The CAMRT Research Fellowship Grant Program provides support to scholars by granting funds to pursue research projects of broad significance and widespread interest within the medical radiation sciences.

The program is a national competition for established MRTs whose work is dedicated to improving the development and learning among practicing MRTs or students, or the creation and promotion of innovation within the profession. It is intended to provide successful applicants (research fellows) with research environments conducive to innovation and knowledge creation, and to strengthen partnerships between CAMRT and the MRT research community. In addition to providing research fellows with independent and competitive funding, the program offers a wide range of non-financial benefits through experience, networking, and publication opportunities.

• The research fellowship grant is valued at $30,000 CAD.
• Eligible use of the research fellowship grant funding is limited to support the costs to conduct the research, research personnel, promotional materials for knowledge transfer purposes, equipment and/or supplies.
• It is expected that a research fellow will work approximately 10 hours per week for one year (52 weeks; $23,400 per grant). This money can be used to fund the research fellow and/or the hiring of a research assistant who will support the research project.
• Up to $6,600 of the funds may be used towards research expenses (including conference travel).
• A maximum of $1500 may be used for the dissemination of results at one or more conferences. Course/tuition fees and overhead for individuals/organizations are not eligible expenses.
• No travel to CAMRT is required.
• The research fellow is expected to obtain a supervisor to support their research.
• Recipients are required to provide a detailed expense report at the end of the fellowship.

Where the funding request to CAMRT represents only a portion of the cost of a proposed project, this should be stated and an estimated total cost for the project should be included. Additional sources of funding that have been received, approved, have been applied for, or are pending approval, should be noted.

If a grant is awarded by CAMRT and its success is dependent on all funding being available from another source, CAMRT will require proof of secured funding from all sources before issuing funds to the successful applicant. The research fellow must be able to work independently and adjust their workload to meet pertinent project timelines.

All applicants to the Research Fellowship Grant should review the CAMRT Grant Administration policy in advance of submission.

The research fellow is expected to work with other individuals during their fellowship. For example, it is expected that the research fellow will recruit and support the mentorship of at least one MRT student or early-career MRT within their research projects (see Position Description, Research Assistant).

For clarity in the research fellow role itself, as well as guidance to seek out supportive roles (such as the fellowship supervisor), the following role descriptions have been created as guides. Please note that the research fellow and any hires (paid or volunteer) associated with the fellowship are not directly employed by, or associated with, CAMRT. These individuals are the responsibility of the research fellow.

• Position Description, Research Fellow
• Position Description, Research Assistant
• Research Fellow – Supervisor Agreement

The CAMRT will support the research fellow in more ways than funding. Potential research fellows may request support from CAMRT to facilitate the building of their team for the research project (e.g., identify research volunteers, formal call to membership). In addition, the research fellow can request the expertise of CAMRT staff to contribute to identifying stakeholders, supporting networking, contributing to research project discussions and other activities as mutually agreed upon. However, the main support for the candidate’s fellowship should come from the supervisor role.

Please contact professionalpractice@camrt.ca with any inquires you may have about the types of roles within the research fellowship grant program prior to submission of your application.

Applicants must confirm they meet the CAMRT Research Fellowship Grant eligibility criteria. Applications that do not meet all the eligibility criteria will not be accepted.

The research fellow must meet the following conditions:

• be certified by the CAMRT or OTIMROEPMQ, and have a minimum of 5 years professional practice experience,
• have demonstrated a minimum of 5 years research experience,
• currently employed in an MRT-related field in Canada,
• have sufficient knowledge of, or direct experience in, the proposed research topic,
• demonstrate the ability to commit to the expected research fellowship hours, including 1-2 hours to be completed within business hours Monday to Friday per week (e.g., meeting with CAMRT staff),
• be a CAMRT member for at least two years prior to the commencement of the research fellowship as well as for the duration of the funding period (exception will be made for leaves of absences, such as maternity/paternity or illness).

Previously approved research fellows are eligible to apply to subsequent application rounds but may only be accepted to a single research fellowship per year (subject to change after the inaugural year). In addition, an applicant may submit to the Research Grant Program and the Research Fellowship Grant Program concurrently. However, an applicant will only be awarded either a grant or a research fellowship.

