CDPF Program

Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowships

This program provides a comprehensive training experience to prepare postdoctoral fellows for success in a variety of careers.

Support Amount: up to $70,000 per year plus benefits
Region: National
Deadlines:

  • Faculty Proposals due by Oct 25, 2023
  • Postdoctoral Fellow Recruitment takes place Nov 17, 2023 –Jan 15, 2024

Program Duration: 2 years
Eligibility: Recent PhD recipients (see “Who’s Eligible” below)

Have questions about the program?

Overview

Overview

The overarching goal of the CDPF program is to provide a comprehensive training experience that prepares postdoctoral fellows for success in a variety of careers. All aspects of applications to the program are judged through this lens.

This program includes:

  • Research project in statistical sciences (actuarial science, biostatistics, data science, statistics) supported by a co-mentoring partnership between two researchers at different institutions
  • An interdisciplinary or applied collaboration or interaction
  • Teaching experience (broadly-defined, that is equivalent to 1-2 courses over two years)
  • Opportunities for professional development
  • A competitive salary

Project List for 2023

When you apply as a candidate to the CDPF program, you will be given the chance to indicate your preferred research projects.

See the current list of projects.

What’s Involved

What’s Involved

Research Project

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.

Interdisciplinary or Applied Experience

The postdoctoral fellowship will include a significant interdisciplinary or applied component.

The postdoctoral fellowship will include a significant interaction with a researcher, organization or group directly related to the research project (experiments, data and application).

The proposed experience should contribute to the overall training of the postdoctoral fellow and fit well with the statistical research.

The Co-supervisor may come from another discipline.

Teaching Experience

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

Professional Development & Mentorship

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.
Who’s Eligible

Who’s Eligible

Supervisor & Co-supervisor

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.

Applicant

  • Applicants must have a PhD degree in statistics, biostatistics, actuarial sciences, or data science.
  • Your thesis must be successfully defended before September 30, 2024.
  • 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, 2024. 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).

CANSSI Ontario Postdoctoral Fellowship in Statistics

As part of the CDPF program, CANSSI Ontario and CANSSI have partnered to offer the CANSSI Ontario Postdoctoral Fellowship in Statistics. This fellowship supports research projects that deepen our understanding of theoretical statistical sciences, but projects in other areas of statistics may also be considered. If you are a faculty member at a CANSSI Ontario partner university or at an affiliated research institute, you are eligible to apply.

The next iteration of this fellowship is scheduled to open in 2024.

CRM StatLab-CANSSI Postdoctoral Fellowship

In 2024, CANSSI is partnering with the Centre de Recherches Mathématiques (CRM) StatLab to offer the CRM StatLab-CANSSI Postdoctoral Fellowship.

This one-year fellowship with a minimum salary of $53,000 is available to candidates working under the supervision of at least one member of the CRM StatLab. The fellowship may begin anytime between April 1 and October 31, 2024.

Candidates should have received their PhD no more than three years prior to the start of their term, and must have fulfilled all PhD requirements by the time of taking up the award. Candidates graduating from institutions outside of Quebec are preferred.

The application deadline is January 31, 2024.

Please refer to the following documents to prepare your application.

How to Apply

How to Apply

For full information about the application process, see the Supporting Documents.

To apply for a CANSSI Distinguished Postdoctoral Fellowship, click on this button:

To submit a faculty proposal for consideration by postdoctoral applicants, click on this button:

Budget

Budget

The Postdoctoral Fellow salary will be up to $70,000 per year plus benefits (worth approx. $14,875). The CANSSI grant will provide the majority of the salary and benefits, but will be supplemented by the following contributions:

  • The host institutions (departments, colleges, and/or universities) will contribute up to $16,000 total salary over the two years for the teaching component.
  • Supervisors, co-supervisors, and interdisciplinary partners will contribute 1-4 months salary total (over the two years).
  • Research support of up to $3,000 per year (for computer, travel, supplies, etc.) will be provided by the supervisor, co-supervisor or their institutions.
Timeline

Timeline

First Stage – Call for Faculty Proposals Deadline: October 25, 2023
First Adjudication Process – Selection of Successful Proposals Expected: October 30, 2023 – November 15, 2023
Second Stage – Recruitment of Postdoctoral Fellows Expected: November 17, 2023 – January 15, 2024
Second Adjudication Process – Selection of Postdoctoral Fellows Expected: February 2024
Offer Evaluation Period – Two Week Allowance Expected: March 2024
Program Commences – Start of Two Year Period Expected: Late August – Early September 2024
Contact

Questions? Contact Us

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Andrea Benedetti

Deputy Director

andrea.benedetti@mcgill.ca

General Inquiries

info@canssi.ca