Undergraduate Summer Research | Biomedical and Molecular Sciences | School of Medicine

DBMS Undergraduate Student Summer Research Award Competition 2026

DBMS has an allocation of 4 NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Awards (NSERC USRA) and 5 Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowships (USSRF). Our committee will only consider applications from supervisors with appointments in DBMS.

You will find a listing of DBMS Faculty and their research interests at: Biomedical and Molecular Sciences Faculty

We will be adjudicating all applications as a single group. Only one application per supervisor+student combination will be accepted. Supervisors may submit applications with multiple students, but supervisors will only be awarded one fellowship per year. If your work is NSERC-eligible, you can submit to both competitions (only 1 application is required).

Application Deadline for Summer 2026 awards: February 17th, 2026 @ 5:00pm (ET)

Please review the following information about eligiblity and how to apply carefully:

Eligibility

Our committee will only consider applications from supervisors with appointments in the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences.

NSERC USRA: NSERC USRA Eligibility

NOTE: To be eligible for the NSERC USRA, you must also submit Form 202-Part1 and Form 202-Part2 on the NSERC online platform

USSRF: Queen's students registered in a Bachelor's degree program at the time of application.

Application Process

Eligible students are first required to find a principal investigator who will sponsor their DBMS Undergraduate Student Summer Research Award Competition (USSRAC) application (NSERC USRA and/or USSRF).

If your work is NSERC eligible*, you can submit to both the NSERC USRA and USSRF competitions (only 1 application is required).

For both competitions, complete and submit the “DBMS Undergraduate Student Summer Research Award Competition” (USSRAC) form (student and supervisor portion) and submit it with a copy of your unofficial transcript(s) as 1 PDF to lifesci@queensu.ca . Applications must be submitted by February 17th, 2026 @ 5:00pm (ET)

Student: complete Section A (the personal information sections and the description of laboratory/research experience and future research-based goals) and provide a copy of your unofficial transcript.

Supervisor: complete Section B (the description of the proposed research project, outline of the student's role, description of the expected quality of the training and mentorship to be received, and provide a description of the research aptitude of the student).

*NOTE: To be eligible for the NSERC USRA, you must also submit Form 202-Part1 and Form 202-Part2 on the NSERC online platform. The information from the DBMS USSRAC forms can be copied and pasted in (no new information is required). Just note the smaller word count allowance on the NSERC website.

Evaluation Criteria

All applications will be reviewed together. The top ranked NSERC eligible applicants will be allocated awards first. All remaining NSERC USRA applications will then go into the pool with the USSRF applications and be ranked accordingly.

The following criteria will be considered when evaluating and ranking the applications:

Academic excellence of the student applicant.
Research Potential of the student
Proposed Project.
Quality of Training

*Incomplete applications or those for which guidelines have not been followed will not be considered.

Review Committee

The review committee will be comprised of three members of the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences who will review and rank the applications, one of which will chair the review committee.

NSERC USRA

The NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Awards (USRA) provide undergraduate students the opportunity to work in a research lab during the summer. Details of the program, including eligibility can be found on the NSERC website.

Supervisors are not required to hold an active grant when applying to supervise a USRA student. There are no restrictions on who can supervise a USRA student, provided the university deems the Queen’s faculty member eligible to supervise students, but our committee will only consider applications from supervisors with appointments in DBMS.

Eligibility

NSERC USRA Eligibility

Application Process

To be eligible for the NSERC USRA, along with submitting the DBMS Undergraduate Student Summer Research Award Competition form to lifesci@queensu.ca, you must also submit Form 202-Part1 and Form 202-Part2 on the NSERC online platform. The information from the DBMS USSRAC forms can be copied and pasted in (no new information is required). Just note the smaller word count allowance on the NSERC website. The DBMS USSRAC forms will be used for adjudication by the Department of Biomedical and Molecular Sciences.

Students: Complete NSERC Form 202 – Part I.

Sponsoring Principal Investigator: Complete NSERC Form 202 – Part II, and submit online.

Do you identify as Black or Indigenous?

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) has allocated funds through USRA to help Canadian universities address the disproportionate underfunding of Black and Indigenous scholars at the undergraduate level.

Opportunities for Black and Indigenous student researchers through NSERC:

Unlimited fellowships for eligible Indigenous students
Fellowships available for Black students (limited spots)

If you identify as Black, please complete and submit this form along with your DBMS USSRAC application form. The office of the Vice-Principal Research (VPR) will adjudicate the applications for Black USRA students.

For general inquiries, contact Traci Allen: allent@queensu.ca

How to apply to NSERC

NSERC has prepared tutorial videos to summarize the process of applying for a funding opportunity. These videos provide an overview and general guidance only. For more detailed information, read the appropriate sections in the individual description and specific instructions for the program to which you are applying.

USSRF

The Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowship (USSRF) provides an experiential learning opportunity for undergraduate students enrolled in a Bachelor’s degree program at Queen’s (at the time of application). The program is intended to provide students with meaningful opportunities to engage in discovery-based learning and to develop research and presentation skills and is not limited to any one discipline. Full details on the USSRF can be through the Queen's Vice Principal Research website.

Eligibility

Queen's students registered in a Bachelor's degree program at the time of application.

Application Process

Complete and submit the “DBMS Undergraduate Student Summer Research Award Competition” (USSRAC) form (student and supervisor portion) and submit it with a copy of your transcript(s) as 1 PDF to the DBMS office by emailing them to lifesci@queensu.ca .