Applications are now open for the next Research-to-Action Fellowship cohort, with only eight days left to apply.

This year, the Research-to-Action Fellowship at Diabetes Action Canada is entering an exciting new chapter.

With support from Vertex Pharmaceuticals, we are expanding the Fellowship internationally, creating paid leadership roles for alumni, and strengthening the support available to a new cohort of Patient Partners.

The Research-to-Action Fellowship is a paid, nine-month patient engagement and knowledge mobilization program for people with lived or loved experience of diabetes. Fellows work in teams to turn research into practical, accessible knowledge products shaped by community priorities and co-design.

They do not simply review work after decisions have already been made. They help lead the process from the beginning by identifying gaps, shaping project ideas, engaging communities, and deciding how research can become something people can understand, use, and act on.

Bringing the Fellowship into international spaces

One of the most exciting parts of this partnership is that it allows us to bring the Fellowship into international diabetes spaces in more than one way.

New Fellows will attend Friends for Life in Orlando, where they will experience community-rooted learning, build relationships with one another, and connect with people from across the diabetes community.

They will attend early in their Fellowship journey, before their final projects are complete. This gives them the opportunity to listen, learn, ask questions, and see what meaningful community engagement looks like in practice.

Knowledge products created by previous Fellowship cohorts will also be shared at the conference, extending the reach of alumni work beyond Canada and introducing international audiences to resources created through patient leadership.

Later in the program, Fellows will also attend the Diabetes Canada Conference in Vancouver, where they will share their emerging work and contribute to a Diabetes Action Canada side event.

Together, these opportunities help Fellows build confidence across community, research, healthcare, and international spaces.

Brit Hancock, 2025 Research-to-Action Fellow, shares her experince travelling to Jaipur, India, for the End Diabetes Global Summit.

“Before joining the Fellowship, I never imagined it would lead to opportunities like travelling to India to share our work and connect with advocates from around the world. Along the way, I strengthened my writing and communication skills through patient blogging, online engagement, and knowledge mobilization activities while building relationships that continue beyond the program. It broadened my sense of what is possible when lived experience is supported and valued.”

Why funding for participation matters

International and national opportunities are not equally accessible to everyone.

Travel, accommodations, registration, meals, accessibility needs, time away from work, and caregiving responsibilities can all prevent Patient Partners from participating.

Funding helps remove those barriers.

It means Fellows can enter these spaces as supported participants rather than being expected to personally absorb the costs of contributing their time and expertise.

It also creates space for relationship-building. Shared meals, travel, informal conversations, and time together can strengthen trust across the cohort in ways that virtual sessions alone cannot.

Creating paid pathways for alumni leadership

Vertex’s support is also allowing Diabetes Action Canada to hire five Fellowship alumni as Program Assistants.

This is a major step in the program’s growth.

Alumni understand the Fellowship from the inside. They know what it is like to work through a complex research topic, collaborate with a teammate, lead a co-design session, respond to community feedback, and turn an early idea into a final knowledge product.

As Program Assistants, they will help deliver sessions, support Fellows, contribute to facilitation, and strengthen the day-to-day delivery of the program.

These are paid roles with real responsibilities.

That matters because Patient Partners are often asked to mentor, advise, facilitate, and support others without formal recognition or compensation.

Hiring alumni creates a pathway from participant to leader. It also builds skills in facilitation, mentorship, project management, partnership-building, and knowledge mobilization.

Anmol Budhiraja, a 2025 Research-to-Action Fellow who is returning in a paid leadership role as Program Assistant, explains:

“Being given the opportunity to come back in a paid leadership role as a Program Assistant means returning to a space that was truly transformative for me, and now being able to give back to my own community by supporting the fellows in the upcoming cohort with care and intention. This role will allow me to hold space and ensure fellows feel supported and empowered in their own journey.”

Building capacity across the patient engagement system

The impact of these roles reaches beyond one cohort.

Alumni who gain experience supporting others can carry those skills into future research teams, advisory groups, community organizations, policy spaces, and patient engagement programs.

This helps build capacity across the broader diabetes system.

A strong Fellowship should not end with a certificate. It should create opportunities for people to return, lead, mentor, and help shape what comes next.

By investing in alumni leadership, we are building continuity across cohorts and creating a growing community of Patient Partners with the experience to lead meaningful engagement.

Maryann Maloney, a 2025 Research-to-Action Fellow, reflects on how her time with Diabetes Action Canada influenced her advocacy journey and strengthened her commitment to community-driven change.

“After nearly 50 years of lived experience with diabetes, the Fellowship helped me find my voice and gave me the confidence to get involved in opportunities I never would have considered before. Since the program, I’ve continued my work as a patient partner, expanded my network, and collaborated on a book about women’s health and hormones. The Fellowship showed me that my experiences matter and that I can make a meaningful contribution to healthcare improvement.”

What partnership makes possible

Meaningful patient engagement requires more than good intentions.

It requires paid participation, accessible opportunities, strong relationships, mentorship, travel support, and the infrastructure needed to sustain a nine-month program.

Public-private partnerships can help create those conditions when community leadership remains at the centre.

Vertex’s support allows us to expand the Fellowship while protecting what makes it meaningful: co-design, lived experience, accessibility, compensation, and real decision-making for Patient Partners.

This year, we are not only bringing a new group of Fellows into the program.

We are bringing the Fellowship into international spaces, sharing alumni-created knowledge products with new audiences, hiring past Fellows into paid leadership roles, and building stronger pathways for Patient Partners to grow and lead.

Eight days remain to apply

Applications are now open for the next Research-to-Action Fellowship cohort.

We are looking for people with lived or loved experience of diabetes who bring curiosity, creativity, community knowledge, and a willingness to collaborate.

Applicants do not need to be researchers, professional writers, designers, or experienced advocates.

They need a desire to learn, lead, and help turn research into something that matters to the communities it is meant to serve.

There are only eight days left to apply.

Learn more about the projects and submit your application before the deadline.