Summer Investigator Program

The Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology’s Summer Investigator Program was started in 2015 as a way to empower the research capacity and productivity of faculty members, while simultaneously promoting training excellence and research exposure for students across the full breadth of the Ob-Gyn specialty.

Students who participate in the Ob-Gyn Summer Investigator Program are funded in two ways:

CREMS (Comprehensive Research Experience for Medical Students), which is open to supervisors and students in all departments of the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and is administered centrally by the CREMS office; and
The Chair’s Summer Research Student Award, which is open to supervisors holding a primary clinical appointment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology.

We require that all Ob-Gyn clinical faculty members seeking summer student funding apply to both CREMS and Chair's. The reasons for this are twofold:

In our Department, funding for CREMS awards is split between the Temerty Faculty of Medicine and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, requiring no match from you, your practice plan, or your hospital. With a Chair's award, however, you or your hospital will have to contribute $2,000 toward the student's bursary.
Applications for CREMS awards are reviewed in competition with faculty members from across the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, and CREMS awards are therefore highly prestigious. Ob-Gyn has been successful in achieving a large number of CREMS awards over recent years, which is a trend we hope will continue.

Projects must be remote-capable (in case of new restrictions) or have an alternative remote option outlined. The decision about where the project occurs (remote or in a lab) will be decided by the supervisor based on the policies in place at the supervisor’s institution during the time of the placement, and the specific circumstances of the lab.

We are also committed to providing opportunities to as many U of T students as possible. You should not come into this process with a student already chosen. Please review the information below regarding how the student recruitment should run.

Read about our 2023 students, their supervisors and projects here.

Questions about the information outlined below should be directed to obgyn.research@utoronto.ca.

	CREMS PROGRAM	CHAIR'S PROGRAM
Which faculty members are eligible to apply for these awards?	Any faculty member appointed in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine may apply for CREMS funding. Only faculty members holding a primary appointment in Ob-Gyn, who have simultaneously applied for the Chair’s Award, will receive matching funding from the Department as outlined below.	Any faculty member holding a primary, clinical appointment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology may apply for the Chair’s Award. As per our Department policy, we are only able to accept ONE (1) application per faculty member.
Which students are eligible to receive these award funds?	Any medical student enrolled at the University of Toronto may receive funding from CREMS. Further details and requirements are available on the CREMS website.	Any medical student enrolled at the University of Toronto may receive funding from a Chair’s Award.
How much is the award?	Student researchers receive a total award stipend of $5,500.	Student researchers receive a total award stipend of $5,500.
Where do the award funds come from, and how do the students receive their bursary?	One half of each CREMS award ($2,750) is paid to the student by the CREMS office at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine. The funds are transferred into the student’s ACORN account. For supervisors holding primary faculty appointments in Ob-Gyn who also submitted an application for the Chair’s Award, the second half of the award ($2,750) is paid to the student by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The funds are transferred into the student’s ACORN account. Ob-Gyn faculty members who have not submitted a Chair’s Award application must pay the second half of the award directly to the student, according to CREMS rules as outlined on the CREMS website.	The $5,500 stipend for the Chair’s Award is transferred into the student’s ACORN account. A portion of this award ($3,500) is paid by the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. The rest of this award ($2,000) must be provided by the supervisor's grant, hospital department, or clinic. An invoice will be sent to the hospital in early June to recover these funds.
How and when do supervisors propose a project for these awards?	Project proposals must be submitted directly to CREMS by February 9, 2024. Complete details and requirements are available on the CREMS website.	Project proposals for the Chair’s Award must be submitted via our online application form by February 9, 2024.
How are proposals reviewed? When are they approved?	An adjudication committee is struck by the CREMS office, and projects are reviewed and ranked. CREMS notifies successful applicants directly, usually in April. Further details and requirements are available on the CREMS website.	Members of the Ob-Gyn Research Committee will form an adjudication committee to review and adjudicate the applications. A list of funded projects is announced immediately after CREMS awards are announced. Letters from the Department are sent to each successful supervisor.
How are students recruited to work on research projects?	CREMS projects in Ob-Gyn will follow the procedure outlined at right. In addition, CREMS projects will be posted on the CREMS website. Please refer to the CREMS website for complete information.	We are committed to providing opportunities to as many U of T students as possible. You should not come into this process with a student already chosen. We will maintain a list of summaries and contact information for successful Chair's and CREMS projects on an internal website, accessible only by University of Toronto medical students. CREMS projects will also be posted on the CREMS website. Students who are interested in assisting with a project will then contact the supervisor directly. In the interest of fairness, we require supervisors to interview every student who reaches out. Once supervisors inform us that they have identified a student, we will remove the project from the website list, to prevent further enquiries.
What other steps are required?	Please refer to the CREMS website for specific requirements once a student is chosen and a mentor agreement is signed. After the student completes their research work, they are then required to submit a photo of themselves with their supervisor and a written description of their summer to the Department for publishing in the Annual Report, social media channels, internal newsletter and website.	Once a supervisor chooses a student, they must submit a Mentor Agreement Form to obgyn.research@utoronto.ca by May 1, 2024. The student’s research work typically begins in late May and must be completed by the end of August. After the student completes their research work, they are then required to submit a photo of themselves with their supervisor and a written description of their summer to the Department for publishing in the Annual Report, social media channels, internal newsletter and website.