This award recognizes an individual for a singular achievement or their career contributions to research in the field of obesity. This award is made possible through an annual grant from the Take Off Pounds Sensibly Foundation (TOPS). The award recipient will receive a plaque, a $2,500 prize, and registration to attend the 8th Canadian Obesity Summit in 2022. The award winner will be announced prior to the conference and will be given the opportunity to record and present the TOPS New Investigator Research Award Lecture which will be available on demand on the conference website. 

The nomination should include:

  1. A letter of recommendation (signed by two members of Obesity Canada, one of whom must hold a faculty position; contact information must be provided) stating:
    1. Your reasons for nominating the individual
    2. The nominee’s qualifications for the specified award
    3. A summary of the nominee’s research contributions to the field of obesity
  2. The nominee’s complete CV including nominee’s complete contact information, current position and academic affiliation.
  3. Up to three (3) manuscripts that highlight the nominee’s research

Candidates must:

  • hold a health professional degree or a PhD degree;
  • demonstrated success as an independent investigator;
  • not be registered for a higher degree at the time of receiving the award;
  • hold an appointment as an independent investigator at the time of being nominated and taking up the award,
  • have held a faculty or research appointment (e.g., faculty appointment providing eligibility to apply for grants and/or supervise trainees) for a period of no more than 10 years. Time spent in research appointments in a non-academic setting (e.g., industry, government) count towards the 10 year limit if the candidate has been actively engaged in research, as demonstrated by the candidate’s publication record, and the candidate was not considered to be in training (e.g., as a student or postdoctoral fellow).  Maternity/paternity and/or sick leave will not count towards the 10 year limit.

Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

Four senior members of the Obesity Canada Science Committee and/or membership will evaluate the application packages.

Communication Requirements

  1. Acknowledgement of OC/TOPS Support
  2. The official award name is TOPS New Investigator Research Award. The award name must be used in all communication and promotion relating to the award.

Closed! Application Deadline has been extended to March 31, 2021 at 4:00pm MT.

Application Deadline: February 26, 2021 at 4:00 p.m. Mountain Time. Applications should be assembled in a single PDF file and submitted to info@obesitynetwork.ca at Obesity Canada (Phone:780-492-8361) with the subject line: TOPS Award Nomination. Decisions will be announced on, or prior to April 12, 2021.

Please note the TOPS Award has been postponed to the 8th Canadian Obesity Summit.