Awards

Criteria

1. The student’s primary supervisor must be a member or affiliate member of the MITBC.
2. The abstract (with the student applicant as FIRST author) must have been accepted for presentation (poster or oral) at an upcoming meeting. If a student is invited to give an in-person oral presentation at an upcoming national or international conference, this could also be considered. Abstract of talk required.
3. The abstract and/or investigators should clearly meet one of the two MITBC priorities.
4. The subject should be related to TB or non-tuberculosis mycobacteria.
5. Only one award will be given per student per calendar year.

How to apply

1. The student and/or supervisor should send the abstract and confirmation of acceptance at an upcoming meeting (do not apply or send an abstract if it has not been accepted yet).
2. The title, location and dates of the meeting should be provided.
3. All applications will be screened by MITBC staff to ensure they meet the criteria. This preliminary screening will simply verify that something has been written, not the content.
4. The abstracts will be judged by a standing committee of at least three MITBC members (to avoid potential conflict of interest we need at least three).

Number of awards

As many applications meeting the criteria as possible may be funded if there are sufficient funds. Otherwise, funding will be given to those that seem to best meet the priorities of the MITBC. We will NOT judge the science. However, preference will be given to abstracts selected for oral presentation (over poster only).

Amounts and timelines

The expectation is that supervisors will support travel costs not covered by the award. Hence, the maximum amount will be $500 for meetings within Canada, $750 for meetings within the US, and $1000 for meetings in all other locations. This is a set amount; no proof of actual travel expenses is needed. If for some reason the student cannot attend and no travel costs are incurred, the supervisor and/or student must notify us.

The award amount will normally be sent to the student, but could be sent to the supervisor if both the student and supervisor agree. If sent to the supervisor, it is expected they will handle all reimbursements to the student.

Timelines are usually short between acceptance and actual travel. Applications can be sent anytime, as long as the application is complete (abstract, proof of acceptance, and how the project meets one of the two priorities listed).

Send by email to MITBC at mcgilltbcentre [at] gmail.com.

Incomplete applications will be rejected.

Winners in the last 2 years

• Kamila Romanowski. Presented at the 3^rd International Post-TB Symposium, South Africa-Steering on April 14-16, 2025. She was also a committee member and co-chair.
• Negar Mousavi. Presented at The Union NAR, Vancouver on February 26-March 1, 2025.
• Nancy Bedingfield. Presented at the Annual TB Conference The Union NAR, Vancouver, BC, Canada on February 26-March 1, 2025.
• Mayara Bastos. Presented at the American Thoracic Society, San Diego, USA on May 17-22, 2024.
• Alexandra Zimmer. Presented at the TB Conference (NAR/NTCA), Baltimore, USA on April 16-19, 2024.
• Suvesh Shrestha. Presented at The Union World Conference on Lung Health on November 15-18, 2023.

The MITBC’s annual TB Research Day is held on or close to World TB Day (March 24).

• First prize - $500
• Second prize - $400
• Third prize - $300

To participate in the poster session, please submit an abstract by the deadline. Participants whose abstracts have been selected for the Poster Pitch Session will receive notification of acceptance.

Poster guidelines will be sent via email at that time. During the TB Research Day, there will be a one-hour poster session during which participants stand by their posters, allowing them the opportunity to engage with attendees. Following which will be an hour dedicated to poster pitches. Each trainee will have a 2-minute "pitch" to briefly summarize the key points of their poster, followed by a 3-minute question-and-answer session.

Abstract submission for poster awards:

• Please email abstract (as an attachment) to: mcgilltbcentre [at] gmail.com
• Abstract should be a maximum of 300 words and contain a title
• In the email please state: your name, level of training (MSc, PhD, postdoc etc.), supervisor name

Past winners

• Taylor Ireland. First place, TB Research Day 2025.
• Vinicius Fava. Second place, TB Research Day, 2025.
• Jeyashree Kathiresan. Third place, TB Research Day, 2025.
• Mina Sadeghi. First place, TB Research Day 2024.

