CREMS Summer Research Program

The Comprehensive Research Experience for Medical Students (CREMS) Summer Research Program provides opportunities each year for medical students enrolled at the University of Toronto to participate in a full-time summer research project between their first and second year, or second and third year of medical school, under the supervision of a faculty mentor. The CREMS Program is only open to current University of Toronto students.

Duration

The CREMS Summer Research Program runs for 10 weeks from June to August. Students will work on the research project on a full-time basis with one week granted for holidays.These 10 weeks do not include any holidays. Students are to arrange holidays with their supervisor directly. This is considered a full-time role and the student is not to take on any other full time work during these 10 weeks.

Stipend

A stipend of $6,000 is included; CREMS will contribute $2,750 and the supervisor will be responsible for $3,250. The supervisor is also responsible for any extraneous study or travel expenses.

NOTE: The Supervisor is responsible for arranging student payment for their portion of the stipend according to the guidelines of their hospitals or research institutes. The student must clear $3250 after any and all deductions.

Please note that CREMS will not support any pre-determined student/supervisor pairings. Supervisors must agree to open their projects to all students who apply and interview all students that are interested.

Faculty submissions are due TBD. The CREMS 2025 Supervisor and Project Information Form can be found here: Supervisor & Project Information Form. Due to the overwhelming number of faculty submissions to the program we do not have the capacity to review more than one project submission per faculty therefore you may only submit 1 project per year.

Projects must be remote-capable (in case of new restrictions) or have an alternative remote option outlined.  “The decision about where the project occurs (remote or in a lab) will be decided by the supervisor based on the policies in place at the supervisor’s institution during the time of the placement, and the specific circumstances of the lab.”
Interested faculty should complete a Supervisor & Project Information Form email it to crems.programs@utoronto.ca by  TBD
When saving your submission, please use the following format: Last Name, First Initial, Project Title.
Submitted projects will be reviewed and scored by the CREMS adjudication committee. We typically receive 150+ applications and can fund around 40-50 projects. CREMS positions will be offered to the supervisor/projects with the highest scores. We expect to complete the review process and notify successful applicants that their project will be posted by TBD.
Accepted projects will then be posted below on the CREMS website and medical students will be invited to apply directly to the supervisors. Supervisors should interview at least 5 interested applicants and select one student to work with. In the interest of fairness, we require that supervisors do not pre-select a student to work with. Supervisors are required to list all the students that were interviewed along with the name of the selected student. Interviews must occur after TBD
We only allow ONE student per project. Once the selection is made supervisors are to notify the CREMS office by TBD
Once a student is selected and CREMS is notified of the selection, supervisors will be sent a Mentor Agreement Form to be signed by the supervisor and the student. This agreement outlines that the supervisor and student agree to work on the funded project, understand the expectations of the program, and that the supervisor agrees to pay TBD Supervisors payments must also be arranged through their own finance department. CREMS is not able to invoice or pay on a supervisors behalf. Please note, the Mentor Agreement Form is obtained by advising CREMS of your student selection. A template will not appear on the website.
The dual-signed, Mentor Agreement Form must be sent to CREMS by TBD
Write to us at crems.programs@utoronto.ca if you have any questions or require further details.

Application Process

Step 1

Call for projects goes out to all University of Toronto Faculty in January 2025.  If a faculty member does not typically receive these invitations, please contact Lisa crems.programs@utoronto.ca to be added to the distribution list. 

Step 2

Project submissions are due in early February 2025, by email to crems.programs@utoronto.ca.

Step 3

Submitted projects will be reviewed and scored by the adjudication committee. CREMS positions will be offered to the supervisor/projects with the highest scores by early April 2025

Step 4

CREMS will then notify all supervisors to let them know if their project has been selected for the program. On TBD, successful projects will be posted to the CREMS website and students will be notified via email that they can now apply to the projects listed.

Step 5

As of TBD, students can begin to contact supervisors of the project(s) that they are interested in. We ask that supervisors meet with at least 5 interested students and select which student they feel is most suitable for the project. Interviews should be conducted after TBD, to enable students time to review the projects and contact potential supervisors.

Step 6

Once a student is selected, supervisors must advise CREMS by email (crems.programs@utoronto.ca) of their student selection by TBD. Supervisors must also submit a list of all students who were interviewed for the project.

Step 7

Supervisors will be sent a Mentor Agreement form to be signed by both the supervisor and student which outlines that the supervisor and student agree to work with each other, and that the supervisor agrees to pay half of the total CREMS stipend ($2,750). This completed form is due TBD

Step 8

The CREMS Summer Research Program begins early to mid-June.

Requirements for successful completion

Upon completion of the Summer Program, students will be required to submit via email to Lisa at crems.programs@utoronto.ca. A call for these deliverables will go out the first week of September and will be due the first week of October.

Formal Project Abstract fit for publication
Supervisor and CREMS Program Evaluation Form
One-page Informal Report outlining the student’s research experience

A call for these deliverables will go out in September

Students are required to participate in the annual Medical Student Research Day held in February of the following year, by submitting an abstract and presenting a poster of their findings. Successful completion of the Summer Program will be evaluated by the CREMS Program Director and Coordinator.