With this fluid situation please bookmark and visit this site for regular updates on the impacts to Queen’s research. The website aims to provide clarity and direction to support the continuation of the research mission. We appreciate that the fluidity of the current situation makes for significant difficulties in planning research activities. For those of you who have questions or seek assistance, please contact research@queensu.ca. University updates will continue to be posted at queensu.ca/covidinfo.
Latest Updates
Apr 08, 2021
Update to Research Community about Provincial stay-at-home order
Government of Ontario has declared a State of Emergency in the province and implemented a stay-at-home order
Get the latest update
Mar 18, 2021
Update to Research Community March 18, 2021
Following on the March 16, 2021 update to the research community, COVID-19 cases in the Kingston, Frontenac Lennox & Addington (KFL&A) region, and in the province in general, have been rising with particular linkages to Variants of Concern (VOC).
Read the full article
Important Links
Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF)
The CRCEF was announced on June 23 as part of the Government of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. Queen’s University was notionally allocated ~$5.2M for eligible expenses.
Learn more about the Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund
Updated December 17, 2020
A structure and response protocols to guide the controlled slowing of the research enterprise in response to COVID-19 incidents has been developed. Central to the planning, with due consideration to risk and public health guidance, is supporting the continuity of research.
Updated August 26, 2020
As you are aware, we have had a Research Impact Committee that has been approving various aspects of the research start-up process. When we moved to Priority 2 research requests, approvals were delegated to the Faculties with approvals for field research and research involving human subjects remaining under the purview of the committee. We are now at a point where it is appropriate for field research and research involving human subjects to be approved at the Faculty level.
The Research Impact Committee is now morphing to a Research Response Team which will be preparing various response plans and communications to support the appropriate continuity of research in the event of an outbreak. We will continue to consult with Faculties in the development of these plans.
Please contact your Associate Dean of Research or Department Head if you have any questions or concerns.
For details on the process for requests, please see the full, updated message online.
Public Health and Building Preparation Guidance FAQ for Research Priority Timeline 1 and 2 have been made available to assist faculty, unit heads, and building managers/officials in preparing for on-site research facility start-up following approval of a research access request.
As part of the national effort to address the COVID-19 Crisis, the Federal Office of the Science Advisor is establishing an expert community of Canadian COVID-19 researchers, clinical collaborators, and healthcare stakeholders from across the country. Please see cancovid.ca to learn more. The community will be hosted on Slack, a collaboration hub developed to facilitate communication and the sharing of information. The top research intensive universities in Canada, the U15, to which we belong, are encouraged to invite qualified researchers to join the platform and participate in the collaborations. Themes for collaboration include the following:
- Diagnostics
- Clinical trials
- Fundamental Science
- Vaccines & Therapeutics
- Indigenous research
- Social and behavioural sciences
- Healthcare
- Modelling
- Cohort Studies
For those of you who participated in our recent survey on COVID-19-related research conducted at Queen’s, we intend to use those results to initiate the invitation list. If you are currently conducting research on COVID-19 or its impacts, or believe that you have skills that might be valuable to the themes identified above, and did not participate in the survey or wish to re-iterate your interest, please send an email to research@queensu.ca. Please provide a brief biography and ½ page description of your COVID-19 related interests/research (i.e. the theme you might fit into) in your email and we will reply. Please note that the invitations we provide will be vetted by the CanCOVID team to ensure suitability in all cases. The invitation process opened today, so if you are interested, please be in contact as soon as possible.
