Marshall Fellowship Application Guidelines

Applicant

• Applicants for the IMH Marshall Fellows Program must have a PhD or MD (or anticipate being awarded a PhD or MD before September 2025).
• Applicants must be eligible to hold a UBC Postdoctoral or Clinical Fellowship appointment for at least 12 months from the start date of their award.
• Applicants must be within 5 years post-completion of their PhD or within 10 years post-completion of their MD.
• Current first-year Marshall Fellows may apply for a second (final) year of funding.

Supervisor

• Applicants must identify a UBC faculty member supervisor with an established track record in grant funding and peer reviewed publications.
• The primary supervisor must be an IMH member. See the IMH Membership page for information on becoming a member.
• A co-supervisor may be identified if they provide an additional area of expertise.
• There is no limit to the number of applicants that a faculty member can support as a proposed supervisor. However, a faculty member cannot supervise multiple Marshall Fellows at a time, and this will be accounted for in the review committee’s final recommendations.

Prepare the following sections as a single PDF file in the order listed below:

1. Lay Abstract (max. 500 words): A summary of the Applicant’s proposed research project, written in layman’s terms. If the proposal is funded, this material may be used in IMH announcements.
2. Applicant CV (max. 5 pages): Canadian Common CV, NIH Biosketch, or other similar format (at minimum to include details of prior training, grants, abstracts, and peer reviewed manuscripts).
3. Proposal (max. 2 pages, with no appendices): Must include i) Introduction, ii) Background and Justification, iii) Objectives, iv) Hypotheses, v) Central Methodology, and vi) Significance.
4. Citations/References (max. 1 page)
5. For new applicants applying for their 1st year of funding, submit a Research Training/Career Plan* (max. 1 page): A brief description of present or recently completed research training, project and training goals to be accomplished during the IMH Fellowship program, and applicant’s future career plans.
   *For current Fellows applying for a 2nd year, in lieu of a Research Training/Career Plan, please submit your 2024/2025 Interim Progress Report online.
6. Sponsor Letter** (max. 1 page): A letter from the primary supervisor stating how the award will enhance the applicant’s training or cultivate translational research of relevance to the IMH mission, and describing the supervisor’s commitment to facilitate the specific research proposal. The letter must specify what resources the supervisor is able to provide to support the applicant’s training and facilitate completion of the applicant’s research project.
   **An additional 1-page letter from a co-supervisor may be included, only if this co-supervisor provides an area of expertise not otherwise available. If a second letter is included, it must explain the second mentor’s unique role in the project and not simply be a letter of support.
7. Supervisor CV (max. 5 pages): Canadian Common CV, NIH Biosketch, or other similar format (must include grants, total number of publications, abstracts, and most significant accomplishments/contributions).

In the interest of a fair and equitable evaluation process, any supplemental material not listed above (e.g., appendices) will NOT be considered in the review process. Additionally, any pages exceeding the specified length will be discarded. Applications not following the guidelines may be administratively rejected.

The review committee consists of independent reviewers who are external to UBC. Each application is assigned by the committee Chairs to two reviewers based on the applicant’s primary area(s) of focus. Once all applications have been reviewed, the successful candidates are selected by the committee Chairs.

New Applicants Applying for their First Year

Applications for first-year applicants are scored in 2 domains: (1) Quality of the Proposal and (2) Track Record and Goals of the Applicant. Specific criteria are each rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (outstanding):

Current Fellows Applying for a Second Year

Applications for second-year applicants are scored in 3 domains: (1) Quality of the Proposal, (2) Track Record and Career Progression of the Applicant, and (3) Progress of the Project. Specific criteria are each rated on a scale from 1 (very poor) to 5 (outstanding):

Can I hold an IMH Marshall Fellowship at the same time as another award?

If you accept another salary award of lesser value than the IMH Marshall Fellowship, then you will still be eligible to hold a Marshall Fellowship as a top-up award to bring your total stipend funds to $75,000 inclusive of benefits for 1 year. However, you cannot hold another award in addition to the full amount of the Marshall Fellowship. If you have been awarded another major award, please contact Ms. Margaret Koshi, Director of Administration, at margaret.koshi@ubc.ca to check your eligibility for a Marshall Fellowship.

Does my supervisor have to be a faculty member within the Department of Psychiatry?

Faculty members outside the Department of Psychiatry may supervise Marshall Fellows; however, they must be an IMH member and be actively engaged in mental health research at the time your application is submitted. See the IMH Membership page for information on becoming a member.

I have both a PhD and an MD degree. Which applicant category should I select in the application form?

Please select the MD category. You may provide your full training history in your CV.

Do I have to use the Canadian Common CV system to prepare my CV?

You do not have to use the Canadian CCV system, but please include details of prior training, grants, abstracts, and peer reviewed manuscripts at a minimum, and no more than 5 pages.

What are the formatting requirements?

Please use a standard font (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman) of at least 11 pts, with normal spacing and 1-inch margins.

Can I defer my award if I am successful?

Deferrals may be approved in special circumstances such as parental leave or immigration delays. However, a deferral will not be approved only to allow a candidate to meet eligibility requirements such as needing more time to complete a doctoral program or having other award funds to use up.

Who can I contact if I have questions about my application?

For further information, please contact Dr. Nicole Sanford, IMH Research Manager, at nicole.sanford@ubc.ca.