Hold’em for Life Oncology Fellowship

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.

  • Award Amount: $50,000
  • Funding must be applied to the trainee’s salary
  • Applications will be considered with a start date within the July 1,2024-June 30,2025 academic year (The Fellowship Review Committee will consider applications with an alternate start date within the academic year).
  •  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.)

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 eligibility criteria is still met and a progress update.

Key dates for 2023 Competition:
Application opens: July 2023
Application deadline: October 6, 2023 (11:59pm EST) Late applications will not be considered.
Notification of committee review and outcome: February 2024

Funding begins: July 1, 2024 (or at another date within the academic year, based on application and per committee approval)

NEW FOR 2023: matching funds from supervisor no longer required.

Supervisors of eligible candidates must fill out the application form and submit with the required documents to Oncology.Trainee.Awards@utoronto.ca 

Hold’em for Life Charity Challenge is a volunteer-run, non-profit organization that has raised more than $30 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.