Mitacs:

Established in 1999, Mitacs is a not-for-profit organization that fosters growth and innovation in Canada by solving business challenges with research solutions from the best academic institutions at home and around the world. For more than 25 years, Mitacs has worked with over 165 post-secondary partners, thousands of companies, and federal, territorial, and provincial governments to build partnerships that support industrial and social innovation in Canada.

The Banting Discovery Foundation:

Since 1925, the Banting Discovery Foundation, is a unique, talent-spotting beacon. The Foundation identifies the best and the most promising new investigators in Canada, provides seed funds in biomedical discovery, and mentors them the way insulin discoverer, and Nobel laureate Sir Frederick Banting was encouraged. Social justice and equity in addressing the world’s biggest health challenges have always been a key value for the Foundation.

Research internships for postdoctoral scholars:

The Banting Discovery Foundation (BDF) and Mitacs developed a partnership through the Mitacs Accelerate program,which will support the brightest postdoctoral scholars conducting health research (see eligible research criteria) in (1) Precision Medicine  or (2) Designed Therapeutic & Diagnostic Approaches — under the supervision of faculty/early-career researchers who were previous  Banting Discovery Foundation Discovery Awardees from 2019 to 2025.

• This highly interdisciplinary collaboration scheme supports potentially transformational solutions for advancing (1) precision medicine, including approaches that tailor prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to individual biological profiles, or that develop precision tools and technologies to improve patient‑specific care or (2) Designed Therapeutic & Diagnostic Approaches involving the design of new tools, tests, treatments, or technologies for complex diseases that require precise molecular targeting. Projects should challenge existing paradigms by using innovative approaches and techniques. High-risk and high-reward projects are encouraged. The Mitacs-Banting Discovery Postdoctoral Fellowship program aims to expose postdoctoral scholars to new theories and methods which complement or build on their previous experience and expertise.
• This collaboration scheme will respond to well-identified needs in various research and innovation areas, expose the researchers to the academic and non-academic sectors, and offer research training, as well as transferrable skills and competencies relevant for innovation and long-term employability.

The postdoctoral scholars will share their time between academic institutions and eligible partner organizations. This application cycle is for a 24-month term for projects beginning no earlier than January 1, 2027.

Goals and themes:

1.  Precision medicine focuses on tailoring prevention, diagnosis, and treatment to an individual’s unique biology. Advances in genomics, data science, and biomarker discovery are enabling earlier detection, improved disease classification, and more informed clinical decision-making.

The Mitacs‑Banting Discovery Postdoctoral Fellowship in precision medicine supports research spanning genomic profiling, biomarker discovery, computational molecular design, precision therapeutics, and individualized disease-prevention strategies. This work will help drive more targeted, equitable, and effective healthcare solutions for diverse patient populations.

2. Designed Therapeutic & Diagnostic Approaches. The development of effective therapeutics and diagnostics remains a major challenge, particularly for complex diseases that require precise molecular targeting. Current approaches are often limited by insufficient specificity, stability, and the ability to account for complex biological interactions.

The Mitacs‑Banting Discovery Postdoctoral Fellowship in designed therapeutic & diagnostic approaches supports research focused on the design and optimization of diverse molecular modalities. These may include peptides, proteins, biologics, nucleic acid–based molecules (e.g., aptamers and RNA therapeutics), small molecules, and conjugates (e.g., antibody–drug conjugates), as well as emerging programmable and hybrid systems.

The Mitacs-Banting Discovery Postdoctoral Fellowship aims to encourage talented young scientists to think broadly beyond their scope of expertise and equip them to be future research leaders.

Funding:

Postdoctoral scholar candidates are eligible for funding of CAD $70,000/year, for two years ($140,000 total). This includes CAD $60,000/year in salary support through Mitacs and the Partner Organization, plus a CAD $10,000/year Banting Discovery Foundation top-up intended as stipend supplement. The eligible partner organization named on the project will be required to contribute $30,000 + applicable taxes/year ($60,000 total + applicable taxes total). Partners will be invoiced by Mitacs for their contribution to the project. A full breakdown of funding contributions is included in the table below.