Applications will be considered for projects that have applied for or received partial funding from another source. However, the Research Fellowship Grant project must continue regardless of funding being received or not from other sources.

Additional consideration may be devised during the review process (e.g., geographical location, discipline).

Each research topic proposed for a research fellowship must adhere to the following:

1. All applications must demonstrate that the results and output of the project are expected to result in a clear benefit for the professional practice of MRTs (as a whole or a subgroup).
2. Special initiatives, such as quality improvement or knowledge transfer projects related to education, administration or other professional issues will also be considered, provided there is a significant research/investigative component.

Particularly encouraged are proposals that seek, where appropriate, to include:

• multiple levels of analysis (quantitative, qualitative, critical synthesis, framework building, consensus building, etc.),
• interdisciplinary work within the MRT professions, and
• investigation of the MRT profession, patient, public, and/or educational perspective.

In addition, proposals should focus the research topic on at least one key CAMRT research priority:

• Advanced practice
• Artificial intelligence
• Delivery of services to underserviced communities
• MRT role within CanMEDS Framework (competencies)
• Physical and mental health / Wellbeing of MRTs

Any individual involved in the research fellow process (administrative, supportive, or applicant) must declare to CAMRT any potential for perceived or actual conflict of interest (COI) associated with the fellowship and its program as soon as possible. A conflict of interest is anything that interferes with or could reasonably be perceived as interfering with the application process for a fellowship, acceptance and implementation of any component of the fellowship and its project(s). This includes the full and objective presentation, peer review, editorial decision-making, or publication of research or non-research articles associated with the fellowship. For example:

• Members of the Research Granting Committee are not eligible to apply for a research fellowship during their term on the committee (see Conflict of Interest policy).
• The research fellow must not be an agent of any commercial entity who may directly or indirectly benefit from the individual’s participation in the Research Fellowship Program or a research fellow’s research within it.

If research ethics board approval is required for the approved project, CAMRT requires a copy of the research ethics board approval letter, a copy of the research proposal, and any amendment documentation.

The research fellow, their supervisor, and the research team will own the data collected through the collaborative fellowship research. Restrictions on the presentation of the data are discussed in the Dissemination of Research section. A shared understanding about ownership between the research fellow, supervisor and research team should be reached among the individuals.

Responsibility for the supervision of the research fellow’s day-today activities and the fellowship research team are the responsibility of the research fellow, research team, and/or the research fellow’s primary organization. Responsibilities should be discussed prior to the submission of a research fellowship grant application.

CAMRT assumes no liability with respect to any accident to any person, or any loss or damage to any person or property, arising from the research fellowship. CAMRT will not oversee the hiring or monitoring of research team members, as these individuals are not considered CAMRT staff.

The Research Fellowship Grant Application is available for completion. In addition to the application, please include:

• A recent version of your CV, including a list of publications and presentations.
  • Highlight in yellow any experience that is relevant to your proposed fellowship research topic.
  • An additional one-page document may be included to describe your research experience and expertise in the proposed fellowship research topic.
• Proposed budget with rationale (one page) and proposed dates with amounts for funding transfer.
  • CAMRT anticipates releasing quarterly cheques but applicants may propose an alternative timeline depending on their budget needs.
• Signed Research Fellow – Supervisor Agreement and recent CV for the supervisor.

All applicants, including those in the areas of applied research, research-creation, or knowledge translation, must provide a detailed description of their proposed research, addressing the following elements, as applicable:

