Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI) IsletCore Visiting Scientist Award

2017 Visiting Scientist Award

Sarah Armour, Newcastle University

Previous Awardees:

2016 Visiting Scientists:
KOENRAAD PHILIPPAERT (KU Leuven)
DR. HAJIME IMAMURA (Nagasaki University School of Medicine)

2015 Visiting Scientists:
INNE CRÈVECOEUR (KU Leuven)
BETHANY ANN CHARBONEAU (Vanderbilt)

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Background
     Our goal is to enable high-quality research aimed at understanding human pancreatic islet biology in health and diabetes. As part of this commitment, we are offering up to two (2) visiting scientist awards at a maximum of $10,000 each, so that scientists at any level can spend up to four (4) months in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada carrying out their own research projects on human islets.
     In short, we’re looking for people who have their own islet biology projects that would benefit from access to human pancreatic islets. We are offering up to $10,000 to towards your travel, housing in Edmonton for 4 months, and any reagents you may require for your experiments. We will provide access to lab space and equipment, as well as a reasonable number of human islets for your research.
 
What do we want out of this?
     Nothing. Our goal is to promote a wide focus on human islet research and knowledge-generation. We expect no remuneration, co-authorship, or intellectual property rights. The main outcome we hope to get from this program is a broader connection with the pancreatic islet research community.
 
Use of funds
     Up to two (2) awards are available, up to $10,000 each. Up to $5,000 will be provided for flights and research expenses. These will be booked/ordered for you by our administrative staff. An additional $5,000 will be provided as a scholarship, intended to cover housing and living expenses while in Edmonton. The applicant will be responsible for arranging his/her own accommodations in Edmonton, although we are happy to provide assistance. Funds cannot be used for larger pieces of equipment (i.e. >$1,000), personal items (e.g. computers), or salary/stipend.
 
Access to laboratory space and equipment
     Appropriate laboratory bench space will be provided to the visitor(s), along with access to Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI) and University of Alberta core facilities (access may be subject to training and/or the expertise of the visitor). Numerous core facilities are available for use, and we encourage potential applicants to follow the links below to see available core facilities:
 
www.med.ualberta.ca/research/corefacilities
www.adi.ualberta.ca/Core%20Services.aspx
www.apm.biochem.ualberta.ca
 
Acceptable projects
     Any project focusing on human pancreatic islet biology is acceptable. Please note that depending on the project, the work may be subject to obtaining appropriate biosafety, ethics, and/or other institutional approvals; IsletCore administrative staff can assist with this.
     This program is not intended to support commercial research or primarily industry-sponsored projects. Industry partners interested in collaboration may direct inquiries to Dr. Patrick MacDonald ([email protected]).
 
Human islet availability
     Human islets for the visitor’s research will be provided free of charge. Information on our human islet isolation activities can be found at www.bcell.org/isletcore.html. In a four-month period, we average 6-10 human islet preps. Due to the nature of human tissue isolations, however, we cannot guarantee the number of human islet preparations available during the visit. Visiting scientists are encouraged to plan some work that can be performed with insulinoma cells and/or mouse islets for down-time, or as back-up.

Application submission guidelines
     For 2017, applications are being considered on an ad-hoc basis. If interested, please email Dr. Patrick MacDonald for details ([email protected]).

Timeline
     For 2017, applications and inquiries will be considered as they are received. Please note, that if you're interested in visiting from outside of Canada, sufficient lead-time may be required for completion of immigration paperwork.

Eligibility

• Applicants should be a researcher trainee, usually a graduate student or postdoc, although eligibility at other career stages (i.e. Research Associate, Technician, Research Assistant Professor) may be assessed on a case-by-case basis).
• Previous experience and knowledge in pancreatic islet biology.
• Applicants must be able to legally work in Canada for the duration of their stay and will be responsible for obtaining the necessary documentation to do so. For international applicants, more information can be found here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/apply-where.asp  

 
About us
     The Alberta Diabetes Institute (ADI) IsletCore isolates, banks, and distributes islets from human pancreas donors specifically for research purposes. Our goal is to make use of organs, with research consent, that would not otherwise be used for clinical transplantation. In particular, we are interested in isolating, studying (and distributing for study), islets from pancreas of ‘non-standard’ donors. These may include very young donors, very old donors, and donors with diabetes.
 
More broadly, the IsletCore program seeks to promote an increased understanding of human islet biology in health and disease.
 
For informal inquiries about equipment/resources available to support your project or if you have any further questions regarding the competition, please contact Dr. Patrick MacDonald ([email protected]).