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The Leon & Rose Zitner Prize competition invites video-based applications from students describing their outstanding contributions to citizen knowledge and community engagement in the area of health*. The value of this year’s prize is $12,000, and the competition deadline is March 13, 2026 (11:59 pm AT).  *Health is broadly defined and includes, but is not limited to: personal, collective, social, structural, environmental, clinical, spiritual, biopyschosocial, cultural, and political dimensions of well-being.

Students are invited to present evidence of their theoretical, practical, or service-oriented work that meets the following prize criteria:

• Connects with a health-related issue
• Challenges boundaries of conventional knowledge
• Engages with the community that the work advocates for, supports, and/or is an ally of
• Critically analyses evidence and thoughtfully evaluates a range of points of view (as applicable)

Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, including professional programs, in one of the following Faculties at Dalhousie University: Dentistry, Health, Medicine, or Arts & Social Sciences.

Application format: A video that is 3-5 minutes in length (file size up to 1 GB) that shows the applicant speaking directly to the audience for at least 30 seconds and responds to the video prompt below. All artistic and stylistic approaches to the video are welcomed and encouraged. A curriculum vitae (PDF format, up to 10 MB) may be submitted as supporting material; all other uploaded materials will be disregarded (e.g., transcripts, letters of support).

Video prompt: How does your research or community engagement work empower citizens to better understand and/or participate in their own health care or in broader health-related issues? Please describe the work, your role in it, and share specific examples of how the work challenges conventional thinking, promotes critical engagement with expert advice, or enhances public knowledge in meaningful ways.

Submission: via Microsoft Forms no later than March 13, 2026.

Prize decision: videos will be adjudicated by a committee comprised of members from Dentistry, Health, Medicine, and Arts & Social Sciences. A prize decision is expected by early April, all applicants will be notified of their submission’s outcome.

The office of the Dal Health Associate Dean Research encourages students to take part in this competition to showcase their valuable contributions to health research and service. Please contact fohr@dal.ca with any questions regarding this competition.