Research Funding
Academic Scholar Awards
The University of Toronto’s Department of Psychiatry will grant merit-based awards to support the professional development of full-time faculty members of the Department. The priority will be to support early-career and mid-career faculty members, so that they can progress towards attaining academic promotion. In addition, up to two awards will be available for Full Professors who meet specific criteria.
Timeline for the 2025-26 Competition
- Competition announcement – January 12, 2026
- Application Deadline – February 27, 2026, 5:00 PM
- Funding Start Date – July 1, 2026
- Progress Reports – On an annual basis from the start date for the duration of the award
Read and download the Request for Applications for more information.
ASA FAQ - Get answers to common ASA questions.
ASA Application Workshop
An online workshop to answer questions that applicants have about the ASA awards and the application process. Due to the amount of work involved in preparing an application, we recommend that applicants start their applications prior to attending this workshop.
ASA Application Workshop
Tips for Research Applications
Tips for CPA and Education Applications
Tips for Status-Only Applications
View the 2025 Academic Scholar Award Winners
2025 - 2024 -2023 -2022 -2021
Department of Psychiatry Funding Opportunity In Quality, Innovation & Safety
The Department of Psychiatry has two opportunities in Quality, Innovation and Safety (QIS) for the 2025-26 cycle:
QIS Project Grant (up to $15,000) - QIS projects led by early-career faculty.
QIS Education Bursary ($2,500) - To support advanced QIS-focused training at a Canadian institution.
Applicants may apply to both opportunities, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for each. Deadline is January 16, 2026.
The Excellence Funds
The Excellence Funds are the result of a University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry (‘the Department’) fundraising effort to provide seed funding for projects by early career faculty that align with the Department’s strategic plan and priorities as expressed by the donors of funds. The three designated areas of priority are: Research, Education and Creative Professional Activity (CPA). With respect to research, the seed funds are intended to support projects that will generate pilot data to support a subsequent more definitive peer-reviewed grant application, preferably intended for submission to a provincial or national funding agency.
Timeline for the Competition
The 2025-26 competition is closed. Check back in Fall 2026 for the next round.
Labatt Family Network Catalyst Fund
Thanks to a transformational gift from the Labatt family, in 2019 the University of Toronto’s Department of Psychiatry launched a groundbreaking network dedicated to understanding the biology of depression. The Labatt Family Network for Research on the Biology of Depression is designed to pioneer innovative approaches to depression biology research, advance our understanding of the biology of depression, and foster the next generation of research talent in this field.
Through the Labatt Family Network Catalyst Fund, the University of Toronto’s Department of Psychiatry will provide seed funding to early career investigators to pursue promising studies that investigate the biology of depression in children and youth, older adults, and across the lifespan. This funding will complement the Labatt Family Innovation Fund in Brain Health, which funds research in the biology of depression in persons aged 18-65 years.
Timeline for the Competition
The 2025-26 competition is closed. Check back in Spring 2026 for the next round.
Labatt Family Research Fellowships in Depression Biology
The Labatt Family Fellowships in Depression Biology support the training of psychiatrist and non-psychiatrist post-doctoral fellows in research that has a primary focus on the biology of depression.
Request for Applications
The 2025-26 competition is closed. Check back in Fall 2026 for the next round.
Reasons for Hope Fund in Prevention and Early Detection of Mental Illness
The University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry’s Reasons for Hope Fund supports research studies that are designed to impact the trajectory and outcome of mental illness in adolescent and young adult populations, with a focus on prevention and early detection.
Through the Reasons for Hope Fund in Prevention and Early Detection of Mental Illness we will fund three to six studies that have the potential to impact the trajectory and outcomes of mental illness within adolescent and young adult populations, with a focus on prevention (including primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention) and early detection.
Timeline for the Competition
The 2025-26 competition is closed. Check back in Fall 2026 for the next round.