Accelerator Grants: Migraine Research
Sponsor
Brain Canada, in partnership with Women's Brain Health Initiative (WBHI)
Description
The Accelerator Grants: Migraine Research program aims to support bold, innovative research that has the potential to drive new insights and improve prevention, diagnosis and treatment strategies for migraine.
The program will support research that advances our understanding of the causes, risk factors and symptoms of migraine, including, but not limited to, the biological underpinnings of the condition; the identification of biomarkers to enhance prevention, diagnosis and treatment management; and the development and testing of novel therapies or interventions. Projects must consider the influence of sex- and gender-related factors in the design, analysis and evaluation of the research given the disproportionate impact of migraine on women. It is anticipated that this funding will catalyze new insights and support the generation of preliminary data, tools or interventions that can inform and enable new directions in the field.
Eligibility
This opportunity supports multidisciplinary teams that bring together the expertise required to address this complex neurological condition. Where appropriate, applicants are encouraged to meaningfully engage people with lived experience to ensure that research priorities, design and outcomes reflect real world needs and perspectives.
- Teams must include a minimum of two independent investigators, as described below, with one designated as the Principal Investigator.
- Investigators must be conducting research at, and affiliated with, an eligible Canadian academic institution for the entire duration of the grant and must be considered a full-time independent researcher at their institution. Such an individual normally holds the rank of assistant, associate, or full professor; can initiate and direct their own independent lines of research as principal investigator; has full responsibility for running their laboratories; has full control of their research funds; and is permitted to supervise trainees, if applicable, as per their institution’s policy. Academic appointments must have started by the deadline for Full Application submission. Postdoctoral fellows, research associates and adjunct faculty are not eligible to apply.
- Teams may include additional members and collaborators, as needed, to ensure the required expertise is present to carry out the proposed research.
- Proposals may be related but cannot be identical to any other funded projects. It is the responsibility of the applicants to notify Brain Canada immediately should overlap arise from funding awarded during the application and review process of this funding opportunity. Overlap is defined as having the same objectives and/or experimental aims as any other funded work.
- Applicants can only submit one application as Principal Investigator.
- Applicants must submit a Registration Form to be eligible to submit a Full Application.
- Applicants must be able to initiate the project in February 2027, when funding is expected to begin.
Funding Availability
The Accelerator Grants: Migraine Research program has an overall funding envelope of $480,000 CAD to support up to three grants. Grants are non-renewable.
Maximum Project Value
$160,000 over three years
Indirect Costs
0% IDC per sponsor guidelines
Project Duration
3 years
Deadlines
If College-level review is required, your College will communicate its earlier internal deadlines.
| Type | Date | Notes |
|---|---|---|
External Deadline | Deadline to submit Registration to sponsor. | |
Internal Deadline | If invited to submit a full application, submit a full application and signed OR-5 to Research Services Office via email: research.services@uoguelph.ca [1]. | |
External Deadline | Deadline to submit full application to sponsor. |
How to Apply
Please note that this funding opportunity includes a Registration Form and a Full Application stage. Applicants must submit a Registration Form in order to be eligible to submit a Full Application.
Following an administrative check and relevance review, applicants deemed eligible will be invited to submit a Full Application.
Registration Forms and Full Applications must be submitted using Brain Canada’s grant management system [2], SmartSimple.
It is the sole responsibility of the Principal Investigator to ensure their submission adheres to the requirements and is received by the deadlines outlined above. There will be no appeal to late submissions. Receipt of the Registration Form and Full Application will be acknowledged.
Please refer to the Request for Applications (RFA) attached for additional details.
Attachment(s)
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
 accelerator-grants-migraine-research-2026-rfa.pdf [3] | 475.26 KB |