New Fader Memorial Scholarship honours the life and legacy of Michael Fader by supporting early-career lung cancer research trainees
Michael Fader was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive sub-type of non-small cell lung cancer, with no targeted treatment or cutting-edge research in sight. He died just 28 months later, waiting for a breakthrough that never came.
Christine Fader, Michael’s wife, hopes that there is a future where people with large cell lung cancer have a fighting chance. Like the Lung Health Foundation, she believes that investments in more impactful research will lead the way.
Christine has partnered with the Lung Health Foundation to create the Fader Memorial Scholarship. With an emphasis on research investigating large cell lung cancer and priority consideration for trainees and studies from remote communities, the Fader Memorial Scholarship will keep honour Michael’s journey one breakthrough at a time.
About Michael
Skydiver. Husband. Maple syrup maker. Survivor.
In her Lives Lived feature in the Globe & Mail, Christine reflected on Michael’s journey. “The bookends of his life were horrific, yet Michael wrote in one of his many notes, ‘Life has, at times, dealt me some lousy cards, but I always ended up with a pretty good hand.’”
Christine is referring to both Michael’s painful Northern Ontario childhood – abuse, foster care, and poverty at the start of his life – and his incredibly painful journey with a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer at the end.
Despite these “lousy cards”, Michael is remembered as an incredible tinkerer, builder and problem solver – in other words, the perfect role model for an early-career scientist ready to face a complex problem like large-cell lung cancer.
Learn more about Michael’s journey in his Lives Lived tribute.
About Lung Cancer Research in Canada
According to 2022 data from the Canadian Cancer Research Alliance, lung cancer accounted for just 6.7% of cancer research funding. In the same year, lung cancer accounted for 24.3% of all lung cancer deaths.
The Fader Memorial Scholarship is helping to close this gap and goes a step further by prioritizing research into large cell lung cancer – a rarer type of lung cancer that receives even less targeted research attention. The Scholarship also pays tribute to Michael’s experiences living in remote regions by prioritizing research happening in these under-served communities.
A 2018 report from the Canadian Lung Association revealed that more than 1 in 7 Canadians believe that “lung cancer is a self-inflicted disease that deserves less funding.”
The Fader Memorial Scholarship fuels scientific exploration while encouraging Canadians to meet inspiring people like Michael and Christine – and consider the real people behind the lung cancer statistics.
The Pan-Canadian Lung Cancer Action Plan outlines Canada’s extraordinary contributions to lung cancer research and innovation – think AI-powered non-invasive lung cancer detection methods and identification of novel lung cancer signatures in never-smokers.
The solutions are there, but funding is urgently needed to unlock them.
“The incredibly positive strides being made in genetic marker-related lung cancer treatments (ALK+, EGFR, KRAS etc) are encouraging and I’m hoping perhaps someday this will also be the case for large-cell lung cancer.” — Christine Fader
About the Fader Memorial Scholarship
Applications will open in March 2026. Join our Research Community to receive funding alerts.
From 2026 to 2029, the Fader Memorial Scholarship will support one trainee per year in their research into lung cancer.
Eligibility Criteria
- Enrolled in a full-time Canadian research postgraduate (e.g., a Master’s or PhD program) or postdoctoral program
- Has a research supervisor at a Tri‑Council-eligible institution
- Conducting research in lung cancer
- Does not hold funding from the tobacco, cannabis, and/or vaping industry
- Conducting research in Canada
Priority Considerations
- Research in large-cell lung cancer
- First-generation students
- From or conducting research in remote communities in Canada
- Demonstrated financial need
Selection
With the support of Lung Health Foundation, the Fader family will annually select one (1) scholarship recipient to receive a one-time $5,000 CAD scholarship.
The purpose of the scholarship is to encourage research in large cell lung cancer, closing a key data gap through strategic financial support of the future scientists studying this rare form of NSLC. However, we welcome submissions from applicants working on all eligible projects related to lung cancer.
All eligible graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in Canada are encouraged to apply, but preference will be given to competitive students with a demonstrable need, or those from rural communities and northern territories.
Support Research at the Lung Health Foundation
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