Network for Healthy Populations Graduate and Trainee Awards

Apply for the UTM Trainee Award

Applicant Eligibility: 

• The NHP UTM Trainee Award supports thesis-based master’s students, doctoral students undertaking dissertation research, and postdoctoral fellows leading aligned research projects.  

• To be awarded to full-time Master’s or PhD-level graduate students who are in a thesis-based graduate program and registered for the academic year of the term of the award, or a Postdoctoral Fellow having received a PhD. in the last 8 years. 

• Graduate student applicants must be in good standing in their program of study at the University of Toronto.  

• All applicants must be supervised or co-supervised by a UTM appointed Faculty of any department at the University of Toronto Mississauga. (Note: supervisory committee members are not eligible to serve as primary or co-supervisors). 

• Supervising faculty member must hold a graduate faculty membership (GFM) with the School of Graduate studies that permits masters and/or doctoral supervision within the graduate program where they hold their graduate appointment.  

• A maximum of 2 applications can be submitted where the supervisor has the role of the primary and/or co-supervisor.  

• Trainees who have applied for or received funding from other agencies are required to report total funds received to be eligible for either the full award or a top-up (see Stipend and Duration). 

Eligible Project Criteria: 

All projects must: 

• Demonstrate alignment with the NHP mission and advance its priorities related to metabolic and cardiometabolic health.  

• Demonstrate strong methodological rigour and, where appropriate, methodological or theoretical innovation. 

• Additionally, applicable project outcomes will address one or more of the following objectives: 

  • Address determinants of metabolic health at the individual, community, and/or system levels, with attention to social, structural, and environmental factors. 

  • Apply or translate theory or methods from any discipline to address the NHP’s mission, by clearly articulating the relevance and potential application of the work. 

  • Advance health equity and address disparities in health outcomes aligned to the NHP’s mission. 

  • Demonstrate policy, practice, or systems relevance, or clear potential to inform future NHP-aligned research and action. 

Research areas supported include (but are not limited to): 

• Population health and chronic disease prevention, including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and multimorbidity. 

• Epidemiologic studies using large-scale cohort, administrative, and linked data. 

• Social, structural, and environmental determinants of health, including socioeconomic factors, racism, food environments, and the built environment. 

• Health equity–focused research aimed at understanding and reducing disparities in metabolic health outcomes. 

• Health services and health policy research evaluating access, quality, and effectiveness of prevention and chronic disease care. 

• Implementation science and evaluation of real-world interventions, programs, and policies that improve metabolic health.

• Advanced quantitative and causal inference methods, including quasi-experimental designs and risk prediction approaches.

Stipend and Duration 

• The value of the NHP Graduate Award is up to $15,000 commencing September 1, 2026, and paid in three installments (September 2026, January 2027, May 2027). 

• Trainees who have applied for, are receiving, or currently hold funding from other agencies are required to report total funds received to be eligible for either the full NHP award (up to $15,000) or a top-up to a combined amount of $37,000 for master’s students or $40,000 for PhD students (as mandated by the Tri-Council Agencies and Graduate Funding policies on Graduate Scholarships at the University of Toronto). Students are required to report award applications submitted to other agencies. 

• As per the appropriate graduate unit's funding policies, Trainees may be eligible for any additional top-up.   

Award Holder Responsibilities: 

• Must be in good standing in their program of study (for graduate students). 

• Expected to participate in NHP programming and activities when invited.

• Will be invited to present their research at NHP events such as webinars, seminars, or to NHP partners. 

• Required to acknowledge the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations funding in publications, presentations, and communications resulting from their award. 

• Must complete mid-year project progress reports, final reporting of deliverables, and an evaluation survey. The report templates will be provided to award holders. 

Apply for the UTM Trainee Award

Apply for the DLSPH Graduate Award

Applicant Eligibility: 

• To be awarded to full-time Master’s, PhD or DrPH level graduate students who are currently enrolled in full-time, thesis-based graduate programs at DLSPH.  

• Undertaking a thesis-based project that examines the risk, burden, and impact of cardiometabolic conditions, including type 2 diabetes, through innovative research approaches and, where relevant, community engagement activities. 

• Projects must integrate a health equity lens to assess and address disparities in outcomes across sociodemographic groups or communities and align with the NHP’s mission to reduce inequities and improve population health. 

• Students are supervised by School of Graduate Studies faculty members, who are eligible to supervise graduate students and hold research funding at the University of Toronto.

• Faculty members and students will be invited to join NHP’s interdisciplinary network of renowned researchers dedicated to addressing the risk and burden of chronic diseases.  

• Students who have applied for or received scholarship, fellowship or award funding from other agencies are required to report total funds.  

• A maximum of 2 applications can be submitted where the supervisor has the role of the primary and/or co-supervisor. 

Stipend and Duration 

• The value of the NHP Graduate Award is up to $15,000 commencing September 1, 2026, and will be paid in three installments (September 2026, January 2027, May 2027). 
• Priority will be given to students who do not hold an existing award; however, all students are eligible. 
• Final awards are subject to confirmation with the relevant graduate unit and in accordance with its applicable funding policies. 

Award Holder Responsibilities: 

• Students must be enrolled full-time in a DLSPH graduate program in Public Health Sciences or the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation.  

• Fulfill the academic requirements of their degree program and plan of study. 

• Expected to participate in NHP programming and activities when invited. 

• Expected to present at least one NHP event, such as webinars, seminars, or to NHP partners. 

• Required to acknowledge the Novo Nordisk Network for Healthy Populations funding in publications, presentations, and communications resulting from their award. 

• Must complete mid-year project progress reports, final reporting of deliverables, and an evaluation survey. The report templates will be provided to award holders. 

Apply for the DLSPH Graduate Award