Pilot project program for early-career investigators

• Completed application form
• Common CV of the candidate, including detailed contributions
• Letter of support or clinical release letter, depending on the applicant category
• Proof of independent position or appointment, if applicable
• Letter of intent

Who is eligible?

• Postdoctoral fellows
• Residents
• Optometrist researchers and optometrists in graduate studies
• Vision rehabilitation professionals
• Early-career investigators in Quebec

Who is not eligible

• Associate professors
• Applicants without an eligible academic or research position at funding activation
• Applicants whose project is not in vision sciences

Eligible expenses

• Start-up funds
• Laboratory operations
• Travel expenses
• Other project expenses allowed under FRQS general rules

Eligible geographic areas

• Quebec

• Letter of intent applications are reviewed first to confirm eligibility.
• Eligible applicants are then invited to submit a full application.
• Applications are assessed by the jury using evaluation grids.
• Funding decisions are based on the candidate and project being judged most promising.
• Recipients must provide follow-up scientific and financial reports after award.

• A scientific report is required at the end of the grant.
• A second scientific report is required one year after the funding period.
• Recipients must acknowledge the Vision Sciences Research Network and, if applicable, the Fondation des maladies de l’œil in publications and presentations.
• Recipients must present their research results at the VSRN Annual Meeting and respond to follow-up requests.