• objectives of the proposed research program
• research questions and/or hypotheses
• theoretical approach or framework
• position of the proposed research within the context of current knowledge in the field
• position of the proposed research within the context of CAMRT research priorities
• explanation of the novelty and potential significance of the proposed research
• methodology, including timelines (1 year project with any noted request for additional time, e.g., dissemination of findings may occur after funding period)
• outline of any plans for collaboration
• roles and responsibilities of the applicant, the supervisor and/or other collaborators in the proposed research
• roles of a student or MRT who will help support the research, and the applicant’s role to support their mentorship
• contribution the research will make to the advancement of knowledge
• any ethical considerations pertaining to the research, including any research ethics board application documentation
• the plan to disseminate the findings and/or enhance the potential for impact
• rationale for selecting the proposed host institution and potential supervisor(s) as well as a discussion of other available options for host institutions should be included, as appropriate
• anticipated benefits with respect to the applicant fulfilling their research goals
• any additional funding applied for or received for the proposed project

Additional documents that may be attached to your application:

• If the proposed research is closely related to, or a continuation of, a Masters or PhD thesis, explain how it will develop and expand on the thesis.
• If the proposed research is outside your documented expertise, outline the steps that will be taken to address this to ensure feasibility of the research.

Proposals will be evaluated and ranked, and research fellowship recipients will be selected by the CAMRT Research Granting Committee (all decisions are final). At the discretion of the committee, external experts may be called upon to advise or review proposals that are outside the scope of the committee members’ expertise.

Proposals will be evaluated based on three criteria:

1. Applicants and environment

• Experience and/or qualifications of the research fellow
• Suitability of the research environment
• Access to required resources

2. Research proposal

• Clear rationale for study and specific objectives of research
• Appropriateness and feasibility of research approach
• Quality of research design, including sampling, recruitment strategy, methods, assessment of reliability, data collection and plan for data analysis
• Soundness of budget, feasibility of timeline
• Appropriateness of ethical considerations

3. Significance and impact

• Alignment with CAMRT research priorities
• Addressing a clear gap, with potential to generate new knowledge
• Potential to result in publishable work and successful knowledge transfer

No individual(s) affiliated with, or representative of, a research fellowship applicant should try to discuss or influence (directly or indirectly) a Research Granting Committee member. Any actual or suspected attempts to do so will result in the immediate disqualification of the grant application.

In order that staff members, board members, or any other decision-maker within CAMRT will not influence the outcome of the research fellowship grant review process, all proposals will be reviewed by the Research Granting Committee.

The results of the research fellowship grant competition will be communicated to all applicants by CAMRT and the Research Granting Committee. For unsuccessful applicants, feedback on their applications will be provided by the Research Granting Committee when possible.

Prior to funds being released, the successful research fellow must return a signed Conditions of Funding Agreement document to CAMRT. The timing of funding release will be considered based on the budget and project; however, it is generally expected that quarterly cheques will be issued.

Following the fellowship period, and as part of the Conditions of Funding, the research fellow is required to complete a final report consisting of:

1. Executive Summary: a short report (maximum of 1 page, single spaced) summarizing the research problem, project approach, key results, achievement of the aims and significance of the findings to date; written in a non-scientific, non-expert language that is understandable to the general MRT community;
2. Project Completion Report: a summary of expenditures with receipts and explanation of unexpended funds, if any; a list of research dissemination activities (e.g., presentations, publications); and
3. A draft or final version of the publication, if available.

Any expected or unexpected delays in the fellowship research should be conveyed to CAMRT as soon as possible. Flexibility to support further continuance of the research fellowship will be granted, within reason and when possible. Note that the Research Granting Committee reserves the right to request the return to CAMRT of any unused or improperly spent funds.

Successful applicants are additionally expected to endeavor to disseminate research findings after the project’s completion through presentation and publication. JMIRS holds first right of refusal on publication of research results but does not guarantee publication. Secondarily, CAMRT reserves the right to consider the presentation of project results at a CAMRT conference or another suitable venue (e.g., webinar to CAMRT membership, presentation to the Board of Directors) which will be facilitated by the CAMRT and the Research Granting Committee.

CAMRT may request additional information from the research fellow, supervisor, and research team as part of the evaluation process associated with the research fellowship grant program.

CAMRT must be acknowledged as a funding source in any conference presentation or publications in relation to the research project and fellowship.

2021 – PI: Sheena Chung; Team members: Corwin Burton, Sandeep Ghai; Advanced Practice in Medical Imaging: A Pilot Medical Radiation Technologist Role

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