- March 18, 2021 - Update to Research Community March 18, 2021
- March 16, 2021 - Update to Research Community March 16, 2021
- February 9, 2021 Update to Queen’s Research Community regarding February 10 re-opening
- January 12, 2021 Update to Research Community – State of Emergency in Ontario
- December 22, 2020 Update to Research Community – Provincial Lockdown
- December 18, 2020 Update to Research Community - Status Orange
- December 8, 2020 Update to Research Community
- October 21, 2020 Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion: Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF) (Updated October 21)
- October 14, 2020 Continuity and Slowing of Research Planning
- October 10, 2020 Update to the Research Community as Queen's updates status on COVID cases
- October 9, 2020 Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF) (Updated October 9)
- October 2, 2020 Ontario Ministry of Health: Challenge Questions Initiative
- September 25, 2020 Update to Research Community as Queen’s updates status on COVID cases
- September 24, 2020 Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on research: NEW guidelines for NSERC’s community
- September 17, 2020 Policy Statement on Research Security and COVID-19 from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (Safeguarding Your Research website)
- September 9, 2020 CIHR: Supporting early career researchers affected by COVID-19: Temporarily “pausing the clock” for ECRs
- August 26, 2020 Requests for On-site Research Facility Access (Updated August 26)
- August 26, 2020 Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF) (Updated August 26)
- August 24, 2020 Research Community Town Hall scheduled for August 27 at 1:30 pm - Archived
- August 5, 2020 Government of Canada announces major steps in treating and preventing COVID-19 through vaccines and therapies
- July 31, 2020 NSERC: program information in relation to COVID-19 (updated July 31, 2020)
- July 29, 2020 Canada Research Continuity Emergency Fund (CRCEF)
- July 22, 2020 Additional Guidance to Research Community on Non-medical Face Coverings
- July 14, 2020 NSERC: program information in relation to COVID-19
- July 14, 2020 Research community town hall scheduled for July 16 @ 11 am - Archived
- July 9, 2020 CIHR: Update: Web conferencing for the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition
- June 30, 2020 Update on increased support for students, trainees and research support personnel funded through CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC research grants. [Update to June 4 notice.]
- June 29, 2020 Face Coverings while Conducting Human Subject Research
- June 23, 2020 CIHR: Delay of strategic funding opportunities
- June 22, 2020 Human Participant Research FAQs, Guidelines and SOP
- June 9, 2020 SSHRC: Perspectives on COVID-19: Impacts on marginalized populations
- June 9, 2020 CIHR: Update on the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition – Important information for Spring 2020 Project Grant applicants
- June 5, 2020 Research Priority Timeline 1 and 2: Building Preparation Guidance
- June 4, 2020 Increased support for students, trainees and research support personnel funded through CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC research grants. [See update of June 30]
- June 3, 2020 Mitacs Globalink Research Awards – International travel suspension (COVID-19)
- June 1, 2020 RESEARCH Zoom Town Hall Meeting on June 4 @ 11 am - Archived
- May 28, 2020 CIHR: Update on the Spring 2020 Project Grant competition - Message from the President
- May 26, 2020 Requests for On-site Research Facility Access
- May 25, 2020 New temporary program announced to support research staff in Canada
- May 14, 2020 Collaboration between CIHR and COVID-19 Immunity Task Force
- May 12, 2020 Library resumes limited access (this story has been archived)
- May 8, 2020 Canada Council for the Arts COVID-19: Information and support for the arts sector
- May 8, 2020 Killam Program Updates
- May 7, 2020 NFRF standard and COVID-19 Extensions: Quick Guide for Queen's researchers - Updated May 14, 2020
- May 7, 2020 CIHR: COVID-19 Grant Extensions: Quick Guide for Queen’s researchers
- May 7, 2020 NSERC: COVID-19 Grant Extensions: Quick Guide for Queen’s researchers
- May 7, 2020 SSHRC: COVID-19 Grant Extensions: Quick Guide for Queen’s researchers
- May 7, 2020 Update on Canadian Cancer Society research activities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic
- May 4, 2020 NSERC: Updated FAQ re: Discovery Grants one-year extension with funds due to COVID-19
- May 1, 2020 CIHR: Planning for the Fall Project Grant Competition
- April 27, 2020 Preannouncement: CIHR - Mental Health and Substance Use Responses to COVID-19 (See Funding Opportunities for details)
- April 23, 2020 Research Facility Start-Up and Requests for On-Site Access - Updated May 26, 2020
- April 21, 2020 Impacts of COVID-19 on the New Frontiers in Research Fund
- April 21, 2020 Tri-Agency Update: Funding ongoing and incremental costs of research activities during the COVID-19 pandemic
- April 16, 2020 POSTPONED: Category 1 of the Principal's Development Fund
- April 9, 2020 Update - Field Research Activities (Further updated April 23, 2020)
- April 9, 2020 CFI: FAQ - Changes due to COVID-19
- April 8, 2020 NSERC: Extension of Discovery Grants
- April 6, 2020 Important COVID-19 Update for Staff and Faculty
- April 3, 2020 CIHR: Response to the announcement regarding the Spring Project Grant competition and first wave of mitigation steps
- April 3, 2020 FAQs for Rapid Response Research Opportunity
- April 2, 2020 Lab Operations Update - Archived
- April 2, 2020 CIHR Cancelling Spring 2020 Project Grant competition. See FAQs regarding cancellation.
