Canadian Cardiovascular Society
 
Canadian Cardiovascular Society

CCS-Novo Nordisk Cardiometabolic Research Award – Handbook

The CCS Research Fellowships and Awards program was established to foster growth of peer-reviewed Canadian cardiovascular research and researchers. With support from like-minded organizations committed to empowering clinician scientists nationally, the CCS Research Fellowships and Awards program supports topics of research that span the various areas of cardiovascular medicine. The CCS, and all program partners, encourage all eligible CCS members to apply including underrepresented groups women and gender minorities, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, racialized individuals, and members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities.

Please refer to Appendix A for CCS Terms and Conditions for all CCS Research and Fellowship Awards

CONTACT

For information regarding research programs, governing policies, and application submissions, please contact:

Research and Fellowship Awards

Email: researchawards@ccs.ca

DEADLINE

Application submissions must be made online through the CCS Online submission platform. CCS offers a secure internet portal which allows the applicant to electronically submit applications. All application submissions are due online by May 6, 2025. Additional time allowances will not usually be granted for any reason. The decision will be shared in mid-July 2025. Funding is projected to be disbursed starting in fall 2025.

FUNDING OPPORTUNITY

The Canadian Cardiovascular Society and Novo Nordisk are proud to support the CCS-Novo Nordisk Cardiometabolic Research Award. With this award, we hope to further research on cardiometabolic disease to improve the lives of Canadians who are affected by these conditions and their families.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the Cardiometabolic Research Award is:

  • To support researchers in the discovery of biomedical, clinical, epidemiology, health services, and/or population health factors related to cardiometabolic disease.
  • To develop solutions aimed at the diagnosis, screening, progression, or monitoring of cardiometabolic disease  

Specifically, we are interested in the interrelated conditions that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease including:

  1. Obesity
  2. Diabetes, insulin resistance, elevated blood sugar levels
  3. Hypertension
  4. Dyslipidemia
  5. Metabolic syndrome (the cluster of these conditions occurring together)

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

  • Applicants must be or become members of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society before accepting the award. For more information about CCS Membership, visit the CCS Membership Page.
  • The principal investigator must be an early career researcher (ECR). An early career researcher (ECR) is a researcher within five years of the date of their first independent research-related appointment at an academic institution. Given that career progress for an ECR is particularly vulnerable to normal life circumstances, CCS will adjust the eligibility window, as per CIHR applications, as follows:
    • Eligible leaves (e.g., maternity, parental, medical, family medical, bereavement) will extend ECR status (i.e., will not be counted towards the maximum) and are credited as twice the amount of time taken.
    • No adjustments are provided for professional leaves (e.g., training, sabbatical, administrative). No adjustments are provided for time spent on non-research-related duties or for the pursuit of non-research-related career activities.
  • Applicants must be a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident of Canada at the time of receiving funding.
  • Co-applicants of different career stages can be included.   
  • Applicants can be principal investigators on only one application per cycle. 
  • Award funds are solely intended for research performed in Canada.
  • The award and funds are intended for original research and should not supplement funding for that already have extramural funding. 
  • If the submission refers to a multicenter clinical trial, the applicant must specify their specific role in the research study.
  • If the application is for a sub-study of an ongoing project or trial, the applicant must specify their role and explain how the sub-study is distinct from the main study.
  • Funded research must be completed within 48 months from the start of funding.

ANNUAL/FINAL REPORTS

Reports must be submitted by October of the subsequent year. If required, an additional final report must be submitted within 6 months of the end date of the research, and a retrospective report is required 5 years after funding is completed.

THE AWARD

One (1) award of $35,000 is available and will be awarded based on an independent peer review process.

Award funds will be administered by the Institution of the awardee’s affiliated university or equivalent.

TERM

Funding is provided for one (1) year. Depending on the circumstances, a no-cost extension could be available with an additional interim progress report and an explanation for the need for the extension.

SUBMITTING YOUR APPLICATION

All applications must be submitted electronically using the CCS online submission system.

Submissions will be accepted until May 6, 2025.

You will receive email confirmation of your submission within 24 hours.

All applications will be pre-screened for eligibility. Applications that are late, incomplete, and/or do not meet the eligibility criteria will not be considered for review. A peer review of all eligible applications will be conducted by a scientific review committee comprised mainly of CCS members. All eligible proposals will be reviewed by at least two members of the peer review committee.

Evaluation of applications will be based on three (3) criteria:

  1. Academic and research background of the applicant
  2. Quality of the research program
  3. Research environment and mentor

The applicant will log into the CCS online submission system to complete the assigned tasks

TASKS FOR THE SUBMISSION

  1. Applicant Information & Headshot
  2. Statement of Eligibility
  3. Institution Statement
    • Applications for this award must be supported by the university or institution at which the applicant will conduct the proposed research program. Provide a statement completed by the Dean and Department Head (or institutional equivalents) demonstrating commitment of the university or institution to provide the applicant appropriate academic rank, time allocated to the proposed research program, and to provide adequate space and facilities for the investigator’s research, as well as a commitment to supporting the applicant’s research, technical and professional skills and networks.
  4. Mentor / Supervisor and Institution Information
  5. Lay Summary
    • Provide a lay summary in 280 characters or less, clearly explain the proposed research program to a general audience (at a reading level no greater than grade 8).
  6. Research Program Outline, Proposal and Operating Grants :
    • Program Outline (max 500 words)
      Include a summary of the proposed program of research. Ensure the outline describes the contribution this program of research has the potential to contribute to the field. The applicant should clearly demonstrate the potential to become an independent investigator.
    • Proposal (max 10 pages)
      • Proposed Research (include sample size calculation if relevant)
      • Impact on disease or patient management
      • Feasibility (include description of the research environment and research team
    • Operating grant(s)
      List any grants secured to support the proposed research program.
      • General Formatting Guidelines
        • Application should not include superfluous content (cover page, table of content, etc.).
        • Arial 12pt font, single-spaced
        • Margins a minimum of 2 cm
        • A header indicating applicant’s name and project title
        • Page numbers clearly visible at the bottom of each page
        • A maximum of 10 pages (single spaced), including any figures and tables but not including references.
  7. CV of the Principal Investigator, co-investigator (if applicable). CVs must be no longer than two (2) pages each and should include only peer-reviewed publications and abstracts from the last five (5) years. Do not include presentations, conferences, lectures or non-peer-reviewed publications. CVs should be uploaded in one PDF file.
  8. Upload Appendices (optional)
  9. Budget – Complete the budget template.
  10. Budget Justification – explanation should not exceed 1500 words.

