MaLMIC Trainee Competition
The Machine Learning in Medical Imaging Consortium (MaLMIC) with the support of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is proud to launch its inaugural Trainee Competition to recognize graduate research at the intersection of AI and healthcare.
Are you using machine learning to push the boundaries of medical imaging? We want to hear from you!
The Machine Learning in Medical Imaging Consortium (MaLMIC) with the support of the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR) is proud to launch its inaugural Trainee Competition to recognize graduate research at the intersection of AI and healthcare.
Delivered through MaLMIC’s established monthly presentation forum, the competition is open to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows at a recognized Canadian academic institution, from coast to coast to coast. Whether you’re based in Ontario or presenting from across the country, if your work applies machine learning to medical imaging in a way that matters clinically, this is your stage.
Show us not just what your model does — but why it matters, to patients, clinicians, and the healthcare system.
Eligibility
Eligible Trainees
- Currently enrolled graduate students (master’s,PhD , or medical students) or postdoctoral researchers within 3 years of receiving their PhD at a recognized Canadian academic or healthcare institution. The competition is confined to trainees in Canadian institutions (international trainees at Canadian institutions are eligible to participate).
- Students who have completed their qualifying degree within the previous 12 months of the submission deadline are also eligible.
- The presenting trainee must be the first author on the abstract submit or have made a substantial, demonstrable contribution to the work.
- In the case that the presenting trainee is not available at the time of the presentation, a PI or colleague can give the talk, but the presenting PI or non trainee colleague is not eligible for the award.
- Co-authors (including supervisors and clinical collaborators) should be acknowledged in the submission.
Eligible Work
- Original research, applied projects, or systematic evaluations involving machine learning techniques applied to medical imaging.
- Work that has been published or accepted for publication elsewhere is eligible, provided the trainee presenter is the named lead and the work has not previously won this competition.
Exclusions
- Work conducted solely in a commercial capacity without an academic or training affiliation is not eligible.
- Purely methodological or theoretical ML work without an articulated medical imaging application is out of scope.
Ethics and Data
- All work must comply with the ethics, governance, and data protection requirements of the presenter’s home institution.
- Presenters are responsible for ensuring that any images or patient information shown is appropriately anonymised and used with consent or under appropriate ethics approval.
- The MaLMIC Working Group may decline to schedule a presentation if these requirements are not clearly met.
- Trainees are allowed to use AI tools in preparation of their abstract and presentation, but must disclose their use of AI and how it was used (via disclosure slide on AI); the presenter is responsible for the content in the presentation.
Structure of Forum and Competition
Forums are held monthly. Each forum features one trainee presenter, paired with a researcher presenting complementary work — which may be a faculty-level researcher, another trainee, or the trainee’s supervising PI. This pairing provides trainees with mentorship context and enriches the forum’s clinical depth.
The competition will be over  six forums. Each forum, one trainee is selected to present, and every trainee is scored by the judging panel at their session using a predetermined rubric. Awards are announced at the end of every six forums. The two awards per cycle are:
- Top Award — presented to the highest-scoring presenter across six forums, together with a digital winner’s certificate and a voucher (value equivalent to $500).
- Honourable Mention — presented to the runner-up, together with a digital certificate and a voucher (value equivalent to $250).
All presenters within a cycle receive a participation certificate. Winners are announced at a future MaLMIC forum session and it is communicated to the winning trainee and all co-authors on the abstract.
Presentation Specifications
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Element |
Specification |
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Presentation length |
12 minutes (staying on time is an evaluation component) |
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Q&A |
Reserved until both talks are over (20-30 minutes at the end of the forum) |
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Delivery |
Live virtual (with slides) |
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Slide format |
PDF or PowerPoint, 16:9. Slides submitted 48 hours in advance. Maximum 15 slides (excluding title, acknowledgement, and backup slides). Presenters are required to use the MaLMIC PowerPoint template provided on the application form. |
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Content Guidelines |
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Recording |
Sessions are recorded for judging purposes and for posting on the MaLMIC website with the presenter’s consent |