In 2022, Statistics Canada reported that 15 million Canadians were providing paid or unpaid care to children or adults with long-term conditions or disabilities. These responsibilities often require caregivers to adjust their work schedules, reduce hours, or scale back responsibilities. Principal investigators in academic settings who are caregivers also face the additional challenge of having to maintain their research labs when they take caregiving leave.

“Caregivers shouldn’t have to choose between taking care of their loved ones and advancing their careers,” said Dr. Helen Tran, assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Toronto and inaugural recipient of the Acceleration Consortium’s Caregiver Grant. “This grant alleviates the burden on principal investigators to continually raise funds while on leave. This way, energy can be directed towards maintaining research progress, mentorship, and lab operations.”

The Acceleration Consortium (AC) Caregiver Grant is one of the first of its kind globally, providing research funding support to associate and assistant professors who are AC members with caregiving responsibilities. The grant, valued at up to $90,000 for one year, helps maintain research group productivity during caregiving leave by funding support roles such as research associates, post-doctoral fellows, and lab managers or funding associated lab operations.

The grant also ensures continuity for research teams.

“My students will continue their work even while I’m on leave,” Dr. Tran noted. “The Caregiver Grant enabled me to hire a post-doc, who I otherwise would not have had funding to hire, who will mentor my students and oversee their progress. This support was crucial for my group, especially as a new assistant professor establishing my research program.”

The AC introduced the Caregiver Grant as part of its Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) grant application.

“We were encouraged to be bold,” said Dr. Alán Aspuru-Guzik, director of the Acceleration Consortium. “When we designed the AC, we wanted to do something that would address a real need in our labs in a way that was new and uncommon. We achieved that goal with the Caregiver Grant and are proud to have created one of the first grants of its kind in the world.”

Increasing the participation of equity-deserving groups in STEM is a fundamental goal of the Acceleration Consortium.

“The AC Caregiver Grant will help bring more people to the STEM table,” Dr. Tran said. “Women are disproportionately affected by caregiving responsibilities, so this grant removes one significant barrier to retaining women in STEM. I hope other institutions will follow our lead and develop similar programs to support their researchers.”

The Caregiver Grant is available to full Acceleration Consortium members. The next call for applications will be in winter 2024/25.