Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Fellowships in Health Innovation & Enhancement

The annual stipend does not cover the cost of benefits for postdoctoral scholars; the supervisor or department will be responsible for covering the cost of supplemental benefits for the postdoctoral researcher.

AI PFHI Value
$55,000 CAD per year for up to two years. Funding cannot be provided beyond a Trainee’s fifth year in a postdoctoral appointment at the same institution.

Stipend Incentive: $15,000 - For Trainees in receipt of any other major comparable award (i.e. Killam, Notley, Tri-Council fellowships, etc.). The Stipend Incentive may be increased as necessary to ensure the combined value of the awards does not fall below $55,000 CAD per year.

AI EF Value
$55,000 CAD per year for up to one year. Funding cannot be provided beyond a Trainee’s fifth year in a postdoctoral appointment at the same institution.

Stipend Incentive: For Trainees in receipt of any other major comparable award (i.e. Killam, Notley, Tri-Council fellowships, etc.). These Fellowships function as bridge funding to help increase the competitiveness of Trainees in other future fellowship/salary award competitions. If Trainees are successful in other future competitions, they are encouraged to accept the new salary award. If the value of this new salary award is less than $55,000 CAD per year during the term of the Enhancement Fellowship, a Stipend Incentive will be provided to ensure the combined total equals $55,000 CAD per year. A Stipend Incentive cannot be offered to exceed the combined total of $55,000 per year.

Initial appointments must occur within five years from the completion of a doctoral degree or 10 years from the completion of a MD, DDS or equivalent. Appointments are for a limited period of time, from a minimum of three months to a maximum of five years. Refer to the Postdoctoral Scholars Policy and Appointment Procedure for complete details.

All Trainees must:

• Have completed a PhD at the time of award implementation;
• Have accepted or started a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Alberta;
• Be less than five years into a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Alberta;
• Have applied no more than once before for a Fellowship from Alberta Innovates (i.e. can apply two times in total to the University of Alberta’s competitions);
• Proposed projects must:
  • Involve health-related R&I activities that are strongly aligned to at least one strategic priority;
  • Be performed at the University of Alberta; and
  • Be approved for funding by Alberta Innovates.
• Proposed supervisors must commit to cover the cost of supplemental benefits (includes health and dental coverage, WCB, CPP and EI). Applicants and their proposed supervisors should discuss the details of the fellowship appointment. Refer to the university’s PDF Collective Agreement and Benefits website for information on postdoctoral fellow appointments. Visit Human Resource Services Compensation Calculator for estimates of annual benefit costs.
  • A speed code benefits can be charged to will be required to be provided to GPS if the applicant is offered a fellowship.

• Award recipients may not receive simultaneous support from another Alberta Innovates Trainee program.