Contributor	Total Contribution over 2 years
Banting Discovery Foundation (stipend top-up)	$20,000
Mitacs (salary)	$60,000
Project Partner Organization  (salary)	$60,000 + applicable taxes

In addition to Mitacs and Partner Organization funds ($60,000/year), the Banting Discovery Foundation will provide a $10,000/year top-up to support the professional development of the postdoctoral fellow. This funding is intended to enhance the fellow’s career development and research leadership potential and may be used for eligible activities such as conference travel, presentation of research, networking, professional training, mentorship opportunities, workshops, publications, article processing fees, and other research-related development expenses. The top-up is not intended as a salary supplement. All funding awarded to and administered by the academic institution.

Application process:

Applications to the Mitacs-Banting Discovery Postdoctoral Fellowship follow a two-stage process: Stage 1: Letter of Intent (LOI) due to BDF and Stage 2: Full Mitacs Accelerate application.

Stage 1 : Letter of Intent

All prospective applicants must submit a LOI for review and selection by Banting Discovery Foundation. LOIs should propose a two-year research project aligned to the themes of Precision Medicine and Designed Therapeutic & Diagnostic Approaches. LOIs will be evaluated on the suitability between the applicant and the research environment, the proposed research program, and the research leadership/excellence of the applicant. This is a competitive call with limited funding. Only projects that best align with BDF’s review will be invited to Stage 2. The partners expect to fund up to 5 projects per year through this initiative. Preference will be given to postdocs who are named at the time of LOI, but faculty may submit an LOI with their Canadian partner organization with the candidate to be determined (TBD). In these cases, faculty should include a description of the plan for recruitment. The letter of intent package should include the following documents compiled in PDF format: Postdoctoral candidate:

• Project proposal (one page) explaining how the project would advance the research program of the supervisor
• Summary (one page) of research contributions
• Canadian Common CV

Faculty member:

• Confirmation of participation in Banting Discovery Award (2018-2024)
• Research project proposal (one page), including an overall objective with a maximum of three aims
• Name of the proposed partner organization (see eligibility section below) and their role in the research project
• Outline (one page) plan for training and development of future leadership potential
• Canadian Common CV
• Partner organization Letter of Support including their commitment to contributing $60,000 (+ applicable taxes) over two years to support the project

Due date: July 31, 2026

Please submit the LOI package to the BDF e-portal and Joanne Tejeda via email <jcurieltejeda@mitacs.ca>

Eligibility:

Postdoctoral candidate:

• Must be within five years of graduation from their PhD when the project starts
• Must meet intern eligibility guidelines for the Mitacs Accelerate Program
• Note: Should not have any real or perceived conflict of interest with the proposed partner organization. If you think you have a conflict of interest, please reach out to Joanne Tejeda  (jcurieltejeda@mitacs.ca) to check eligibility

Faculty member:

• Participated in a Banting Discovery Award (2019 to 2025)
• Must be at the same Canadian academic institution at which the PDF will complete the proposed project
• Eligible to hold a research account at the academic institution

Partner organization:

• A Mitacs eligible for-profit or not-for-profit organization or hospital in Canada. To check eligibility of the for-profit or not-for-profit/hospital partner for Mitacs programs, please reach out to Joanne Tejeda  (jcurieltejeda@mitacs.ca)
• The partner organization is expected to have an active role in the research project. See Mitacs Accelerate partner organization roles and responsibilities for more details on their involvement and interaction with the research project.

Stage 2:

Successful eligible applicants from Stage 1 will be invited to submit a full Mitacs Accelerate proposal package with the support of a Mitacs Advisor to Mitacs. This application package will be sent for external peer review, as per Mitacs review policies. Due date: Fall 2026 (date to be confirmed in invitation to full proposal) Approved projects are expected to start no earlier than January 1, 2027. For questions pertaining to this initiative or application process, please contact: BDF Program Manager: grants@bantingresearchfoundation.ca Mitacs Senior Advisor, Strategic Partnerships: Joanne Tejeda, PhD <jcurieltejeda@mitacs.ca>

Post award

Reporting for the Banting Discovery Foundation

All postdoctoral scholars must submit to the Banting Discovery Foundation a brief report of the work performed — describe the impact of research, career of postdoctoral trainees and the career of the faculty — within two months of the Accelerate grant end date. Mitacs reporting will follow standard processes for Mitacs Accelerate projects.

Acknowledgement

Any publication(s), abstract(s), presentation(s), and proceeding(s) resulting from the work supported by the Mitacs-Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship program must contain the following acknowledgement: This work was supported by a grant from Mitacs, Banting Discovery Foundation and (name of the partner). One copy of ALL publication(s), abstract(s), and/or proceeding(s) must be forwarded to the Banting Discovery Foundation at grants@bantingresearchfoundation.ca