Schulich Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
Overview
The Schulich Postdoctoral Fellowship program will provide support for postdoctoral scholars pursuing fundamental and translational medical research. Funded by generous donors, this competitive program provides access to world-class facilities, interdisciplinary collaborations, and expert mentorship.
See the Program Guidelines below for more information on this opportunity, including full eligibility criteria.
Research Themes
The 2026 program supports four established research themes, each established through generous philanthropic donations. Future expansion of themes may be possible with additional donor support:
- Pain - Two fellowships available. Research must focus on pain but can relate to pain in normal physiology or any disease condition.
- Neuroscience - Three fellowships available. Research must be in neuroscience, which can include cognitive or molecular neuroscience.
- Cardiovascular Imaging - One fellowship available. Research must focus on cardiovascular imaging, but can include macro- or micro-imaging modalities (including microscopy).
- Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease - One fellowship available. Research must focus on cardiovascular and/or metabolic disease and may include studies of underlying mechanisms, prevention, diagnosis, or treatment.
Award Details
Duration: 2 yearsStipend: $70,000/year + 14% benefits
Total Value: Approx. $161,515
Schulich Contribution: Up to $50,000/year
Supervisor Contribution: Remaining stipend cost
Schulich Research Scholar Award: Schulich Postdoctoral Fellows who secure an external fellowship ($40,000+ per year) receive top-up funding (to total stipend of $80,000/year) and a $5,000 research allowance.
Important Dates
| March 10, 2026 | Call for Applications |
| May 23 2026 | Application and ROLA Deadline |
| Mid June 2026 | Selection Committee Review |
| Late June 2026 | Communication of Results |
| July - December 2026 | Successful Candidates' Anticipated Start Date |
Supervisor Project Listings
Supervisor project proposals will be posted on this webpage for prospective applicants to review between December 2025 through early 2026. Posting a project is optional and not required to supervise a Schulich Postdoctoral Fellowship application.
Project Title: Targeting Trans p65 NF-κB Prevents Sepsis Mortality by Attenuating the Cytokine Storm and Immune Paralysis
Supervisor: Kun Ping Lu (Department of Biochemistry)
Project Description: Sepsis triggers a dysregulated immune response marked by a cytokine storm followed by immune paralysis. Current immunosuppressive therapies can reduce early inflammation but often fail to improve survival because they exacerbate immune paralysis. Our research identifies trans NF-κB as a key driver of both hyperinflammation and immune suppression. Selectively targeting this conformation with a specific antibody reduces cytokine storm, organ damage, and mortality while preserving host immunity. Conformation-specific inhibition of trans NF-κB restores immune balance and significantly improves survival in preclinical models and human sepsis studies.
Contact: Contact the supervisor by email at klu92@uwo.ca to discuss the opportunity.
Project Title: Studying the Master Signaling Regulator Pin1 in Cancer, Alzheimer’s Disease, Brain Injury, and Sepsis
Supervisor: Kun Ping Lu and Xiao Zhen Zhou (Department of Biochemistry)
Project Description: Postdoctoral positions are available in the laboratories of Drs. Kun Ping Lu and Xiao Zhen Zhou at Western University to study the master signaling regulator Pin1 in the development and treatment of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury, and sepsis. Current research focuses on first-in-class Pin1 inhibitors and cis- and trans-specific antibodies in early disease mechanisms, diagnosis, and treatment (Nature 523:431; Cell 184:4753 & 149:232; Science Signal 17:eadi8743; Science Translational Medicine 13:eaaz7615; Nature Communications 15:3220 & 14:5414; Nature Reviews Cancer 16:463).
Contact: Applicants should send a CV, research summary, and three references to klu92@uwo.ca or xzhou659@uwo.ca.
Website: https://www.Pin1.org
Project Title: Predictors of Treatment Response to High Tibial Osteotomy for Symptomatic Knee Osteoarthritis
Supervisor: Tom Appleton (Department of Medicine)
Project Description: High tibial osteotomy (HTO) modifies joint load by surgically correcting varus or valgus malalignment in knee osteoarthritis. HTO can improve pain, function, cartilage composition, and inflammation. However, a subset of patients does not experience symptom relief, suggesting that mechanical realignment alone may be insufficient when other disease mechanisms are present, such as synovial inflammation, microvascular dysfunction, or pain sensitization. This project will use HTO as a controlled model to investigate patient- and joint-specific contributors to persistent pain in knee osteoarthritis, including synovial tissue inflammation and microvascular dysfunction.
Contact: Email your CV and a brief statement of interest to tom.appleton@sjhc.london.on.ca discuss the opportunity.
Project Title: Multimodal Neuroimaging Studies of Acute and Chronic Pain
Supervisor: David Seminowicz (Department of Medical Biophysics)
Project Description: Our laboratory studies brain mechanisms and biomarkers of acute and chronic pain, cognition, and emotion using multimodal neuroimaging approaches including fMRI, EEG, simultaneous EEG-fMRI, sensory testing, and other quantitative and qualitative techniques. Research spans experimental models of pain in humans and animals as well as chronic pain conditions including migraine, musculoskeletal pain, neuropathic pain, and orofacial pain. Postdoctoral fellows typically collaborate closely with graduate students and other lab personnel on multiple projects and are encouraged to develop their own research ideas.
Contact: Prospective applicants are encouraged to reach out with questions or ideas before submitting a full application. For full applications, please email a CV, list of references, and statement of interest to dseminow@uwo.ca
Website: https://www.daslab.org/
Project Title: Stem Cell Derived Therapies for Neural Repair
Supervisor: Julio Martinez-Trujillo (Department of Physiology and Pharmacology)
Project Description: Neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) are frequently associated with atypical brain connectivity, yet the fine-scale functional connectivity (FSFC) linking genetic mutations to circuit dysfunction remains poorly understood in humans. Using human induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived neuronal networks, high-density microelectrode arrays, and computational modeling, this project will investigate how mutations in the synaptic scaffolding gene SHANK2 alter the developmental trajectory of FSFC and network dynamics. The project hypothesizes that SHANK2 mutations initially disrupt FSFC and trigger compensatory hyperconnectivity later in development. Pharmacological strategies to restore normal connectivity and network function will also be tested.
Contact: Contact the supervisor by email at julio.martinez@robarts.ca to discuss the opportunity.
Website: https://www.robarts.ca/research/scientists/martinez-trujillo_julio.html
Project Title: Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Heart Failure
Supervisor: Tianqing Peng (Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Project Description: This project will investigate preventing site-specific calpain proteolysis of ATP5A1 as a potential strategy for treating heart failure. The work will be conducted using a multidisciplinary approach that integrates biochemical, molecular, cellular, and imaging techniques along with genetically modified animal models.
Contact: Email your CV and a statement of interest directly to the supervisor at tpeng2@uwo.ca.
Applicants interested in a posted project must contact the supervisor directly using the instructions provided to discuss the opportunity and determine whether they will support an application.
Guidelines and Application Form
Program materials for the 2026 competition have been released:
Program Guidelines: word | PDF
Program Application Form: word | PDF
Relevance Form: word | PDF
Applicant Rating Form: word | PDF
Application Portal
Please submit completed application packages, excluding the assessments of candidates which should be provided directly to research@schulich.uwo.ca, to the application portal.
Contact: Schulich Research Office | research@schulich.uwo.ca
