KBH+ is excited to announce that nominations for their 2025-2026 Annual Outstanding Awards are now open! These awards celebrate the dedication and achievements of individuals who have made a positive impact across the KBH+ community during 2024-2025, advancing neurodevelopmental disability research and supporting children and families with lived experience. 

This year, five award categories are available to recognize excellence within KBH+. These awards honour trainees, investigators, researchers, clinical staff, partners, family members and people with lived experience who have demonstrated exceptional commitment, contribution, and engagement within KBH+.

Award categories:

  • Outstanding Trainee Award
  • Promising Researcher Award
  • Mentor/Supervisor Award
  • Outstanding Leader with Lived Experience
  • Inclusive Researcher/Innovator

Why nominate?

Nominations celebrate and recognize trainees, researchers, mentors and lived experience leaders who demonstrate exceptional commitment to the KBH+ network and actively contribute to KBH+’s activities and mission. Award recipients will receive formal recognition that highlights their dedication and enhances their professional and community visibility.

Who can be nominated:

Nominees should exemplify the following:

  • Strong commitment to KBH+’s mission: Actively supports KBH+’s mission to ensure optimal care and better outcomes for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families, along with sustained participation in Network activities.
  • High levels of engagement and involvement: Demonstrates enthusiasm by attending and contributing to KBH+ events, including webinars, workshops, and collaborative projects.
  • Meaningful contributions to KBH+’s goals: Enhances the Network’s experience and impact through dedicated involvement, benefiting themselves and fellow members.

Who can nominate (unless otherwise specified)
Nominations are open to KBH+ trainees, researchers, investigators, staff members, partners, family members and people with lived experience. Self-nominations are also accepted with a support letter from a supervisor or colleague. Nominators do not need to be KBH+ members unless they are self-nominating.

Outstanding Trainee Award

This award recognizes a trainee’s significant accomplishments in neurodevelopmental disability, whether in bench or implementation.

Who can be nominated:

Eligible candidates are KBH+ trainees at all academic levels (undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral) who have demonstrated significant contributions to neurodevelopmental disability research.

Nominate an Outstanding Trainee

 

Promising Researcher Award

This award honours an early-career (within five years of completing postdoctoral work) researcher’s significant accomplishments and dedication in neurodevelopmental disability research.

Who can be nominated:

Eligible candidates are KBH+ researchers who have demonstrated significant and impactful contributions to neurodevelopmental disability research.

Nominate a Promising Researcher

 

Mentor/Supervisor Award

This award recognizes a mentor or supervisor who provides exceptional guidance and fosters a supportive and dynamic learning environment that advances the KBH+ mission.

Who can be nominated:
Eligible candidates for this award are mentors or supervisors who actively contribute to KBH+. The award is not restricted to formal principal investigators or scientists; it is open to researchers and professionals across all disciplines. Ideal candidates should demonstrate one or more of the following qualities:

  • Demonstrated leadership and commitment to the professional development of KBH+ trainees.
  • Effective guidance and support, creating an encouraging and inclusive learning environment.
  • Significant contributions to advancing KBH+’s mission through training, mentorship, and knowledge mobilization.
  • Collaboration with community partners, stakeholders, or colleagues, furthering the impact of research and learning.

Please note: Self-nominations are not accepted for a mentor/supervisor.

Nominate a Mentor/Supervisor

 

Outstanding Lived Experience Leader

This award honours youth (up to age 25) with neurodevelopmental disabilities or caregivers who have demonstrated outstanding research engagement leadership through active involvement in projects advancing KBH+’s mission.

Who can be nominated:
This award honours individuals with personal experience with neurodevelopmental disabilities, either directly or as caregivers. Candidates suitable for this award actively contribute to KBH+ projects or committees, including graduates from Family Engagement in Research (FER) training programs. Their direct contributions through lived experiences offer invaluable insights into the research and application processes, driving forward our mission with profound impact.

Nominate an Outstanding Lived Experience Leader

 

Inclusive Researcher/Innovator

This award recognizes KBH+ researchers or innovators who integrate inclusivity into their work and contribute significantly to the neurodevelopmental disability research community through innovative practices and partnerships.

Who can be nominated:
This award recognizes researchers or innovators who incorporate inclusivity in their research designs and methodologies. Nominees may include those in the wider neurodevelopmental disability research community and have roles that significantly foster innovation and inclusivity in their fields. Candidates should be individuals contributing to the KBH+ network through research, policy development, or community partnerships that aim to enhance outcomes for individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Who can nominate:
Nominations are open to all members of the neurodevelopmental disability research community. Individuals can nominate themselves or be nominated by their peers or colleagues. Nominators do not need to be members of the KBH+ network unless they are self-nominating. This ensures that the nomination process remains inclusive, allowing a wider range of community members, researchers, caregivers, and stakeholders to recognize outstanding KBH+ member contributors in neurodevelopmental disabilities.

Nominate an Inclusive Researcher/Innovator

 

Award Details

Award recipients will receive a certificate of recognition and a $1,500 honorarium to support attendance to the KBH+ Conference in Calgary, Alberta, from October 18 to 21, 2026. Awardees will also be featured on the KBH+ website, newsletter, social media, and other promotional channels.

 

Timeline and nomination details

Nomination Deadline: February 20, 2026

Award Notification: March 20, 2026

Each nominator may submit one nomination per award category. Nominees may be considered for multiple awards if different nominators submit each nomination. If a nominee is shortlisted for more than one category, contributions will be evaluated independently to ensure they meet the specific criteria for each award.

For more information, please reach out to our team at communications@kidsbrainhealth.ca.

 

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Statement

KBH+ is committed to excellence in research and research training. Achieving a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive research enterprise in Canada is essential to creating the excellent, innovative, and impactful research necessary to advance knowledge and understanding and to respond to local, national, and global challenges in the field of neurodevelopmental disabilities.

With these goals in mind, KBH+ is committed to:

  • Supporting equitable access to funding opportunities for all members of the research community.
  • Promoting the integration of equity, diversity, and inclusion-related considerations in research design and practices.
  • Increasing equitable and inclusive participation in the research system, including on research teams.
  • Collecting the data and conducting the analyses needed to include equity, diversity, and inclusion considerations in decision-making.

Through these means, KBH+ will work with those involved in the research system to develop the inclusive culture needed for research excellence and to achieve outcomes that are rigorous, relevant, and accessible to the concerned stakeholders in the field of neurodevelopmental disabilities.