Funding & Awards

Below is a list of awards and scholarships available from the Institute for Circumpolar Health Research and similar organizations interested in health research in the North. Other funding and job opportunities can be found in our regular opportunities feed on the main page. Funding for graduate students associated with ICHR is also generously provided by the CIHR Team in Circumpolar Health Research and the Canadian Public Health Service.

Awards for Students in Circumpolar Health Research

Objectives

The ICHR’s primary objective is to facilitate and promote community driven, northern led, health and wellness research within a model where traditional knowledge and western sciences are both recognized when promoting knowledge that will create healthy environments and improve the health of persons in the north. The Masters and/or PhD Scholarship is aimed to encourage northerners to undertake research that will contribute to knowledge and understanding of health and wellness, broadly conceived to include the health, natural, physical, and social sciences and humanities.

Program Overview

ICHR Masters or PhD scholarship enables northern residents to undertake graduate level studies which will benefit northern capacity in health research through the training and education at any university (Canadian or International).

There will be two awards each year.  Maximum graduate funding is $10,000 per student enrolled in either a PhD program or a Master’s program. Awards are one year in length with the option for renewal upon re-application after the full year of funding has been completed.  Re-applications will be treated as a new application with all other applicants; students are strongly encouraged to apply for other sources of support after the first year. This award is made possible through support of the CIHR Team in Circumpolar Chronic Disease Prevention.

Scholarship applications are reviewed by an awards committee with representation from Aurora College, Inuvialuit Regional Corporation, Dene Nation, and a community researcher.

Past Award Recipients

Lois Edge

Circumpolar Health Research Student Award Recipient 2009

Lois Edge is a PhD Candidate in Educational Policy Studies with a specialization in Indigenous Peoples Education at the University of Alberta where she received a Master of Arts degree in Social and Cultural Anthropology in 2001. Her doctoral research considers the relationship of participation in traditional cultural activities, such as beadwork, to Indigenous identity, lifelong learning and well-being. Her work in the fields of Indigenous education and Aboriginal health includes participation in several Indigenous knowledge research initiatives involving collaboration with Aboriginal community members, Indigenous knowledge holders and multiple stakeholders. Lois is Academic Coordinator with the Centre for World Indigenous Knowledge and Research at Athabasca University. She is a Gwich’in/Cree Métis from Fort Smith, Northwest Territories.

Susan Hopkins

Circumpolar Health Research Student Award Recipient 2009

Susan Hopkins is a doctoral candidate in the University of Phoenix’s educational leadership program (Ed.D) with a focus on curriculum and instruction. She is half way through the program and just beginning her dissertation which will explore educational resilience in the Tłįchǫ population through the eyes of young adults who have overcome adversity and graduated from high school. The purpose of her research is to gain a deeper understanding of ways that schools can support Tłįchǫ students as they work towards high school graduation. Susan has worked in the Tłįchǫ region for the last 6 years starting at Elizabeth Mackenzie Elementary School and now as the program support teacher for Chief Jimmy Bruneau Regional School. She has a bachelor degree in political science, a degree in elementary education, and a masters in educational technology. Susan is from Nova Scotia originally but over the last 20 years has called Vancouver, Milan, Italy, Big Trout Lake, Ontario and now Behchoko home. Her daughter, Susan loves her job and her studies but the biggest joy in her life is her daughter Siena, a spirited redhead, who will be two years old in January.

Erin Freeland-Ballantyne

Northern Health and Wellness Research Award Recipient 2008

Erin Freeland-Ballantyne is a PhD student in geography and environment at Oxford University. Her research focus is on the interactions between youth and elders with respect to understanding environmental and community health. Born and raised in the NWT, she is the NWT’s first recipient of the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. Erin is working on researcher training, video production, and youth activities in the community of Fort Good Hope.

Alana Kronstal

Northern Health and Wellness Research Award Recipient 2007

Alana Kronstal was born and raised in Somba K’e (Yellowknife), on the shores of Great Slave Lake. Trained as a health educator, Alana has been involved in a number of community-based health promotion initiatives in both the Northwest Territories and Yukon, primarily in the area of substance use and harm reduction. Currently, Alana is completing a Masters degree in the Studies in Policy and Practice in Health and Social Services at the University of Victoria. Her IPY research will look at the impacts of rapid industrial development on population health in the Mackenzie-Delta region of the NWT. In her spare time, Alana enjoys exploring the natural world by canoe or cross-country skis.