The four awards handed out each year fall into three categories:

Emil Skamene Award for Best Paper in Biomedical Research (two awards annually)
Established in 2015 and co-sponsored by McGill Global Health Programs, these $500 awards are granted for the best paper in fundamental research each calendar year. One prize is designated for graduate students and another for postdoctoral fellows.

Jonathan Meakins Award for Best Paper in Clinical / Health Outcomes Research (one award annually)
Established in 2015 and co-sponsored by McGill Global Health Programs, this $500 award is presented for the best paper in clinical / health outcomes research each calendar year. One prize is allocated annually to a graduate student.

Margaret Becklake Award for Best Paper in Clinical / Health Outcomes Research (one award annually)
Established in 2015 and co-sponsored by McGill Global Health Programs, this $500 award is bestowed for the best paper in clinical / health outcomes research (epidemiology, public health, or global health research) each calendar year. One prize is awarded annually to a to postdoctoral fellow.

 

Eligibility:

• Only one (1) publication can be submitted per trainee, per year.
• An MITBC member can submit more than one entry (e.g., one per student and one per postdoc), but students cannot be nominated more than once.
• Paper must be published in a peer reviewed and indexed journal (ePub or published) between January 1 and December 31 of a calendar year.
• The subject should be related to mycobacterial infections, i.e., TB, leprosy, Nontuberculous Mycobacteria.

Judging:

Entries will undergo evaluation by a panel of MITBC members. The committee will select the winners based on the following criteria:

• Research approach
• Originality of ideas or methods
• Impact of the research

Submission:

Send a PDF copy of the publication to mcgilltbcentre [at] gmail.com.
In the email please state: your name, level of training, journal, date of publication, a copy of the publication, and the category of research (Emil Skamene Award for Best Paper in Biomedical Research, the Jonathan Meakins Award for Best Paper in Clinical / Health Outcomes Research, and the Margaret Becklake Award for Best Paper in Clinical / Health Outcomes Research).

Winners announcement:

Winners will be announced at the annual TB Research Day.

Past winners

• Fajri Gafar. Jonathan Meakins Prize for Clinical/Health Outcomes, TB Research Day 2025.
• Luke B Harrison. Emil Skamene Prize for Best Paper in Biomedical Research for Graduate Students, TB Research Day 2025.
• Kim Tran. Emil Skamene Prize for Best Paper in Biomedical Research for Postdocs, TB Research Day 2025.
• Lena Faust. Margaret Becklake Award for Best Paper in Clinical / Health Outcomes Research, TB Research Day 2025.
• Anita Svadzian. Jonathan Meakins Award for Best Paper in Clinical/Health Outcomes Research, TB Research Day 2024.

Eligibility

• To be eligible, the visiting professor must be:
• Active in TB research
• Hold an academic appointment at a university other than McGill (any rank). (This could be an affiliate MITBC member.)
• Agree to give at least one research seminar at the MITBC.
• Be sponsored by at least two MITBC members.

Amount

Funds are to cover economy airfare, ground transport, hotel, and per diem.

How to apply

Two MITBC members can propose a visiting professor at any time and without limit on the number of visiting professors they can invite to apply for funding in any one year.

The proposal should include the CV of the person being invited, proposed dates, objectives of the visit (these should address at least some of the objectives listed above), and the title of the research seminar to be given (at least one). The application should be sent to the MITBC Director.

Review of proposals

Upon receipt, the director will review the proposals as soon as possible with the MITBC executive. Decisions will be transmitted to the members submitting the proposal.

Accountability

The MITBC members making the proposal must assume responsibility for all travel and accommodation arrangements themselves (i.e. this is NOT the responsibility of the MITBC staff or director) and must also assume responsibility for coordinating the collection of documents necessary for reimbursement.