• Catalyst Award Guidelines

Application deadline: Wednesday, June 25, 2025 by 16:00 EST

• Apply online
• Application form (MS Word)

Application review by grant review committee

September 2025 

Notification of decision

November 2025 

Funding start date

December 1, 2025

Progress report and ethics approval due

June 30, 2026

Final report due

January 30, 2027

The principal investigator must hold a faculty appointment as an assistant professor at a Canadian university at the time the application is submitted. 

The principal investigator must be an early career investigator (ECI). To account for the impact of COVID-19 on career timelines, for this competition, an ECI is defined as a researcher who has held an independent research appointment as an Assistant Professor for a period of 0 to 72 months at the competition deadline date (first academic appointment must be after June 25, 2019). 

Applications will be considered for research proposals related to the diagnosis, treatment, and/or mechanism of respiratory disease for people living with interstitial lung disease (ILD). Applications deemed outside these areas will be eliminated from the competition. 

Research projects must be new and not the continuation of an existing project. 

Catalyst grant funds may only be used to support research conducted in Canada.

Appropriate facilities must be available for the research. An institution and institution’s finance officer through which the funds will be administered must be identified. 

Applicants may only submit one application as a principal investigator per competition. 

Collaborations, particularly multi-disciplinary collaborations, are highly encouraged but must be justified.  

The principal investigator and collaborator(s) are not eligible if they hold or have held funding, directly or indirectly, from the tobacco, cannabis, and/or vaping industry.

One (1) award will be offered to the highest-ranking candidate chosen by the review committee.

The total funding amount available for the 2025 competition is $50,000. 

The funding is for one year and is non-renewable. 

What the funding can be used for

The Canadian Lung Association supports only the direct costs of research. No funding is to be used for indirect costs of research. 

The definition of indirect costs of research for the purposes of this policy is costs which cannot be directly associated with a particular research program or operating grant including costs associated with the general operation and maintenance of facilities (from laboratories to libraries), the management of the research process (from grant management to commercialization), benefits and pensions, and regulation and safety compliance (including human ethics, animal care, and environmental assessment).

Categories of expenditures 

Grantees are allowed discretion in the categories of expenditures within the approved budget. Prior approval of the Canadian Lung Association should be obtained before any major changes are made in the way the grant funds are spent. The Canadian Lung Association–funded research and training grants do not provide for institutional overheads and/or indirect costs of research or clinical care. Limitations specified in the grant notification must be respected.

Salaries and benefit expenditures: Provide names, if known, categories of employment and proposed salaries including non-discretionary benefits of all personnel identified in the budget. See "More on salary and benefit expenditures" below.

Experimental animals: Include species to be used and sample size justification along with calculations, if applicable. Provide a breakdown for procurement, breeding, boarding, and feeding. Where possible, include a copy of the institution’s standardized costs for these tasks as they vary from institution to institution. 

Materials and supplies: Provide details and justify/explain major items. Do not simply list items.

Publication costs: A maximum of $2,000 is permitted for costs associated with publishing in a peer-reviewed journal or to allow for open-access. 

Other items: Provide justification/explanation for each item listed. 

Ineligible expenditures: Catalyst grant funds may not be used to pay fees for membership in scientific societies or for journal subscriptions, for travel costs unless justified in the budget for patient engagement, recruitment, or sample collection OR to purchase equipment.

More on salary and benefit expenditures

Guidelines for employment are the same as those that apply to CIHR within the Tri-Agency (CIHR, NSERC, SSHRC) Financial Administration Guide. 

Grant funds can be used to support the salaries of technicians and research assistants employed at the research institution receiving the grant. The institution’s classification of technicians for whom funds are requested must be indicated on the application. The rates of pay shall be in accordance with the salary scale of the institution. Investigators who seek funds for the employment of research assistants must describe the role of the research assistant in the research project. 

Grant funds may not be used to employ practicing clinicians who wish to participate in a research project on a part-time basis, or for payments to individuals who receive remuneration for teaching or social work. 

Individuals who are paid from grant funds are not employees of the Canadian Lung Association. Employer contributions to superannuation, group insurance, and other employee benefits normally available to the institution's employees may be paid by the institution on behalf of the individuals employed under the Canadian Lung Association’s grants, and the cost of such contributions may be charged to the appropriate grant. 

The principal investigator or collaborator(s) shall not receive remuneration from grant funds provided by the Canadian Lung Association through its Grants Programs. The regulations of the institution with respect to the employment of relatives apply also to the use of grant funds for this purpose. 

Only under exceptional circumstances will the Canadian Lung Association approve payment to members of institution staff for consultative or other services. 