• Prospective postdoctoral scholars should first contact a faculty member in the department to which they wish to apply who is willing to act as a potential supervisor for the Fellowship. Once a supervisor has been confirmed, applicants must complete the Alberta Innovates Postdoctoral Health Innovation and Enhancement Application Online Application (Google Form) (AI HI and EF Online Application Form).
• Potential postdoctoral scholars must submit their complete application (items 1–8 below) using the AI HI and EF Online Application Form by Wednesday, September 16, 2026 (1st intake; refer to Deadlines and Timelines).
• Three letters of reference (item 9 below) must be sent directly to GPS by the applicants' referees by September 16, 2026.
• Please complete and submit your application package using the AI HI and EF Online Application Form. All supporting documents listed below must be uploaded directly through the form before submitting. A complete application includes the following:
  1. AI HI and EF Online Application Form
  2. Project proposal with statement on relevancy to AI priority areas (1 page maximum). References may be on additional pages(s).
  3. Summary of career goals (1 page maximum)
  4. Applicant CV
  5. Supervisor statement of support (on institution letterhead and signed by the supervisor; can be included in the application by the applicant). One letter maximum; for co-supervision, either the supervisor or the co-supervisor may provide one letter but not both.
  6. If applicable, copy of fellowship competition results from any competitions that the applicant has applied to previously for the same project (e.g., CIHR competition results)
  7. Copy of doctoral degree certificate. If the degree certificate is not yet available, written confirmation from the Graduate School or Registrar of the university that all the degree requirements have been met and that the doctoral degree is forthcoming. - If the degree requirements have not yet been met, but applicants are expected to do so within 6 months of the application submission deadline, written confirmation from the supervisor/department of the expected date all degree requirements will be fulfilled.
  8. Copy of your current appointment at the University of Alberta
  9. Three Letters of Reference. As these letters are confidential, they must be submitted directly by the referees via email to grad.awards@ualberta.ca. Letters submitted by the applicant will not be accepted:
     - All letters of appraisal must be signed by the appraiser and be on institutional letterhead (electronic signatures are acceptable). They should contain a substantive evaluation of your ability and not be merely testimonials, as the fellowships are intended primarily for those who are seeking to establish themselves in their chosen field
     - The three references are in addition to the Supervisor Statement of Support; reference letters should not be from the proposed supervisor (or co-supervisor), as the Supervisor Statement of Support is already provided
     - Only have three appraisals sent. Any additional letters will be removed prior to the competition
     - Applicants are responsible for supplying their referees with the documents necessary for them to write their respective letters. - Applicants should contact their referees well in advance of the application deadline date. It is the applicant's responsibility to follow up with referees to ensure the assessments are submitted in sufficient time prior to GPS’s deadline.
     - Applicants are to instruct referees to request Award Services to confirm receipt of their letters upon email submission. GPS will not follow up regarding missing reference letters.
     - GPS may leverage internal review processes for other competitions (e.g., Killam, tri-council) to triage applications for further consideration by AI for an AI Fellowship. Fellowship applicants identified in this way may be required to submit additional documents to assist in assessing relevancy to AI priorities.

• This is a direct application whereby potential postdoctoral scholar applicants are to submit their completed application directly to GPS. Faculties/Departments are not required to review applications and submit eligible nominees to GPS, but are to refer to the 2026 AI HI and EF Competition Memo for information on the current intake.

GPS will review all applications for eligibility and completeness and forward them to the AI Postdoctoral Fellowships Committee for adjudication. The Committee will evaluate the applicants based on excellence and strategic alignment in the four Priority Areas:

1. Lab Market Impact;
2. Clinical Research;
3. Innovative Care Model Implementations;
4. Building Healthier Futures Through Cross Disciplinary Collaboration

September 16, 2026

• Applicants must submit their complete application (points 1-7 noted above) by completing the Google Form and uploading all required documentation.
• Applicants' referees must also submit the three letters of reference to GPS by September 16, 2026.

Results expected to be announced by December 2026.

Successful applicants should review the Postdoctoral Fellows Policies and Procedures prior to accepting the Fellowship. Successful applicants are to complete the Fellowship Acceptance/Decline Form and submit it to GPS Award Services (grad.awards@ualberta.ca).

• Once the recipient has accepted the Fellowship, GPS Award Services will initiate the hire/payment process to proceed with a Letter of Offer.
  • A speed code benefits can be charged to will be required to be provided to GPS.
• The regulations of the Fellowship prohibit recipients from holding any other major comparable award during the tenure of the Fellowship. Fellows who are offered a major fellowship from another granting agency are required to accept it. In this case, fellows would be eligible for a Stipend Incentive.
• All degree requirements must be met before the start date of the Fellowship. Fulfillment of degree requirements may vary by institution and degree type, but they normally include thesis defense corrections and thesis deposition. Recipients are to refer to the Fellowship Offer Letter for complete details of all acceptance contingencies.

Renewals
Fellowship holders must complete and submit a Renewal Report to Award Services (grad.awards@ualberta.ca) at least six weeks before the start of the renewal year.

Final Reports
Alberta Innovates will provide annual surveys to the Fellowship Recipient over five years following the Fellowship completion to measure the impact and benefits of Alberta Innovates’ Investment, in a form to be determined by Alberta Innovates.