources.