The Atlantic Cancer Research Institute (ACRI), in partnership with TD Bank, is pleased to announce a call for applications for the TD Bank Cancer Research Training Awards at ACRI.
The TD Graduate Student Research Award is designed to support a graduate student (MSc or PhD) undertaking his or her research at ACRI under the supervision of an ACRI senior scientist. This award will be for the duration of 1 year and valued at $10,000. A $2,000 allowance for travel to a scientific research conference is also included. The funded graduate student will be involved in any number of investigator-initiated projects at ACRI. For example, ACRI scientists are currently researching the mechanisms that underlie the development of several types of cancer, including lymphoma, breast, colon, kidney, and prostate cancer. They are also investigating the changes in cancers that allow them to metastasize, in order to gain a better understanding of how metastatic cancer may be halted and/or treated.
The TD Summer Internships in Cancer Research will support two undergraduate students that undertake a research project at ACRI under the direction of an ACRI senior scientist. These awards will be for the duration of 16 weeks during the summer and valued at $6,500 each. The successful applicants will participate in the core cancer research projects underway at ACRI. For example, these students will contribute to the current AIF-funded initiative that is focused on the identification of red flags (so-called ‘biomarkers’) that signify the presence of cancer. ACRI is working on technologies that capture small particles released by cancer cells (called exosomes) that contain these red flags. The students will be involved in research that aims to identify and characterize these red flags, as well as in improvements to our technology to capture the particles that contain them. The Institute will also be undertaking a research project that seeks to identify the “Achilles’ heel” of cancer cells by identifying genes whose presence is absolutely required for cancer cell survival, but is not important for the survival of normal, healthy cells (a concept known as ‘synthetic lethality’). In this project, the students will participate in experiments that will identify these Achilles’ heel genes, and also in the follow-up characterization of the role of such genes in cancer.
Interested applicants are invited to submit curriculum vitae that outlines his/her academic and research achievements, academic transcripts, a statement of interest and training expectations, as well as reference letters from two (2) individuals who are familiar with the applicant in an academic or research setting. The deadline for applications is April 1, 2014. Decisions will be completed by the end of April 2014, with the TD Summer Internships in Cancer Research to commence in May 2014 and the TD Graduate Student Research Award will commence in July 2014 or September 2014, depending on the successful applicant’s status in the graduate program.
Please send application materials to:
TD Bank Cancer Research Training Awards
Atlantic Cancer Research Institute
Hotel-Dieu Pavilion
35 Providence Street
Moncton, NB
E1C 8X3
