HCP Travel Awards Competition

With a membership of more than 2,000 researchers and others interested in HIV research, the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) is the leading organization of HIV/AIDS researchers in Canada. As an integral element of its mandate, CAHR works to “promote education and the development of researchers” and “engage diverse stakeholders in ongoing dialogue and knowledge exchange.”

As part of this effort, and with the generous support of ViiV Healthcare, CAHR will be offering travel awards for Canadian health care professionals (HCPs) – working in the realm of HIV – to attend international continuing health education events.

Funding

Via this funding competition, CAHR’s will fund travel award applications for eligible HCP to attend each of the following international continuing health education events:

Events # of Awards Application Deadline
Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections (CROI)
Date: March 9-12, 2025
Location: San Francisco, CA		 8 Closed
The 13th International AIDS Conference (IAS 2025)
Date: July 13-17, 2025
Location: Kigali, Rwanda		 6 Closed
26th International Workshop on Clinical Pharmacology of HIV, Hepatitis, and Other Antiviral Drugs 2025
Date: September 3-5, 2025
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands		 4 May 30, 2025
EACS - European AIDS Clinical Society 20th Conference
Date: October 15-18, 2025
Location: Paris, France		 5 July 10, 2025
Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC)
Date: November 5-8, 2025
Location: Philadelphia, PA		 5 July 10, 2025

Allowable Costs

The following expenditures are eligible for funding:

  1. Travel – Depending on the location of the event and your home city, travel may be by air, train or bus. Mileage is not funded.
  2. Accommodation – The hotel room rate and taxes are funded for the duration of the event.
  3. Registration – Only the event registration fee is funded. Additional items such as workshops, gala events and tours are not eligible for funding. Virtual Registration Fees may also be supported.

In all cases, NO funding will be provided directly to the awardee or his/her institution. CAHR will arrange payment of awardee travel, accommodation and registration to the international continuing health education event. Costs involving extensions, cancellations and/or changes are at the awardee’s expense.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must be a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident of Canada
  • Applicants must be an active Canadian health care professional (HCP) working in the realm of HIV. For the purpose of this funding opportunity, HCP is defined as a person who by education, training, certification, or licensure is qualified to and is engaged in providing health care. This can include any of the following: an individual who is currently practicing medicine or dispensing medicines in Canada.
  • Nurses are solely eligible for the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) Conference and nurse practitioners (prescribing) may apply for other Conferences as well.
  • NOTE: For CROI, the applicant must demonstrate that CROI has accepted their registration or registration fee will not be reimbursed.
  • CAHR board members, government officials, and HCPs with active U.S. medical licenses are not eligible
  • Applicants must not have held an HCP Travel Award in a previous year for the same conference. Applicants are allowed to apply for HCP Travel Awards to attend a different conference.

How to Apply

A complete application must include:

  • A maximum two-page letter, using no more than 1000 words, that:
    • Summarizes the applicant’s relevant experience/training
    • Demonstrates that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements
    • Describes how the applicant meets the evaluation criteria
    • Outlines how the applicant will fulfill the communications requirements
  • The applicant’s CV
  • Proof of Canadian citizen or a permanent residency of Canada
  • Proof of HCP status in Canada
  • A declaration that the applicant is neither a US medical license holder nor a Government official

Apply Now

Official Languages

CAHR encourages applicants to submit proposals in the Official Language of their choice and commits to ensuring a high-quality review of applications submitted in either Official Language.

Conditions of Funding

Successful candidates must:

  • Confirm that they have not already received funding from another funding body to attend the same conference
  • Accept their award within 5 working days of the date of offer or the award will be cancelled and offered to the next fundable applicant
  • Funding is non-renewable. Individuals may only hold one award per calendar year and are not eligible to hold awards for the same event in sequential years

Communication Requirements

Award recipients must

  • Agree to share the benefits of knowledge gained through the event with other Canadian HCPs by either (a) submitting a written report for publication to a specialty society or academic institution, or (b) giving a verbal presentation to HCPs in an appropriate venue
  • Acknowledge CAHR/ViiV financial support in any report/presentation related to the event

Reporting

Recipients will be asked to provide a one-page End of Award report within two months of termination of the award. Details regarding this report will be communicated to the recipients when the funds are released. Failure to submit the End of Award report will render the HCP ineligible for future funding.

Review Process

CAHR will assemble an independent review committee comprised of peers to adjudicate the applications.

Evaluation Criteria

The priority areas for adjudication are:

  • Demonstration that the HCP has the requisite training and expertise as appropriate for the subject matter of the event
  • Demonstration that the HCP can show benefits to their HIV patients from attending
  • Demonstration that the HCP will be participating in the conference as a presenter or has other active participation in original research or scientific work that is being presented (e.g. abstract submission)
  • Demonstration that the HCP will share the knowledge gained with a larger community after the conference because they teach in colleges or postgraduate units, or are part of a larger network of HCPs anticipating feedback from the conference

Funding Decision

Upon completion of peer review, CAHR will generate the ranking list, ratings and funding recommendations. The list will be used for funding decision-making purposes and will remain anonymous.

Applications will be funded from the top down in order of ranking as far as the budget will allow. Applications that receive a rating below 3.5 will not be funded (rating scale is 0-5).

Results

Contact

Please contact hcpawards@cahr-acrv.ca for more information.

Partners

ViiVHealthcare ULC

ViiV Healthcare in Canada, a company devoted to HIV/AIDS research and treatment and to supporting people affected by HIV/AIDS across Canada. ViiV Healthcare in Canada is part of ViiV Healthcare, a global specialist HIV company established by GSK and Pfizer in 2009 and joined by Shionogi in 2012. We are committed to taking a deeper and broader interest in HIV/AIDS than any other pharmaceutical company has done before. We have advanced research and development and also work in partnership with HIV/AIDS communities across Canada: populations at risk, people living with HIV/AIDS, their caregivers and support organizations, and healthcare providers. ViiV Healthcare’s Canadian operations are headquartered in Laval, Quebec. For further information on ViiV Healthcare, please visit www.viivhealthcare.ca

About CAHR

With a membership of more than 1,000 researchers and others interested in HIV research, the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) is the leading organization of HIV/AIDS researchers in Canada. CAHR is the organizing body for the Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR Conference).

CAHR encourages Canadian researchers to be leaders in knowledge translation and to effectively respond both to the Canadian and global HIV/AIDS epidemics. Since its founding in 1991, CAHR has promoted excellence in HIV research, including mentorship and career development of investigators entering the field.

CAHR fosters collaboration and co-operation among HIV research communities, including basic, clinical and social sciences, epidemiology and public health. CAHR also engages people living with HIV/AIDS and AIDS service organizations in ongoing dialogue and information exchange to ensure that HIV/AIDS research remains responsive to the epidemic and its interest holders.

CAHR is a registered charity.

Contact

For more information or to make a comment, please contact us:

Canadian Association for HIV Research

440 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7X6

1-888-374-CAHR (2247)

For conference related matters, please email conference@cahr-acrv.ca.