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Clinical Fellowships

CASL Clinical Hepatology Fellowship Guidelines
as of September 2023

The 2024 competition for Fellowships in the 2024-2025 academic year is now CLOSED.  New competition will open Summer 2024 for the 2025-2026 academic year.

Goal/Purpose of the Fellowship:

The purpose of the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL) program is to support the study and the clinical management of liver diseases through advanced training of fellows in clinical hepatology and hepatology research.

Awards and Duration:

  • Clinical Fellowship: 1 year (up to a maximum award of $75,000 per year. No administrative costs/fees are covered.)

Each application for funding will be considered as a new application.

Applicants who require assistance to complete an application should contact the CASL Office at casl@hepatology.ca. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all required documents reach the Association by the given deadlines.  We will not contact applicants to pursue missing information.

Applicants with a primary interest in liver disease are eligible to apply. Fellowship Applicants and their Supervisors must be members of the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL). Canadian citizens, landed immigrants and permanent residents will receive first consideration. The Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL) reserves the right not to review applications that do not respect the above requirements.

Email your completed application and all documents to casl@hepatology.ca by October 15, 2023

CASL Clinical Fellowship

Clinical Fellowships are intended for candidates pursuing additional training in advanced clinical hepatology. Applicants who have completed Internal Medicine, Pediatrics and/or Gastroenterology training, and who intend to devote their future clinical practice to the management of adult and pediatric patients with liver diseases in Canada are prioritized.  The fellowship placement will begin in the year following the application.

The purpose of these awards is to allow young clinicians to receive additional training in advanced clinical hepatology, and, thereby ultimately, to increase the number of practicing hepatologists in Canada.

Application Process

Required Documents

  • Completed Application Form available here
  • Curriculum Vitae (including list of publications) of applicant
  • Candidate’s Statement – Statement of applicant’s career plans and the potential benefit to the applicant of the proposed training program (1 page)
  • Clinical Program Description – The training program must submit a detailed description of the curriculum, including monthly schedule of training and patient care responsibilities (maximum: 2 pages). Inclusion of a monthly schedule in tabular format is encouraged
  • Letter of Departmental Support – Letter should be provided from the Department or Program Chair of the proposed training institution, describing the commitment of institutional resources, support and environment to the applicant and supervisor (1 page)

The following required references may be submitted with the application package, or emailed directly to the CASL Office at casl@hepatology.ca:

  • Letter from Fellowship Supervisor – The fellowship supervisor must submit a letter confirming their support of the applicant (1 page)
  • Letter from Current Supervisor – The applicant’s current supervisor or mentor must submit a letter of support (including a statement that sponsor is willing to continue to serve as mentor for the applicant during their fellowship year)
  • Letters of Reference (2) – Letters of Reference from two (2) additional physicians well acquainted with the abilities of applicant

General Guidelines

The fellow’s host institution accounting office must submit a statement of expenditures related to the fellowship within 60 days of the end of the fellowship.

An interim progress report must be submitted by fellowship holders 6 months after the start date of the fellowship to the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver (CASL).

A brief final report must be submitted by fellowship holders within 60 days of the end of the fellowship term. This progress report should note objectives met of the fellowship, and highlight successes and challenges or barriers encountered in the accomplishment of the goals set out in the fellowship application.

A fellowship recipient who has not submitted a satisfactory progress report and/or final report to the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver will be barred from submitting a grant or fellowship proposal to CASL in future competitions. This bar may only be lifted upon receipt of a satisfactory progress and/or final report(s).

Terms of Award

Clinical Fellowships are for a period of one year.

The Clinical Fellowship is intended to provide income to the recipient throughout their hepatology fellowship.  

The fellowship award includes the following:

  • $65,000 to cover salary.
  • A maximum of an additional $10,000 to cover employer obligations as mandated by your institution and/or Canada Revenue Agency.*  Acceptable expenses under this funding are as follows:
    • Benefits as outlined by University Standards in accordance with Provincial and Federal legislation.
    • The employer portion of any applicable CRA requirements such as employment insurance, taxes, Canada Pension Plan.

*We require details regarding the above expenses from applicant’s host institution prior to payment.

The award may NOT be used to cover administrative costs for the host institution where the fellowship will be taking place, nor costs at the institution of the applicant’s current sponsor/mentor.  Payment will be made to the applicant’s host institution to compensate the applicant during the fellowship term.  Direct payment of fellowships to applicants are not permitted.

The applicant must provide evidence of the likelihood of practicing in Canada following their fellowship, as the intent of this funding is to further the treatment of liver disease within Canada. The application for fellowship should explicitly address this issue.

The supervisor for the applicant is required to review and sign off on the terms of the award.

The Fellowship will normally commence on July 1.  The Association will make payments to the fellow’s institution, to then be paid out as per the terms of the fellowship. Fellowships starting on dates other than July 1 will be accepted, but start dates should be expressly noted in the fellowship application to allow for expedient payment.

If at any point in time, the recipient needs to delay the fellowship, a request must be made in writing to the Canadian Association for the Study of the Liver. NOTE: additional funding will not be provided for the additional time taken.

Any changes or questions regarding the payment instructions above must be made in writing, within 30 days of accepting the fellowship.

Access to any Publications

  • Fellowship recipients are required to make every effort to ensure that any peer-reviewed publications created during their fellowship are freely accessible through the Publisher’s website (Option #1) or an online repository as soon as possible and in any event within six months of publication (Option #2).
  • An electronic version of peer-reviewed publications should be submitted to the Association as soon as they are available.
  • CASL needs to be acknowledged as the granting agency in all publications/presentations resulting from work during the fellowship.