Excess expenditures 

Any commitments or expenditures incurred by a grantee in excess of the grant funds or beyond the term of the grant are the responsibility of the grantee. 

Salary approvals and other special authorizations may be given by the Canadian Lung Association subject to available funds. 

Unspent balances 

Any unspent balance at the end of the grant period reverts to the Canadian Lung Association. 

The Canadian Lung Association does not claim patent rights or intellectual property rights for any invention resulting from Catalyst Grant–supported research. However, grantees and/or their institutions may seek patent protection for inventions or developments supported by Catalyst Grants. Grantees wishing to obtain information concerning the patents applicable to discoveries arising from their research should consult with their institution.

Acknowledgements

The Canadian Lung Association must be acknowledged in any publication arising from research supported by the grant funds. Copies of abstracts, posters, and publications arising from Catalyst Grant– supported research should be sent to the Canadian Lung Association.

Publicizing competition results 

The successful applicants will be publicized by the Canadian Lung Association, including but not limited to on the www.lung.ca website and in the annual impact report. Such publicity will include names and headshots.

The Canadian Lung Association may release scientific abstracts and lay summaries of Catalyst Grant– supported research for print and other media. 

Progress report 

The principal investigator must submit a progress report to the Canadian Lung Association within six (6) months of the start date of the award. Failure to submit a progress report and ethics approvals will delay payment of the second half of the award.

Final report 

The principal investigator is required to submit a final report within two (2) months of the end of the funding period. A final report template will be provided to the recipient. 

The report should include a description of contributions to respiratory health and impact for people living with ILD. A list of relevant publications, presentations and photograph of the principal investigator should be appended and may be used on the Canadian Lung Association’s website, social media, and/or other communications with the public. 

Financial reporting

The Financial Officer administering the award must submit a financial report upon completion of the award.

Inability to complete or early termination

The institution is responsible for advising the Canadian Lung Association promptly if the grantee is unable for any reason to carry out or complete the research for which the grant funds were given. 

Extension by special consideration

A 1-year, no cost extension may be allowed for leaves of absence for personal, family, professional, or medical reason upon written request to research@lung.ca prior to the leave being taken. The end of the award period will be extended by one (1) year from the date of the request.

Transfer of award 

Grant funds are to be used at the institution named in the application. If the grantee moves to another Canadian institution, the funds may only be transferred with the written approval of the Canadian Lung Association.

Deadline

The applicant must submit their application by completing and uploading the application form in PDF format along with all supporting documentation via https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ILD_Catalyst. 

Use only the form provided.

The Canadian Lung Association will confirm receipt of the full application by email on the next business day.

Proposal

The proposal should focus on the hypotheses to be tested, the background, the approach, and the timeline. The application should outline methods that are critical to the proposal and avoid explaining detailed technical methods.

Budget

A budget justification and summary page of ongoing or applied-for grants must be included as part of the application.

File format

• Use 12-point Times New Roman. Condensed type or spacing is not acceptable.
• No photo-reduction except for figures.
• Maximum of four (4) pages, excluding references, tables, charts, figures, and photographs, etc.
• Maximum of two (2) pages of additional materials such as references, tables, charts, figures, and photographs, etc.
• Submission must be uploaded as a single PDF file (unprotected). 

Investigators and co-applicants

Applications may be submitted by only one investigator. If the proposed research entails significant collaboration with other investigators, the applicant should include a signed letter of support from each collaborator(s). Collaborators are not required to be ECIs.

Ethics approval 

Ethics approval by the principal investigator’s institutional ethics committee for human or animal experimentation, and/or biological/chemical hazards, should be submitted with the application if possible. If this is not possible, ethics approval must be sent to the Canadian Lung Association with the mid-term progress report to release the second payment of the award

Financial support 

Provide a brief explanation of any financial (not in-kind) contribution from other sources, if applicable. 

If any of the investigators on the research proposal hold financial (not in-kind) support from other sources or if they are applying for other funding, the application must describe the degree of overlap with the current application. This includes awards funded or applied for from all sources. It should be indicated whether the proposal is being presently funded, applied for, or renewed. 

All funding sources must be disclosed. 

Priority will be given to scientifically excellent research proposals that are not currently funded from other sources.

Incomplete applications

Before having the application signed by those authorized to do so on behalf of the institution, the applicant should ensure that the application is fully complete and includes sufficient information to permit a thorough assessment of the research proposal. 

Applications that do not contain all the necessary information may be withdrawn from the competition. The time between the closing dates for submission and the meetings of the adjudication committee does not permit consideration of late or incomplete applications. 

The Canadian Lung Association assumes no responsibility to follow up with applicants who submit incomplete applications. The responsibility to ensure the application is complete, including all required signatures, rests with the applicant.