Contact ORPA

Heather Frost, Director

Heather is the Director of ORPA (Office of Research Prizes and Awards), as well as SPARC (Support Programs to Advance Research Capacity), which together provide central development support for award nominations and research grants.

Contact Heather if: You have questions about high-level research prize and grant strategy, support, and promotions at UBC, or other inquiries related to ORPA or SPARC.

heather.frost@ubc.ca


ORPA's Award Nomination Development team is available for consultation, reviews and other support for research prize and award nominations. Read more about our support and services here, and find who to contact below:


Meaghan Miller, Manager of Award Nomination Development

Meaghan is responsible for managing the team's award nomination support, and also leads award and prize opportunities in the natural sciences and engineering domains, including but not limited to:

  • NSERC prizes: 
    • Arthur B. McDonald Fellowships
    • Gerhard Herzberg Gold Medal, Brockhouse, John C. Polanyi, Donna Strickland, Synergy Awards
  • Steacie Prize

Contact Meaghan: meaghan.miller@ubc.ca


Kevin McCartney, Award Nomination Development Officer, Health

Kevin is responsible for leading award nomination support for award and prize opportunities in the health domain, including but not limited to:

  • Lasker Awards
  • Canadian Academy of Health Sciences
  • Canadian Medical Hall of Fame
  • Henry G. Friesen International Prize
  • Canada Gairdner Awards
  • CIHR Institute Awards

Contact Kevin: kevin.mccartney@ubc.ca 


Stephanie O’Neill, Award Nomination Development Officer, Social Sciences and Humanities

Stephanie is responsible for leading award nomination support for award and prize opportunities in the social sciences, humanities, and arts domains, including but not limited to:

  • SSHRC Impact Awards
  • Guggenheim Fellowships
  • Canada Council Molson Prizes
  • Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts
  • Governor General's Performing Arts Awards

Stephanie is also the ORPA lead on:

  • NRC Killam Prizes and Dorothy Killam Fellowships
  • BBVA Frontiers of Knowledge Awards
  • CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program
  • Royal Society of Canada: Fellows, College Members, Medals and Awards

Contact Stephanie: stephanie.oneill@ubc.ca


Mariah Ho, Internal Research Awards Coordinator 

Mariah is responsible for the administration of UBC’s Internal Research Awards as well as the internal selection for external awards and prizes. She also provides administrative support to SPARC (Support Programs to Advance Research Capacity), which provides central development support for research grants. 

Contact Mariah if you have questions about the internal research awards nominations, adjudication, or UBC Research Awards Committees.

Contact Mariah: mariah.ho@ubc.ca


General prizes mailbox monitored by the ORPA team

Contact to report a nomination or award win, with general questions or suggestions, or if you need help directing your query within ORPA.

research.prizes@ubc.ca


UBC Crest The official logo of the University of British Columbia. Urgent Message An exclamation mark in a speech bubble. Caret An arrowhead indicating direction. Arrow An arrow indicating direction. Arrow in Circle An arrow indicating direction. Arrow in Circle An arrow indicating direction. Chats Two speech clouds. Facebook The logo for the Facebook social media service. Information The letter 'i' in a circle. Instagram The logo for the Instagram social media service. External Link An arrow entering a square. Linkedin The logo for the LinkedIn social media service. Location Pin A map location pin. Mail An envelope. Menu Three horizontal lines indicating a menu. Minus A minus sign. Telephone An antique telephone. Plus A plus symbol indicating more or the ability to add. Search A magnifying glass. Twitter The logo for the Twitter social media service. Youtube The logo for the YouTube video sharing service.