March 16, 2026
1. Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology
1.1 Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology
1.2 Epidemiology
2. Data Sciences, Statistical Genetics and Genomics, and Computational Genetics and Genomics
2.1 Statistical Genetics and Genomics
2.2. Statistics
2.3 Computational Biology
3. Biomedical Genetics
3.1 Wet-lab
3.2 Clinical
Candidates are responsible for selecting, contacting, and securing the commitment of a primary and two other mentors to jointly supervise them in a STAGE collaborative transdisciplinary research project.
The primary mentor must be willing to provide, in writing, their commitment to supervise and to guide the research work of the candidate on a STAGE-relevant project, which are those aligned with the Program's Research Themes.
View our Research Themes and examples of previously supported project titles.
Although candidates must secure the primary mentor’s commitment at the application stage, obtaining a primary mentor’s commitment does not guarantee admission to STAGE.
Only PDF files accepted, maximum size is 2MB per file.
Your mentorship panel must include three mentors from each of the program’s three main disciplines (see Mentor Disciplines above), where at least one mentor belongs to subsections
1.1 Genetic & Molecular Epidemiology
or
2.1 Statistical Genetics and Genomics.
Only PDF files accepted, maximum size is 2MB per file.
STAGE will offer admission to successful applicants at the following stages of their education or career:
Candidates must demonstrate exceptional academic performance and fulfill all requirements applicable to their level, as indicated in the table below.
| Eligibility Requirements | Ph.D. Students 1, 2 | Postdoctoral Fellows 3, 4 |
|---|---|---|
| A. Identify, approach, and engage a Primary Mentor from the STAGE Ontario mentor roster. | X | X |
| B. Obtain a nomination from your Primary STAGE Ontario Mentor. | X | X |
| C. Be enrolled in a doctoral program and have completed at least one full academic year of graduate studies. | X | |
| D. Have a background or research interest in one of the following disciplines: Epidemiology, Biostatistics, Statistics, Mathematics, Molecular and Forensic Anthropology, Computer Science, or closely related fields. This includes quantitatively inclined branches of the life sciences such as Genetics, Bioinformatics, Computational Biology, and Psychology. Applicants from other relevant research areas may also be considered (see “Examples of Research Themes,” above). | X | X |
1. Accepted Ph.D. students must meet the academic requirements of their doctoral program and STAGE, and must remain full-time students throughout their participation in the program.
2. Preference will be given to Ph.D. students who are in their second or third year of graduate studies. Ph.D. candidates must obtain a passing grade on their comprehensive examination before being admitted into STAGE.
3. Preference will be given to postdoctoral applicants with three years or less of postdoctoral experience at the time of application.
4. STAGE emphasizes strong quantitative skills. Applicants whose disciplines are not listed above, or whose research is not directly aligned with STAGE’s Research Themes, must include in their application a compelling explanation of their qualifications—supported by experience and documented through examples of their work.
Upon receipt of the application, an acknowledgment of receipt will be emailed to the applicant.
Applications will be evaluated by the STAGE admissions panel, which will then decide on admission to the program and whether research allowances or other types of support will be awarded.
The panel typically reviews applications within 3-4 weeks from the application deadline. Funding decisions will be disclosed to each candidate and their corresponding primary mentor by email. The names of successful candidates will be subsequently and publicly announced on the STAGE website.
Esther Berzunza, Program Manager, CANSSI Ontario
Email: esther.berzunza@utoronto.ca
Candidates must assemble all of the following documents and upload* them to the application form.
The primary mentor’s letter is to be completed and submitted online by the mentor. It is the candidate’s responsibility to ensure that their application is complete and submitted online by the competition deadline.
*Candidates do not need to send in hard copies of their supporting documents.
Length. one letter-size page. 2.54 cm (1 inch) margin around the page. 12-point Times New Roman, black font. Single-spaced. No condensed type or spacing. Single PDF file.
Content. Using the following headings, describe the proposed research in enough detail to allow informed assessment by the admissions committee members. This summary should be written in general scientific language.
Proposed research background. Present, concisely, your project’s general objective and its specific aims. Include the scientific background, significance, originality, and anticipated contribution to the knowledge of the project; in other words, state what is the research problem, why this is an important research question, and why you are undertaking this project to address it.
Methodology. Describe and justify, for each of your project’s specific aims, your choice of specific instruments, strategies, key activities, expected outcomes, and timelines, including, for example, methodological approaches and procedures for data collection. For a statistical research project, for example, provide an outline of the proposed theoretical and computational approaches and any specific techniques required to develop and evaluate proposed new analytic methods, including critical features in the design of simulation studies and in the application of the methods to available or anticipated study data. In other words, state why your proposed methodology is ideal to achieve each of your project’s specific aims.
Candidate. Describe your role in the project and how it will prepare you for career goals in the fields of genetic epidemiology or statistical genetics. Explain the relationship and relevance of the proposed research to your long-term research goals. Describe how the proposed project relates to experiences and insights gained from earlier research experience.
References. If you'd like to include references with your application, please add them as separate pages to the Proposed Research Project section. This won't count toward the one-page limit for that section.
Length: half letter-size page. 2.54 cm (1 inch) margin around the page. 12-point Times New Roman, black font. Single-spaced. No condensed type or spacing. Single PDF file.
Please tell us how your proposed research and STAGE training will draw upon multiple disciplines. Specifically, describe how you will bring together approaches, insights, or techniques from your mentors or from key fields that feed into molecular epidemiology and statistical -omics. We encourage you to be as specific as possible—for example, will you be combining methods from public health, genetics, biostatistics, computational biology, or other areas?
Highlight how this interdisciplinary approach will enrich your research and contribute to your professional growth. If possible, share how collaborating across disciplines has influenced your perspective so far, and explain how these experiences will benefit your future career in science and research.
If there are unique opportunities, resources, or mentor expertise at STAGE that make your project particularly cross-disciplinary, please mention these as well.
To generate the required Biosketch CCV you will need to register with the Canadian Common CV and request a CIHR PIN. PIN requests are processed during regular business hours (7:00 am to 5:00 pm) Monday to Friday. One working day is typically required to process PIN requests. However, longer processing times may be required during peak periods of operation. We strongly recommend if you are unfamiliar with the Canadian Common CV that you read the instructions posted here.
A brief letter from the candidate’s Primary STAGE Mentor confirming their support for the application. The letter should state the mentor’s agreement to supervise and collaborate with the candidate on the proposed research project, describe their planned approach to mentorship, and outline how this experience will contribute to the candidate’s professional growth and future career success. A link will be emailed to the Primary Mentor from the online application portal.
Electronic copies for all transcripts are acceptable. Single PDF file.
PhD Students
Undergraduate and graduate transcripts.
Postdoctoral Fellows
Graduate transcripts.
Postdoctoral Fellows Only
Length: Up to one letter-size page. 2.54 cm (1 inch) margin around the page. 12-point Times New Roman, black font. Single-spaced. No condensed type or spacing. Single PDF file.
STAGE has a significant focus on quantitative skills, thus postdoctoral applicants from disciplines not listed under Section D of the table under "Eligibility" (above), or whose research or scholarship deviates from the program’s research themes, must submit, as part of their application, a compelling description of their capabilities, substantiated by experience, and documented by examples of their work.