Goals

In order to support the next generation of scientists and research staff in presenting their work at national and international conferences, the Sleep Network is proud to offer its first travel grant competition. This competition also aims to encourage the visibility of research conducted by members of the Sleep Network.

The Sleep Network plans to offer this competition twice a year. This competition will provide travel grants for participation in conferences taking place from April 1, 2025, to September 30, 2025.

Available budget

A minimum annual budget of $10,000 is available for this funding opportunity. The grant amounts will vary depending on the location of the conference. Grants of up to $400 will be offered for conferences held within the province of Quebec, and grants of up to $800 will be offered for conferences outside the province (national or international).

Eligibility

• The person submitting the application must be enrolled full-time in an undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, or postdoctoral program, or be a research professional, in Quebec, at the time of submission.
• The person submitting the application is supervised or employed by a principal investigator affiliated with a managing institution in Quebec (according to the FRQ rules), meets the criteria of the Fonds de recherche du Québec at the time of submission, and will become a member of the Sleep Network.
• The person submitting the application does not hold a scholarship from a funding agency that provides a research stipend (e.g., CIHR doctoral scholarship).
• The event must take place between April 1, 2025, and September 30, 2025.
• The project presented in the abstract must focus on sleep, circadian rhythms, or dreams.
• The person submitting the application must provide proof that an abstract, on which they are the first author, has been submitted.
• Once the grant is awarded, proof of the abstract's acceptance at the event must be provided to the Sleep Network for the payment to be made to the managing institution.

Eligible Expenses

The grant can be used to cover travel expenses (transportation and taxi transfers to the conference venue), conference registration fees, and accommodation. Recipients will be required to submit a detailed budget with their application, explaining the intended use of the funds. Invoices will be required for the grant payment.

Please note that the minimum distance to the conference and the eligible expenses are determined by the managing institution of the person submitting the application. We encourage you to confirm this information before submitting your application.

How to submit an application 

Two documents are required and must be sent to the following address: [email protected].

1) Application Form:

• Click here to access the application form.

2) Proof of abstract submission to the conference. Please note that proof of abstract acceptance at the conference is only required for the grant payment.

Please send the proof of abstract submission in a PDF document to [email protected]. The submitted document must comply with the same requirements as those of the FRQ for attached documents.

Evaluation criteria 

In addition to the eligibility of the applications, the following priorities will be taken into account when evaluating the applications:

• Scientific quality of the research project presented in the submitted abstract.
• Clear justification of how the research project and participation in the conference contribute to the science of sleep, circadian rhythms, or dreams.

Timeline of the competition

• December 10, 2024: Launch of the travel grants competition
• January 15 , 2025, at 4PM (Eastern Time) : Submission deadline
• Mid-January 2025 to mid-February 2025: Evaluation of submissions
• March 15, 2025 : Announcement of the winners

Please note that a travel grant competition will also be available for conferences taking place from October 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026. This program will be launched in the spring of 2025.

Commitment

A person who receives a Sleep Network travel grant may not receive the same grant within the next two years.