Funding & Award Opportunities

Hold'em for Life Oncology Fellowships 

Hold’em for Life Charity Challenge has made a generous and transformative commitment to oncology research and education at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine and our partner hospitals.

The Hold’em for Life Oncology Fellowships are open to University of Toronto residents and clinical fellows pursuing cancer research, at any of the Faculty’s nine fully affiliated teaching hospitals. A multidisciplinary U of T committee will annually review and rate all proposals. Past recipients of the Hold’em for Life Oncology Fellowships are listed here.

• Award Amount: $50,000
• Funding must be applied to the trainee’s salary
• Applications will be considered for funding from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026
  (The Fellowship Review Committee will consider applications with an alternate start date within the academic year. Expected alternate start date must be included in application form.)
• Eligible candidates must fulfill the following criteria:
  • Be a medical doctor licensed to practice in Ontario
  • Commit to spending at least 2 years in residency or clinical fellowship training, during which at least 1 year has a minimum of 80% protected time committed to research
  • Be registered with the University of Toronto Post MD Program as a resident or clinical fellow
  • Have a supervisor with a faculty appointment at the University of Toronto’s Temerty Faculty of Medicine
  • Projects must be in the field of oncology. Applicants can apply from any University of Toronto clinical department or related clinical discipline (including but not limited to medical oncology, radiation oncology, surgical oncology, psychosocial oncology, medical imaging, pathology etc.)
  • Matching funding from the supervisor is no longer required.

Renewal proposals will be considered for current Hold’em for Life Oncology Fellows with the support of the supervisor. For these applications, please only submit a one-page summary that confirms other eligibility criteria is met and includes a progress update.

Hold’em for Life Charity Challenge is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that has raised more than $47 million to fund cancer research since its inception in 2007.

With a new investment in the University of Toronto and our partner hospitals, Hold’em for Life strives to help advance cancer research and invest in the next generation of oncology clinician scientists.