Mustard Fellowship in Work and Health

The Institute for Work & Health (IWH) is now accepting applications for the post-doctoral Mustard Fellowship in Work and Health, a two-year appointment for a new investigator at IWH in Toronto. The deadline for applying is Friday, April 29, 2011. The successful candidate’s appointment will commence in the fall of 2011.

The Fellowship is named in honour of Dr. J. Fraser Mustard, who was the founding Board Chair of the Institute for Work & Health.

Purpose of the Fellowship

The Fellowship supports the development of outstanding new researchers in the field of work and health congruent with the mission of the Institute. It aims specifically to build capacity for innovative multidisciplinary research concerning the relationships between work environments and worker health. As such, the Fellowship is open to a range of academic disciplines including social, behavioural and organizational sciences, as well as clinical and population health sciences.

About the Institute

The Institute for Work & Health is an independent, not-for-profit research organization whose mission is to conduct and share research with workers, labour, employers, clinicians and policy-makers to promote, protect and improve the health of working people.

Research conducted at the Institute includes the study of: primary prevention interventions in the workplace; effective and efficient treatment and safe, timely return to work for people with work-related injury or illness; labour market experiences and their health consequences; and disability compensation systems and their behavioural consequences. 

IWH is formally affiliated with the University of Toronto, McMaster University, the University of Waterloo and York University.

The Institute also has an active knowledge transfer and exchange program, which implements interactive strategies to transfer research findings to key decision-makers in health-care, workplace and policy settings. Applicants are encouraged to visit the Institute’s website (www.iwh.on.ca/knowledge-transfer-exchange) for more information on the research and knowledge transfer programs.

The Institute encourages applications from qualified women and men, including members of visible minorities, aboriginal people, francophones and persons with disabilities.

Conditions of the Appointment

  1. Applicants must have a PhD (or equivalent), or expect to complete a PhD within the first three months of the Fellowship, in one or more of the fields of social, behavioural, organizational or health sciences, including epidemiology, medicine and allied medical professions.
  2. Applicants should have an interest in approaching research questions from a multidisciplinary perspective.
  3. The Fellow will conduct scholarly inquiry within areas of relevance to the Institute’s mission as described in the Institute's Strategic Research Plan and is expected to contribute scholarly work in the form of teaching, grant proposal participation, presentations and papers over his/her tenure.
  4. Applicants should have proficiency in relevant qualitative and/or quantitative methods.
  5. Applicants must hold Canadian citizenship, have permanent residency status in Canada or be eligible for a Canadian work visa at the time of application.
  6. The Fellowship is based at the Institute for Work & Health where the Fellow will be expected to spend his/her working time. Appropriate appointments can be arranged with universities affiliated with the Institute.
  7. The Fellowship will be awarded for 24 consecutive months, commencing in 2011. If the Fellowship is terminated during its course, the award will be prorated.
  8. The Fellowship award will be approximately $50,000 CDN per annum, plus a benefit package and conference travel support.
  9. To briefly describe his/her progress, the successful candidate will submit interim written reports to his/her mentor and the Scientific Director at three, nine, 12 and 18 months into the term. A final detailed report must be filed prior to the conclusion of the Fellowship term.
  10. The Board of Directors of the Institute reserves the right to terminate the Fellowship award for cause.

Application Procedure

Applications for this position should include:

  1. A covering letter and three letters of reference.
  2. A curriculum vitae and a transcript of academic records (graduate and undergraduate, complete with description of grading scale employed). Official transcripts are not required.
  3. A full statement (no more than three pages) of the proposed program of research to be conducted during the term of the Fellowship. The description should be written by the applicant and should state the benefits expected to be derived from the research and its relevance to the work of the Institute.

Completed applications must be transmitted electronically no later than 4:00 p.m. on Friday, April 29, 2011. The successful candidate will be notified by June 10, 2011.

Fellowship applications should be sent by e-mail to: hsouth@iwh.on.ca

Fellowship inquiries should be directed to: Harriet South (hsouth@iwh.on.ca)