STAGE Atlantic

Trainees will engage in a research project, supported by mentors and an enhanced curriculum, that equips them with the skills to develop and tweak cutting edge methodologies for the analysis of data, with concentration in one (or more) of the following:

• Genomics: Techniques for whole-genome sequencing, transcriptomics, and epigenomics.
• Genetic Epidemiology: Studying genetic contributions to disease through population-based analyses.
• Statistical Genetics: Developing and applying statistical models to genomic data.
• AI in Genomics: Machine learning and AI-driven genome analysis and prediction.
• Methods for New Technologies: Development and application of cutting-edge methodologies for single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, long-read sequencing and integrative multi-omics analyses.

In Atlantic Canada, the STAGE program will extend to population genetics in marine animals, synergizing with Dalhousie’s recognized excellence in ocean research. 

Successful applicants will receive an enriched training experience, including the following opportunities:

• A research allowance of up to $5,000.
• A travel award to a maximum of $2,000 per trainee.
• Mentoring by an internationally renowned expert.
• Networking at the local, national, and international levels.
• An enhanced curriculum.

The STAGE Research Themes are available here.

Candidates are responsible for selecting, contacting, and securing the commitment of at least two STAGE mentors to jointly supervise them in their project, one of whom will be referred to as their “Primary STAGE mentor” and will communicate with STAGE Atlantic.

The Primary STAGE mentor must confirm in writing their commitment to supervise the candidate’s STAGE-related research and to meet with the candidate and co-mentor(s) at least four times per year. Although candidates must secure these commitments at the application stage, obtaining them does not guarantee admission to STAGE Atlantic.

STAGE Atlantic emphasizes interdisciplinary representation among the mentors, so please ensure that your mentors have complementary research interests and expertise, and justify your choices in your one-page document on the inter- and cross-disciplinary aspects of your proposal.

• PhD Students: Two-years or until the completion of their PhD program, whichever comes first.
• Postdoctoral Fellows: Two-years.

STAGE will offer admission to successful applicants at the following stages of their education or career:

• Postdoctoral fellows from relevant disciplines (see Section D, below), and
• Full-time Ph.D. students enrolled in a doctoral program with a background in human genetics and demonstrated statistical and computational training.

Candidates must demonstrate exceptional academic performance and fulfill all requirements applicable to their level, as indicated in the table below.

^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 postdoctoral applicants with three years or less of postdoctoral experience at the time of application.

^3. 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.

Candidates must assemble all of the following documents and upload* them to the application form.

Only 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.

1. Summary of Proposed Research Project

• Length. Two letter-size pages. 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 two-page limit for that section.

2. Inter- and cross-disciplinary nature of proposed research project

• 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.

3. PDF of up-to-date Canadian Common CV (CIHR Biosketch CV) or the newest Tri-agency CV.

• Single PDF file.
• To generate the required Biosketch CV you will need to register with the Common CV Network 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.

4. Letter from the Primary STAGE Mentor

• 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 on-line application portal.

5. Graduate and/or undergraduate transcripts, as required

Electronic copies for all transcripts are acceptable. Single PDF file.

• PhD Students: Undergraduate and graduate transcripts.
• Postdoctoral Fellows: Graduate transcripts.

6. Supplementary Information

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 in Section D of the Eligibility Table (see 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.

STAGE Atlantic Trainees will attend the STAGE International Speaker Seminar Series.

Some of these seminars will be co-hosted in Atlantic Canada with support from the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute, The Centre for Genomics Enhanced Medicine, and Dalhousie University’s Department of Pathology. Trainees and mentors together will attend the national STAGE Journal Club.

Upon receipt of the application, an acknowledgment of receipt will be emailed to the applicant.

Trainees are required to provide a written report (after a minimum of 18 months) describing their mentor meetings, seminars attended, and relevant courses taken (or audited).

Esther Berzunza, Program Manager, CANSSI Ontario
Email: esther.berzunza@utoronto.ca