The Edie and Pat McGeer Fund for Transformative Science and Technology seeks to enable UBC researchers in natural sciences, engineering and medicine to explore creative and truly innovative ideas, including, in particular, work that government and institutional funding agencies consider at too early a stage or too risky for support.
Jump to: Dates and Deadlines | Eligibility | Application Process | Application Components | Evaluation Criteria | Review Process | Contact
The fund, enabled by a generous donation, is named in recognition of the late UBC researchers Drs. Edie and Pat McGeer. Internationally renowned for their work on brain neurotransmitters and degenerative neurological disorders, the McGeers also experienced firsthand the challenge of securing funds for transformative work deemed too risky by funding agencies.
Risk is encouraged in return for likely impact, recognizing the possibility of failure. The grants are meant to enable UBC researchers to pursue bold, new ideas to test boundary-pushing concepts and hypotheses with the potential to drive ground-breaking discoveries and impacts. Funding will recognize scientifically sound projects that would yield significant potential benefits if successful but may not deliver intended results.
UBC researchers as individuals or teams will receive funding for up to two years for a high-risk, high-reward project in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and/or medicine. As detailed below, applications will require a 6-page proposal (including timeline and budget) and CV. Partner contributions and letters of support are optional.
Competition details
Applicants may request funding up to $350,000 per project to be spent over one or two years. More than one award may be offered depending on the number of high-quality proposals received and availability of funds.
Eligibility eligibility
UBC tenured and tenure-track faculty in the Research Stream from UBC Vancouver and UBC Okanagan working in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and/or medicine are eligible to apply. Each project may have only one Principal Investigator, who must hold a full-time research stream faculty appointment at UBC by the Award Start Date.
Projects may include team members; all team members must hold a faculty appointment at UBC and their roles should be specified in the proposal.
Partner eligibility: A partner is an institution or organization, based in Canada or internationally, that has contributed or committed cash and/or in-kind contributions to support the project. Partners may include academic institutions (including universities, colleges, polytechnics and institutes); research organizations (including research hospitals); private or public sector organizations; and not-for-profit organizations.
Funding Terms and Expense Eligibility
Applicants may request funding up to $350,000 per project to be spent over one or two years. The funds should be dedicated to exploring the high-risk/high-rewards goals outlined in the project proposal. Expenses must comply with the UBC Research Policies and TAGFA guidelines. The budget should not primarily be used to fund equipment purchases, although well-justified equipment expenditures may be considered in cases where other funding opportunities are not available. Teaching release is not an eligible expense.
Awardees will be required to submit an annual report that describes progress towards the research goals and any outcomes achieved. A reporting template will be provided closer to the due date.
Recipients must acknowledge the Fund in relevant publications and presentations as follows: “supported by the Edie and Pat McGeer Fund for Transformative Science and Technology at UBC”.
Application Process process
Submit Notice of Intent
All applicants must first submit a Notice of Intent (NOI) through UBC Research+ Innovation Apply using a CWL login. Only the primary applicant can submit the NOI.
The NOI is administrative only and is used to coordinate reviewer recruitment. It is not adjudicated.
Once the application has been initiated, the applicant may invite others with a CWL to contribute (e.g., co-applicants, administrators, grant facilitators, etc.) using the “add collaborator” button located in the left side block. For team applications, one applicant must be designated as the primary applicant.
Submitting the NOI unlocks the full application. The NOI must be submitted by November 2, 2026 at 11:59 pm.
Complete and Submit the Full Application
Applications are submitted through UBC Research + Innovation Apply using a CWL login. Only the Primary Applicant can submit the application.
The full application consists of:
- Primary Applicant information
- Proposal
- Four-page biosketch of primary applicant and up to 3 additional CVs of co-applicants
- List of references and partner contributions (optional)
The full application must be submitted by December 17, 2026 at 11:59 pm.
Full Application Components components
A Research Program Information Form (RPIF) is not required at the time of submission, but will be required from successful applicants to receive funding.
Evaluation Criteria eval
The proposed research must primarily be in the fields of natural sciences, engineering and/or medicine as required by the donation terms.
Applications will be evaluated against the following four criteria:
Review Process review
As required by the sponsor’s donation, a panel comprising distinguished UBC faculty members from each of the Faculties of Science, Applied Science and Medicine and an eminent external reviewer will assess applications against the adjudication criteria and create one or more ranked short lists of recommended projects, which take into consideration the available award funding. The external reviewer will confirm that the short list complies with the adjudication criteria. Following adjudication, the VPRI will provide the panel’s short list and the external reviewer’s approval to the UBC President. The President or their delegate will make the final decision on the attribution of the grants.
In keeping with the principles of the DORA, article citation counts, Journal Impact Factors, and H-index should not be used as measures for research quality or researcher excellence. Please consider not including Journal Impact Factors, article citation counts or H-index in your application.
The review panel will include experts from multiple disciplines which means applicants cannot rely on the committee being knowledgeable in the applicant’s specialized area of research. The proposal should be written so that the proposed research and the importance of the objectives, questions, and issues can be understood by all members of the committee.
This competition was made possible through a grant from the Brian T. McGeer Donor Advised Fund at The Chicago Community Foundation.
Contact contact
For questions about the program or the application process, contact Stacey Herzer, Manager, Internal Competitions in the Vice-President, Research & Innovation Office.