Financial Information: Award funds will be administered by the Research Center or Cardiology Division of the awardee’s affiliated university or equivalent.  Contact information is required.

All submissions will be kept confidential according to the requirements of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and the Personal Information Protection and Electronics Document Act (PIPEDA) (CCS privacy policy is at www.ccs.ca.)

If you have questions about submission process or require assistance with the submission system, contact researchawards@ccs.ca.

CCS PEER REVIEW PROCESS

Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality
All reviewers will be required to agree to CCS’s Conflict of Interest and Confidentiality policies before beginning their reviews. CCS considers that a conflict of interest exists when the reviewers personal, professional or financial interests affect, or may be perceived to affect, their objectivity. Potential reviewers will recuse themselves from the review where a COI exists or may appear to exist. These policies have been developed by CCS to ensure the effective management of real or perceived conflicts of interest in the review process to ultimately encourage a culture of trust and transparency in the research funding process.

Review of Applications
Scientific Review Committee
The Award review committees are volunteer committees. Each peer-review committee member has demonstrated scientific expertise in cardiovascular disease. Appointment of committee members takes into consideration required expertise, regional distribution, gender, and language skills to ensure a fair and balanced review process. Members are appointed for a three-year term. All recipients of CCS Awards are committed to serving at least a one-year term as a peer reviewer.

Any reviewer who is a Co-Applicant or Collaborator on an CCS Award application may not be present when their application is being assessed and must recuse themselves from the discussion. Applications are reviewed by two committee members and, whenever deemed appropriate by the Co-Chairs, and an additional reader, when expertise is required. Each reviewer conducts a written review and rates the application based on the Peer-Review Criteria in Eligibility and Assessment Criteria. Scientific reviewers are assigned to applications based on their area of expertise, and with consideration of any real or perceived conflicts of interest. Prior to the committee meeting, reviewers will submit their scores to CCS via the on-line platform. After a panel discussion, a consensus rating will be negotiated, around which each member scores. The average of all scores allows for a ranking of applicants and the top scoring applications are funded.

RATING

Reviewers will provide a rating of the application. This is a combined rating for all three adjudication criteria. Please ensure that you consider your assessment of all criteria in your rating.

CriterionRating (1 to 49)
Significance and Impact of the Research (need for research, potential impact of the findings) 
Approaches and Methods (proposes a clear question with appropriately designed methods and analysis, with few limitations identified); originality, feasibility) 
Expertise, Experience and Resources (quality of applicant, research environment, research team) 

Rank and Rating Scale Descriptor Range
Outstanding 45.0-49.9
Excellent 40.0-44.9
Very good 35.0-39.9
Good 30.0-34.9
Needs revision 25.0-29.9

Written Review
Provide a critical assessment of the application by stating the strengths and weaknesses of the project, as well as constructive feedback based on the evaluation criteria described in the peer review manual.

Integration of Budget Assessment
Reviewers are asked to determine if the budget is appropriate as described in the application and if it is realistic and well-justified.

CCS Award Assessment Criteria

Assessment Criteria: All applications are reviewed by two peer-review committee members from the CCS research community and, whenever deemed appropriate by the Chair where additional expertise is required, a third reviewer. Scientific reviewers score the application based on the following criteria:

1. Significance and Impact of the Research: Is the study well justified? Are the preliminary data compelling? Is there a need for research? Is the potential impact of the findings important)

2. Approaches and Methods: applicant proposes a clear question with appropriately designed methods and analysis, with few limitations identified; Is the study well outlined and reasonable for the timeline?; what is the originality? what is the feasibility?

3. Expertise, Experience and Resources: What is the quality of applicant? appropriate team members included? Is suitable expertise available, particularly to support an early career researcher or a researcher branching to a new topic? Is the research environment supportive?

Scientific reviewers will also evaluate the proposed budget for appropriateness and feasibility. The expectation of the proposed budget is that it is fully justified and takes into consideration the needs of the research project and any anticipated changes in requirements over the term of the grant.

Prior to the review committee meeting, reviewers will submit their scores to CCS via the on-line platform. Only applications competitive for funding will be discussed at the review committee meeting. After a detailed discussion, a consensus rating will be negotiated, around which each member scores. The average of all scores allows for a ranking of applicants, and the top scoring applications are funded.

Knowledge Translation

CCS expects awardees to disseminate knowledge created from CCS funding to various users (e.g., the public, health-care practitioners, the media, scientists, and policymakers) and facilitate their translation into improved knowledge to support health, more effective products or services, and/or a strengthened healthcare system. In all knowledge translation activities, awardees must prominently acknowledge the support provided by CCS and refer to themselves as recipients of the 2025 CCS-Novo Nordisk Cardiometabolic Award.

CCS Research and Fellowship Awards – Appendix A : Terms and Conditions

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