CBH recognizes Canadian excellence through its Awards program.

Key Dates

October 9, 2025 - Award submission opens. Self-nominations accepted
December 8, 2025 - Award nomination closes
May 28, 2026 - Announcement and presentation of awards at conference

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How to Apply

Select the award category best suited to your submission. Indicate within the submission form if you are applying as a trainee or an early or mid- career professional.

CBH Research and Innovation Award Francis Ouellette Community Award

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Prize

Awardees will receive one year membership with the International Society for Computational Biology courtesy of CBH.

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Awards

The CBH Research and Innovation Award

The CBH Research and Innovation Award recognizes early and mid- career professionals in any sector who are shaping Canada’s bioinformatics, computational biology, and data science (BCBDS) ecosystem. This award highlights active innovations that are making a difference and show strong promise for future impact. It celebrates projects, products, or initiatives that value diverse perspectives and build unexpected connections to deliver transformative solutions.

Eligibility

Open only to early or mid- career professionals; self-nominations accepted. We follow CIHR definitions, so an early career professional is within five years of their first independent research-related position, and a mid-career professional is within 6-15 years of their first independent research-related position.

The innovation must:

Take place in Canada and provide benefit to people in Canada
Demonstrate current impact with clear potential for future success

Award Evaluation criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on:

Novelty and originality: The candidate’s work introduces fresh thinking, creativity, or innovative approaches that advance BCBDS in Canada.
Incorporation of diverse perspectives: The candidate’s work incorporates ideas, expertise, or voices from different backgrounds, sectors, or communities to strengthen the innovation.
Inspiration and creativity: The candidate's work inspires others, encourages creativity, and sparks new directions within the research ecosystem.
Impact and relevance: The candidate's work demonstrates tangible benefits for Canada’s bioinformatics, computational biology, and life data sciences community, with evidence of current impact and strong potential for future growth.

Submission Requirements

Curriculum vitae (maximum 5 pages) outlining education, career stage, and relevant achievements to the award.
Project or Innovation Summary (maximum 500 words) describing why the nominee would be an excellent candidate for this award, as well as the innovation, its objectives, novelty, inspiration potential, current impact, and future potential.
Statement on Diverse Perspectives (maximum 250 words) explaining how the innovation incorporates different backgrounds, sectors, or communities.

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The Francis Ouellette Community Award

The Francis Ouellette Community Award is established in recognition of Francis Ouellette, a major contributor to the development of the Canadian bioinformatics community for 25 years. The Francis Ouellette Community Award is given to an early and mid- career professional in any sector who is making outstanding contributions to building community among Canada’s bioinformatics, computational biology and data science (BCBDS) professionals, or is making outstanding community contributions, including creating or curating community resources (e.g. data, software tools, policies) that empower BCBDS research.

Eligibility

Award Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on:

Leadership in community initiatives: The candidate demonstrates initiative in organizing or contributing to BCBDS community-building efforts (e.g., student groups, workshops, open-source projects, public databases, hackathon, seminars) in Canada
Promotion of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility: The candidate champions equity, diversity, inclusion and accessibility in research spaces and community settings, creating more accessible and welcoming environments.
Contribution to open science, responsible data management and knowledge sharing: The candidate promotes open and FAIR science by sharing software tools, resources, or learnings that support collaboration, transparency, and broader access to bioinformatics knowledge.
Potential for sustained impact: The candidate shows promise for continued leadership and long-term contributions to BCBDS community development in Canada.

Submission Requirements

Curriculum vitae (maximum 5 pages) outlining education, career stage, and relevant achievements to the award.
Project or Innovation Summary (maximum 500 words) describing why the nominee would be an excellent candidate for this award, as well as a description of their leadership in community initiatives, promotion of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility, contribution to open science, responsible data management and knowledge sharing, and sustained impact.
Statement on Diverse Perspectives (maximum 250 words) explaining how the community activity incorporates different backgrounds, sectors, or communities.

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CBH Impact Trainee Award

The CBH Impact Trainee Award is given to a leading trainee in any sector who is making outstanding contributions in areas of The CBH Research and Innovation Award or The Francis Ouellette Community Award.

Eligibility

Open only to trainees; self-nominations accepted
The nominee must be in a bioinformatics, computational biology, or biological/medical data science training program in Canada.

Award Evaluation Criteria

Submissions will be evaluated based on the criteria set out in The CBH Research and Innovation Award or The Francis Ouellette Community Award.

Submission Requirements

Curriculum vitae (maximum 5 pages) outlining education, career stage, and relevant achievements to the award.
Submit to the desired award: “CBH Research and Innovation” or “Francis Ouellette Community” and indicate trainee status
Nomination Summary (maximum 500 words) describing why the nominee would be an excellent candidate for this award, following the criteria of The CBH Research and Innovation Award or The Francis Ouellette Community Award.
Statement on Diverse Perspectives (maximum 250 words) explaining how the nominee’s work incorporates different backgrounds, sectors, or communities.

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