The goal of the program is to introduce undergraduate and medical students to the field of diabetes research and to encourage research in diabetes and its complications as a career. 

Fifteen summer studentships are available for undergraduate and medical students to carry out summer research in diabetes under the supervision of a member of the Banting & Best Diabetes Centre (BBDC).

Students will be required to work full-time for a minimum of 12 weeks between May 1 and August 31, 2013.

Students and their supervisors must participate in the Summer Studentship Program which consists of a weekly Seminar Series beginning in June, and a half-day Mini-Conference in early August.

Supervisors will be responsible for ensuring that their students submit a one-page abstract of their research findings to the Program Coordinator before the Mini-Conference.

This competition is not restricted to University of Toronto students.

The potential supervisor must hold a full-time faculty appointment with the University of Toronto, and must be conducting diabetes research. The potential supervisor must also be a registered member* of the BBDC at the time of application submission. (*Faculty who are new to the field of diabetes research and are not members of the BBDC can request free membership by contacting the Centre prior to submitting an application. For more information, please see the Membership section of this web site).

Potential supervisors may submit a maximum of two (2) applications. However, under normal circumstances only one studentship will be awarded per supervisor.

Students may not submit more than one application.

Those Eligible To Apply:

• High school students who have been accepted by a university undergraduate or medical degree program.
• University students who are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or medical degree program.
• University students who will complete an undergraduate or medical degree program in January or May 2013 (but not earlier).

Those Not Eligible to Apply:

• Students who will complete an undergraduate or medical degree program before January 2013.
• Those who have received a research graduate degree are not eligible to apply regardless of their current status.
• Those who are currently enrolled or will be enrolled in a graduate degree program by May 1, 2013.

Applications will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the BBDC Training and Research Excellence Committee and will be evaluated on the following criteria:

• The research project, including relevance to diabetes
• The training environment in which the student will carry out their research project
• The student's academic record
• Special accomplishments or attributes relevant to the Summer Studentship application
• A minor component of the evaluation will be based on other factors that the reviewers consider relevant to this competition

STEP 1 - Find a Potential Supervisor
Students must contact potential supervisors directly to discuss the possibility of a summer position. The potential supervisor must hold a full-time faculty appointment with the University of Toronto, and must be conducting diabetes research. The potential  supervisor must also be a registered member of the BBDC at the time of application submission.

Click here to view a list of supervisors who potentially have one or more positions available for a summer student.

Students may also directly contact other faculty not on the list above with whom they are interested in working to discuss the possibility of a summer position. Research profiles of BBDC members involved in diabetes-related research can be found on this web site at http://www.bbdc.org/research/index.htm.

STEP 2 - Submit an Application
Once the student has found a potential supervisor, the supervisor and student jointly submit a completed application form to the BBDC by the application deadline date. Students may not submit more than one application.

Submit a completed application form to the BBDC by the deadline date. A maximum of two (2) applications may be submitted by each potential supervisor; however, only one studentship will be awarded per supervisor under normal circumstances.

Download the 2013 Charles Hollenberg Summer Studentship Program application form. (PDF)

5 p.m., January 21, 2013
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

All students and their supervisors will be notified by early April. Funding decisions will also be posted on this web site.

• Successful students cannot accept more than one summer studentship regardless of the funding source.
• All selected summer students must attend a minimum of 75 percent of the weekly seminars and are required to give a presentation of their work at the Mini-Conference. Failure to comply with the program's requirements will result in future ineligibility of both the student and supervisor for BBDC funding programs.
• Successful applicants must acknowledge support from the "Banting & Best Diabetes Centre, University of Toronto" in relevant presentations and publications arising from the supported research. Failure to acknowledge this support will result in future ineligibility of both the student and supervisor for BBDC funding programs.

Chris Sargent
Phone: 416-978-3498
E-mail: chris.sargent@utoronto.ca

Dr. Jonathan Rocheleau
E-mail: Jon.Rocheleau@utoronto.ca