Research 180 Video Competition: Share your research story

Dr. Geraldine Walsh

Research 180 Video Competition now open for entries

Canadian Blood Services’ latest trainee competition is delivered in partnership with the Centre for Blood Research at the University of British Columbia. We want to hear our trainees’ research stories and this year we’re excited to give trainees the opportunity to showcase these stories by creating engaging video content.  

Stories paragraph video competition


“Impact in motion” 

The Competition’s theme is “Impact in motion”. We’re asking trainees to make 180-second videos that explains the applicant’s research and its impact/potential impact to a nonexpert public audience. The winning writer will receive a $500 prize, and there is an additional $300 prize purse available for disbursement to up to two runners-up. Selected entries will be disseminated through the Canadian Blood Services’ and the Centre for Blood Research’s online platforms and social media channels.   

The Canadian Blood Services’ Lay Science Writing Competition  is open for entries until October 31, 2022. 

Open to Canadian Blood Services’ affiliated trainees 

The competition is open to research trainees at UBC’s Centre for Blood Research and in our Canadian Blood Services research network, which includes trainees directly funded by Canadian Blood Services and those training in laboratories/groups that receive funding from Canadian Blood Services. For more details about the eligibility criteria, read the competition Guidelines.  Entries will be judged on the video content, including relevance to the theme and originality, as well as on production quality. The best of luck to all our trainees with this competition. We cannot wait to see what you produce! 

To learn more and to submit an application, visit the competition page.

Previous trainee Competition winners 

This year, we’re running the Research 180 Video Competition instead of a Lay Science Writing Competition. If you’re looking for inspiration on what makes a good science story, check out the winning entries from past writing competitions. 

2021-2022: Science behind the scenes:
First prize - What does it take to make a life-saving drug? 

2020-2021: Challenges 2020:
Joint first prize - Lost in lab: deciphering blood immune cells to fight COVID-19
Developing cell biology lessons for seniors in the age of COVID  

2019-20: Stories worth telling
First prize - Is TACO best eliminated with Lasix (TACO-BEL)?  

2018-19: Research that matters
First prize -  Optimizing Cord Blood Donor Recruitment  

For details of past competitions and published stories from runners-up, search “lay science writing competition” on our R.E.D. blog.  


Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation 

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact.  

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.