Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowships

The research project will be in the statistical sciences, and fundable by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). The project will be supported by a co-mentoring partnership between two researchers (Supervisor and Co-supervisor) at different institutions.

Substantial research progress should be feasible within the timeline of the postdoctoral fellowship. The roles of the Supervisor and Co-supervisor must be clearly defined, along with how they will interact with each other and the postdoctoral fellow.

A description of how the postdoctoral project relates to any research support of the supervisors should be included in the application.

The postdoctoral fellowship must include an immersive interdisciplinary or applied project that tackles a real-life research question and/or identifies a relevant collaborator and dataset.

Educational and communication activities should provide the postdoctoral fellow with the opportunity to gain important teaching and mentoring skills. The amount of activity is the equivalent of teaching one to two courses over two years, but there is considerable flexibility in the specifics.

Examples include:

• Teaching a three-credit, one-semester course
• Participating as a mentor in a CANSSI-sponsored summer training program
• Mentoring teams of undergraduate or graduate students in project-based studies
• Co-teaching with experienced faculty

A mentoring plan should describe activities that support the professional development of the postdoctoral fellow.

The plan can address activities related to:

• Development of skills and intellectual pursuits fitting a long-term career plan
• Professional development and career preparation
• Development of networking, collaboration, and partnership skills
• Development of language and communication skills
• The learning environment and opportunities for enriching the experience of the postdoctoral fellow at the host institutions

The Supervisor will be an Associate Professor or Professor in statistics or biostatistics at a Canadian university, with experience supervising Ph.D students and postdoctoral fellows.

The Co-supervisor will be employed at another Canadian institution. In the case that the Co-supervisor is not in a university, a description justifying the proposed arrangement and describing the Co-Supervisor’s capacity to supervise research of a postdoctoral fellow is required.

CANSSI places restrictions on the eligibility of CANSSI-funded researchers to simultaneously apply for or receive additional funding from the same or another CANSSI program. Please refer to the simultaneous support policy on the How To Apply page for details.

Note: The supervisor and co-supervisor may both be Assistant Professors, provided that a more senior colleague (i.e., someone in statistics or biostatistics at a Canadian university at the Associate-Professor or Full-Professor level) is included as a mentor on the project. The mentoring plan for the postdoctoral fellow should include plans for how the more-senior colleague will be integrated into the project.

• Applicants must have a PhD degree in statistics, biostatistics, actuarial sciences, or data science.
• Your thesis must be successfully defended before September 30, 2025.
• Additional requirements:
  • Applicants must not have already received postdoctoral funding (including a Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship) from SSHRC, NSERC or CIHR.
  • Applicants must not have already received postdoctoral funding from a CANSSI-supported Collaborative Research Teams project.
  • Applicants must have completed all requirements for a doctoral degree no more than two years before the deadline date of the year of application. Completion is considered as the date in which all requirements for the degree were met, including the successful defense and submission of the corrected copy of the thesis. This is not the conferred or convocation date indicated on your transcript. For applicants with more than one doctoral degree, the completion date of the most recent doctoral degree is used to determine eligibility.
  • Applicants must submit proof of eligibility by October 15, 2025. Please contact info@canssi.ca regarding questions about eligibility.

  Extensions:
  CANSSI extends the eligibility period to three years for applicants

  • that have acquired at least six months of full-time, relevant employment in industry or government after receiving a doctorate. Experience in an academic institution or its affiliated hospitals, research institutions and other laboratories will not be considered.
  • that have completed a non-research based clinical residency program after receiving a doctorate.
  • ​​that have had their careers significantly interrupted due to parental, medical and/or family-related responsibilities.

  CANSSI extends the eligibility period to six years for applicants that have, within two years before or after the date of completion of a doctorate, become the primary caregiver following the birth or adoption of a child.

  Requests for an extended eligibility period may require additional information and/or supporting documentation. Such information is only used to assess eligibility.

  If you wish to inform the review committee of delays and/or circumstances that may have affected your performance and/or productivity, please add a (“Special Circumstances”) section to your application (maximum ½ page).