About
STAGE Prairies offers an exceptional training environment in machine‑learning methods and methods to manage and analyze population-based electronic health databases for research and surveillance. The program offers coursework in biostatistics, epidemiology, public health, AI, bioinformatics, genomics, population genetics, and human genetics, leveraging Prairie’s longstanding strength in statistical modeling for chronic disease research and surveillance. Complementing these offerings, trainees will have access to comprehensive provincial health administrative databases, some of which have been linked to clinical cohorts, and collaborative networks that span academic, clinical, and policy realms, including cross-provincial linkages and national initiatives on data quality. Research projects can encompass advanced statistical learning, functional data analysis, longitudinal and multivariate methods, risk prediction modeling, and hands-on experience with real-world, large-scale data. STAGE Prairies can provide a thoroughly interdisciplinary, evidence-based environment ideally suited for developing the next generation of genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics leaders.
The program has academic requirements, but it is not a degree-granting program. Trainees who complete the STAGE Prairies program will receive a “STAGE Prairies Certificate”.
STAGE Prairies draws on the unique strengths of the University of Calgary and the University of Manitoba to offer a robust training environment.
Regional and Curriculum Leads
The Regional Leads are responsible for the overall administration of STAGE Prairies including curriculum, seminars, trainee recruitment, and admissions.
Lisa Lix
Cross-appointments: Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, University of Saskatchewan; Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto; Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Victoria
Mina Aminghafari
Partners
Application Instructions
Application deadline extended to December 15, 2025
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:
- Electronic Medical Records
- Population Genetics
- Data Linkage
- Distributed Analysis
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 Prairies.
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 Prairies.
STAGE Prairies 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.
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 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.
| Eligibility Requirements | Ph.D. Students 1, 2 | Postdoctoral Fellows 3 |
|---|---|---|
| A. Identify, approach, and engage a Primary Mentor from the STAGE Prairies mentor roster. | X | X |
| B. Obtain a nomination from your Primary STAGE Prairies Mentor. | X | X |
| C. Be enrolled in a doctoral program. | 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 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 the STAGE 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. References, if included, do not count towards this page limit.
- 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.
- Describe the inter- and cross-disciplinary features of your proposed research project and/or STAGE training, i.e. how will your research program incorporate inter- and cross-disciplinary research in Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology, Statistical Genetics and Genomics, and Bio-Medical Genetics. Be as specific as possible.
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 online 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 E of the Eligibility Table (see above), or whose research or scholarship deviates from the program’s Research Rhemes, must submit, as part of their application, a compelling description of their capabilities, substantiated by experience, and documented by examples of their work.
STAGE Prairies Trainees will attend the STAGE International Speaker Seminar Series. Some of these seminars will be co-hosted in Prairies Canada. Trainees and mentors together will attend the national Research Seminar and 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
Mentors
STAGE Prairies brings together outstanding mentors from diverse disciplines who are deeply committed to collaboration and training the next generation of researchers in molecular epidemiology and statistical -omics. View the full mentor roster.