Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, a Scholar Awards Program in Women's Health has been established to ensure that Ontario attracts and retains pre-eminent women's health scholars. The community of women's health scholars fostered by this Awards program will excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge about women's health and its translation into improved health for women, more effective health services and products for women, and a strengthened heath care system by:

a) Promoting, assisting and undertaking interdisciplinary, integrative women's health research that pertains to one or more of the following aspects of women's health: bio-medical research, clinical research and research respecting health systems, women's health services, the health of populations, societal and cultural dimensions of women's health, and environmental influences on women's health, and other research as required;

b) Creating a robust women's health research environment in Ontario, based on internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence and a peer review process, that will attract, develop, and keep excellent scholars and provide them with the opportunity to contribute to the improvement of women's health in Ontario and the world;

c) Addressing emerging women's health opportunities, threats and challenges and accelerating the discovery of cures and treatments and improvements to women's health care, prevention, and wellness strategies;

d) Promoting the dissemination of knowledge about women's health and the application of women's health research to improve the health of women in Ontario;

e) Building the capacity of the Ontario women's health research community through the development of scholars and the provision of sustained support for scientific careers in women's health research; and

f) Exercising leadership within the Ontario research community and fostering collaboration with individuals and organizations in Ontario that have an interest in women's health or women's health research.