Winning paper

Gowling WLG is pleased to award the firm's inaugural $5,000 Life Sciences, Society & the Law Scholarship to Alycia Noë, a law student at McGill University Faculty of Law.

Alycia's winning paper focused on the transformative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the discourse surrounding intellectual property (IP) protections for pharmaceutical innovators. For more details, click here.

The application period for the 2024 scholarship will begin in February 2024.

Overview

Gowling WLG is committed to supporting the next generation of legal leaders in the life sciences sector. Our firm's $5,000 Life Sciences, Society and the Law student scholarship was created to do just that.

A companion to Gowling WLG's annual "Life Sciences, Society and the Law Symposium," the scholarship is awarded each year to the law student who writes the most distinguished paper exploring the evolving relationship between the life sciences and society from a legal perspective.

The winning paper will be decided by a panel of judges and will be announced at the BIO International Convention in Boston on June 5, 2023. In addition to the $5,000 financial package, the author of the winning paper will be invited to participate in our symposium and recognized across Gowling WLG's various channels.

Gowling WLG gratefully acknowledges the leadership and generous funding contribution from Bayer Inc., both of which made this scholarship possible. The firm will be working closely with Bayer to promote broader interest in life sciences and highlight the opportunities for law students who are interested in pursuing a career in the sector.

Eligibility

Applicants must be:

  • A law student enrolled in a JD/LLB program at an accredited Canadian law school
    Note: All applicants will be screened to confirm enrollment.
  • A Canadian citizen or permanent resident
  • Interested in pursuing a legal career in the life sciences sector

How to apply

To apply for the scholarship, applicants must provide the following in English or French:

  • Completed scholarship application form
  • Cover letter detailing applicant's interest in the life sciences sector
  • A 1,500-word paper examining the relationship between life sciences and society from a legal perspective. Below are some examples of possible topics:
    • Patents and other intellectual property protections incentivize innovator pharmaceutical companies to research and develop new drugs. How do good laws ensure that the drugs are affordable for the public while still fostering a competitive atmosphere for innovation?
    • Patenting genetic material: What are the effects on society (either a positive or negative stance) and surrounding policy implications?
    • How has Canada's participation in the Canada United States Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) and Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) altered the legal and regulatory protections available to novel medicinal drugs? What is the impact on innovation and/or affordable health care?

Application deadline

The application submission period has ended.

Contact

If you have any questions about the scholarship, please send an email to scholarships@gowlingwlg.com.
 

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