Annual NMD4C Awards

This annual award program provides three awards, celebrating excellence and contribution to the neuromuscular field by neuromuscular researchers across both clinical and basic science streams.

Submit a nomination  |  Eligibility criteria  |  Selection criteria  |  Deadline  |  Contact |  Past recipients

Dr. Natasha Chang

Assistant Professor, McGill University and NMD4C Steering Committee Investigator

Early career investigators are at a stage in their careers where finding the funding and academic appointments to continue their research programs and clinical work is integral to their career progression in the field of neuromuscular care and research. These applications are highly competitive, and it is our hope that receiving an NMD4C award can help support and strengthen these applications to secure critical research funding and academic appointments.

By creating these awards, the NMD4C provides a method of recognizing outstanding achievement by early career neuromuscular researchers and clinicians on behalf of the Canadian neuromuscular community. Recipients receive a tangible accolade to bolster their academic CVs in pursuit of future academic appointments and grant applications. This award program is a part of the network's broader strategy to provide support for Canadian early-career neuromuscular investigators.

Award Categories

The three categories included in the competition are:

  • Early Career Biomedical Researcher of the Year
  • Early Career Clinical Researcher of the Year
  • Publication of the Year*

*Additional subcategories may be considered, such as those recognizing trainees and patient‑oriented research.

Eligibility Criteria

Researcher of the year award streams

  • Early-career status: within five years of the date of their first independent research-related appointment (the eligibility window will be adjusted to take into account eligible leaves, as defined by CIHR).
  • Member of NMD4C
  • Self-nominations are accepted
  • Previous award recipients are ineligible

Publication of the year award stream

  • Any career stage
  • Member of NMD4C
  • Self-nominations are accepted
  • Previous award recipients are ineligible
  • Article published in 2026
  • First or last author of the article

Nomination Procedure

Researcher of the year award streams

If you wish to nominate yourself or an individual for this award, please complete the nomination form (please ensure all of the selection criteria have been addressed). You will need:

  • The nominee’s contact information
  • The nominee’s biosketch (NIH OR CIHR format; 4-5 pages)
  • Up to three research milestones of the nominee
  • A brief paragraph highlighting the achievements of the individual, and why you think they should receive the award

Publication of the year award streams

To nominate yourself or an individual for this award, please complete the nomination form (please ensure all of the selection criteria have been addressed). You will require:

  • The nominee’s contact information
  • The nominee’s biosketch (NIH OR CIHR format; 4-5 pages)
  • Up to three research milestones of the nominee
  • A brief paragraph highlighting the achievements of the individual, and why you think they should receive the award
  • A PDF copy of the full publication you wish to nominate

Selection Criteria

Researcher of the year award streams

Nominations will be evaluated by NMD4C’s committee using the following selection criteria:

  • Research excellence (impact, originality, productivity)
  • Research collaborations/ partnerships
  • Outreach and knowledge mobilization
  • Trainee Mentorship/ supervision
  • Open science
  • Patient engagement
  • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity

Publication of the year award streams

Nominations will be evaluated by NMD4C’s committee according to the following selection criteria:

  • Impact on the field
  • Quality of work
  • Originality/uniqueness
  • Outreach and knowledge mobilization
  • Open science
  • Patient engagement
  • Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Indigeneity

Deadline

Nominations for the 2026 awards cycle are due by January 18, 2027.

Applicants will be notified of outcomes in February 2027 and award recipients will be honoured at the 2027 NMD4C annual meeting.

Contact

For any Award related questions, please email our network manager, Erin Beattie