CIHR Health Research Training Investments

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) strives to ensure a strong foundation of future health research leaders, and is committed to offering programs that increase the supply of highly-qualified research personnel.

Since 2014 CIHR has invested $2.1B to support health researchers' training, 18% of its investments in that time.

Since 2015, CIHR has invested $2.2B to support health researcher training. This represents 18% of CIHR total research investments in that time.

CIHR funds training through a wide range of programs, including:

  • Recurrent awards, such as Canada Graduate Scholarship – Master's and Doctoral, Vanier Doctoral award; Banting Fellowship, CIHR Fellowship, Health System Impact Fellowship.
  • Innovative capacity building designs, such as Health Research Training Platform, Clinical Trials Training Platform, REDI Early Career Transition Award.
In 2023–24, CIHR invested $267M in direct awards, indirect support, and training grants.

In 2024–25, CIHR invested $285M in the next generation of the Canadian health research workforce:

  • $101.3M through direct awards (Training and Career Support and Research in Priority Areas funding envelopes) to 2,569 trainees.
  • $160.5M to indirectly support trainees through stipends, as reported by CIHR grant holders (Investigator Initiated and Research in Priority Areas funding envelopes).
  • $23.0M in training grants (Research in Priority Areas funding envelope) to platforms providing training and mentorship.
CIHR supports all stages of training, from undergraduate to postdoctoral across all four CIHR pillars of health research.

Supporting every stage of training, across CIHR's four pillars:

Figure 1: Direct and indirect training support in 2024–25 by stage, $M

Figure 1 long description
  • Undergraduate $13
  • Master's $69.8
  • Doctoral $96.2
  • Postdoctoral/post-degree $84.9
  • Mixed stage $0.5

Figure 2: Direct and indirect training support in 2024–25 by pillar

Figure 2 long description
  • 56% Biomedical
  • 18% Clinical
  • 10% Health systems/services
  • 12% Social/Cultural/Environmental/Population Health
  • 4% Not specified

Figure 3: Proportion of awarded applications that were cross-pillar in 2024–25

Figure 3 long description
  • 34% cross-pillar
  • 66% non-cross-pillar
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