Nancy McKinstry Trainee Excellence Award

Nancy McKinstry, a former Vancouver investment advisor and vice president at Odlum Brown, has made the most of “a second life,” after successfully undergoing extensive treatment for clear cell ovarian cancer in 2005. Now, a recent recurrence of the same cancer has her even more grateful for these past 18 years — and even more determined to give back to BC Cancer through an endowment fund for ovarian cancer research.  

Nancy is continuing to advocate for other women facing ovarian cancer by encouraging everyone to invest in further research in prevention, diagnostics, treatment and survivorship through OVCARE, B.C.’s Ovarian Cancer Research Program. Together with her husband, Greg, Nancy has created the Nancy McKinstry Endowment Fund for Ovarian Cancer Research which is held at the BC Cancer Foundation. The goal of the endowment fund is to attract and retain the brightest minds to the ovarian cancer research team. 

Through the GCI’s annual merit-based Trainee Excellence Award competition, the Nancy McKinstry Endowment will assist in the training of future researchers by supporting and recognizing trainees demonstrating a high degree of research excellence and potential. New to the 2025 competition, we are pleased to share that this funding opportunity is now open to both graduate trainees and postdoctoral fellows to support a broader range of early-career researchers.

A total of three (3) Trainee Excellence Awards each valued at $5,000 will be available. Two of these awards will be provided to eligible graduate students (Master’s, PhD, or MD-PhD). One award will be provided an eligible postdoctoral fellow.

• Graduate students: Applicants must be currently enrolled in full-time graduate studies (Master’s, PhD, or MD-PhD) within the province of British Columbia OR will be enrolled in such graduate studies by February 2026
• Postdoctoral fellows: Applicants must currently hold a position as a post-doctoral fellow OR will start a position as a post-doctoral fellow by February 2026
• Only applicants with research projects focused on ovarian cancer will be considered, with preference given to clear cell ovarian cancer projects. Previous recipients of this award are not eligible.

Please review the Request for Application (RFA) for full competition details and instructions on how to apply. The supervisor of any trainee applying to this funding opportunity must submit a Supervisor Reference Assessment Form. All applications must be submitted through the GCI Application Portal.