Call for Projects

Background

Issuing Institution: McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) Foundation

Program: Women’s Health Innovation Strategic Table

Call Launch Date: February 27, 2026

Application Deadline: March 26, 2026

Funding Start Date: April 15, 2026

For generations, women’s health has not received the attention it deserves. Despite significant progress, women continue to experience disparities in health outcomes; underrepresentation in research; and gaps in diagnosis, treatment, and care delivery. Canadian women spend 24 % more time in poor health and with varying degrees of disability than men.

The MUHC and its Research Institute (The Institute) are uniquely positioned to advance the precision health of women across their life course through cutting-edge research, clinical innovation, and interdisciplinary collaborations. Together, we can address gaps in women-specific conditions, and conditions that disproportionally or differentially affect women.

The MUHC Foundation’s new Forward Fund for Women’s Health is our revolutionary commitment to equity—driven by science, rooted in innovation, and built to close the gender gap in medicine—and we need you with us. To date, over $5.5M has been raised. A growing community of donors wants to support improvement in women’s health. Donors want to support your innovative ideas.

The Women’s Health Innovation Strategic Table was founded to act as the voice of this community. Eleven women philanthropists have generously donated and agreed to sit on a review panel of innovative projects in women’s health. Projects submitted by health care professionals and/or scientists will be reviewed by a scientific committee at The Institute.

Through this Call for Projects, we seek to support high-impact and innovative research, advocacy, and knowledge-translation initiatives that improve the health, wellbeing, and care experiences of women.

Objectives

The objectives of this funding program are to:

Advance women’s precision health across the life course (i.e., adolescence, pregnancy, postpartum, perimenopause, menopause, post-menopause)
Improve diagnosis, treatment, and care-delivery for women using a precision health approach
Support innovative, scalable, and patient-centered solutions
Foster interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration
Mobilize knowledge to enable impactful changes in women’s health
Accelerate translation from discovery to clinical, or system-level, impact
Generate new knowledge that will inform changes in policy and clinical guidelines

Applying innovative approaches, bridging emerging fields, and targeting underserved populations are strongly encouraged.

Eligibility

Principal Applicants must hold an appointment at the MUHC or The Institute.
Multidisciplinary teams are encouraged, within the MUHC/The Institute or with external institutions.
Partnerships with industry, community organizations, or patient partners are welcome where relevant.
Early-career investigators are encouraged to apply, either as Principal or Co-Applicants.
Applicants must get approval from their direct leadership to apply (i.e., nurse manager, division director, research program leader, etc.).

Funding and project duration

Funding amount: The total funding envelope for this initiative is $5,500,000 over 5 years. The MUHC Foundation may also offer additional funding from its larger community of women’s health donors to support innovative projects not selected by the Women’s Health Innovation Strategic Table.

Project duration: Up to 5 years

Funds may be used for personnel, equipment, research costs, patient engagement initiatives, and knowledge-translation activities, in accordance with institutional policies. Administrative fees (MUHC) for clinical projects, or research service fees (RI-MUHC) for research-based projects, of 15% should be factored into budgets.

Selection process

All applications will be reviewed by leadership at the MUHC and The Institute.
Research-based projects will be screened by a scientific review panel at The Institute to assess project merit and strategic alignment with The Institute’s 2030 Vision. Feasibility should be clearly articulated throughout the scientific proposal portion of the application.
The top projects will be invited to deliver an oral presentation to the philanthropists of the Strategic Table.
This Call for Projects will be annual, for a minimum of 5 years.
The MUHC Foundation is committed to equity, diversity, and inclusion in research. Applicants are encouraged to integrate sex- and gender-based analyses and to consider the needs of diverse and underserved populations in project design and implementation.

Applications must be submitted electronically by March 26^th, 2026 by midnight.

For questions regarding eligibility or application requirements, please contact:

MUHC Foundation
Kim Cavener
Director, strategic giving
MUHC Foundation
Kim.cavener@muhc.mcgill.ca

The Institute
Research Strategy Office
strategy.rimuhc@muhc.mcgill.ca

Application Process

Before beginning your application, pleasure ensure you have read and prepared the following:

Ready to apply?

Please ensure you have read the details above prior to beginning the application and are prepared to answer in-depth questions about your project's goals, impact, and budget.

Apply now