- April 2, 2020 Invitation to join CanCOVID
- March 30, 2020 Harrington Discovery Institute - Deadlines extended.
- March 27, 2020 Queen's COVID-19 Research Survey
- March 26, 2020 EH&S: COVID-19 - Equipment Inventory [See Gazette story of April 6, 2020: Queen's donates personal protective equipment.]
- March 26, 2020 FAQ for the USRA Program
- March 26, 2020 JUST LAUNCHED: Online COVID-19 "match-making" platform for researchers collaboration
- March 26, 2020 Communication for PIs with NSERC and SSHRC projects ending by 3-31-21 - Extension Request Details
- March 24, 2020 Further guidance on lab operations - Archived
- March 20, 2020 COVID-19 - Animal Reporting & UACC Update (PDF 1 MB)
- March 20, 2020 Update on FHS and hospital-based research (PDF 126 KB) - Archived
- March 20, 2020 Communication for PIs with NSERC and SSHRC projects ending by 3-31-21
- March 19, 2020 Communication for PIs with NSERC and SSHRC projects ending by 3-31-20
- March 18, 2020 Update on Chemistry Stores
- March 18, 2020 Updates from Research Accounting
- March 18, 2020 Update on USSRF and USRA
- March 17, 2020 Reduced Staffing Capacity in Animal Care Services
- March 17, 2020 Lab Facilities Shutdown in Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering
- March 16, 2020 Tri-Agency Message on COVID-19
- March 16, 2020 Update from the General Research Ethics Board (GREB) (PDF 189 KB) - Archived
- March 16, 2020 Update from Queen's University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board (HSREB) (PDF 207 KB) - Archived
- March 16, 2020 Update from Animal Care Services (PDF 152 KB)
- March 16, 2020 Tri-Agency Update on COVID-19 and Impact on Policies, Programs, and Operations
- March 13, 2020 Special Research Project Funds
- March 13, 2020 Message to Globalink Research Award leaders
- March 12, 2020 There are currently supply chain issues for Personal Protective Equipment, especially for respiratory protection
- March 10, 2020 Tri-Agency Message regarding travel cancellations
Other Funders' Updates
Funding Opportunities
Please see the Searchable Funding Database for ALL research funding opportunities. This database is maintained by University Research Services (URS), is updated regularly and includes COVID-19 funding opportunities
Note: on November 17, the federal funding agencies announced the launch of an integrated calendar of agency and interagency funding opportunities.
- Ontario Ministry of Health: COVID-19 Challenge Questions Initiative (Expressions of Interest (EOI) will be accepted on a rolling basis)
- NIA Multi-site COVID-19 Related Clinical Trial Implementation Grant on Aging-Related Topics in at-risk Older Adult Populations (R01 Clinical Trial Required) - CLOSED
- Digital Technology Supercluster COVID-19 Program – no deadline. Must be a Member or Associate of the Supercluster.
- MERCK Group Research Grant for Pandemic Preparedness: up to 500k euros/year, no deadline.
- NIH Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) Initiative for COVID-19 (Rolling submission and selection process beginning April 29, 2020.)
- Genome Canada launches additional rapid response funding for COVID-19 research on April 2.
- Mitacs: Nonprofit offers funding and other support for SMEs pursuing COVID-19 solutions
- NRC COVID-19 community support program invites collaboration with researchers. See information under “Medium Term" projects and URS posting on the Pandemic Response Challenge
- Ontario Centre's of Excellence (OCE) COVID-19 Collaboration Forum
- Mitacs: Fast-tracking potential for COVID-19 related projects through Mitacs Accelerate
- InfoEd: Coronavirus Funding Opps (free)
COVID-19 Research Resources
- Primer of COVID-19 Research Resources (PDF 158 KB)
This primer contains a list and brief description of available online research resources relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. Resources listed include curated, free-access COVID-19 literature databases, the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Research on COVID-19 dashboard for accessing situation reports and the WHO Research and Development Blueprint, and links to COVID-19-related research projects and clinical trials. (Last update: May 20, 2020.)