IMHA On The Move - October 2010

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Table of Contents

A Message from the Scientific Director

Jane Aubin

For many Canadians, October signifies Thanksgiving, Halloween, colourful leaves, and cool autumn weather; some of us even start looking forward to winter! However, October also has two other important meanings for the IMHA community, as it is Lupus Awareness Month and Psoriasis Awareness Month. Events such as the National Psoriasis Walk help raise awareness about the impacts of lupus and psoriasis on people's lives.

The Canadian Dermatology Association reports that almost a million Canadians are affected by psoriasis, a chronic, autoimmune disease characterized by red patches and scales on the skin. Psoriasis is painful and can cause significant disability, with complications such as psoriatic arthritis. Indeed, according to the Canadian Skin Patient Alliance, psoriasis can negatively impact a patient's quality of life to the same extent that is possible from a heart attack, diabetes, or cancer.

Lupus Canada estimates that more than 50,000 Canadians suffer from lupus, a chronic disease that stems from inflammation and results in a wide range of symptoms. The most common type of lupus is systemic lupus erythematosus, a condition that can affect any part of the body, from skin and muscles to the lungs and heart. Although anyone can get lupus, women are affected more often than are men.

There are currently no cures for psoriasis or lupus, but during awareness months, it is important to recognize and thank all the researchers and teams that are working hard to change this. IMHA and CIHR are committed to increasing understanding of these two diseases; in 2009-2010 alone, CIHR/IMHA provided over $3.5 million in support of psoriasis and lupus research. We should all be encouraged by the outstanding research in these two fields that takes place throughout Canada.

Canadian research excellence was evident in another IMHA field, that of bone and mineral metabolism, at the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Bone and Mineral Research (ASBMR) in Toronto, Ontario on October 15-19, 2010. IMHA attended this event, and we were pleased to meet many scientists, trainees and partners, and discuss interesting research outcomes and impacts in this important field. With elegant timing, the ASBMR meeting was followed by World Osteoporosis Day (October 20, 2010), a day marked by osteoporosis campaigns throughout the world, and a prelude to November, which is Osteoporosis month in Canada (see pg. 2).

Special best wishes to the psoriasis and lupus communities this month, and I hope everyone enjoys a productive and satisfying October.

Jane E. Aubin, PhD, Scientific Director
Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis

Contribute to the 2011 International Review of CIHR

The CIHR Governing Council is coordinating an International Review of CIHR. You can contribute to this review by commenting on CIHR's performance through an online questionnaire that will be available on CIHR's website from October 27th, 2010 until midnight on November 23, 2010. CIHR will also be sending a comprehensive survey to CIHR applicants, grantees, peer reviewers, Vice Presidents and Directors of Research. Your participation in these surveys will be helpful to the International Review Process.

Did You Know?

A recent bibliometric analysis performed by l'Observatoires des sciences et des technologies revealed that in 2008, CIHR/IMHA-funded researchers published 0.72% of world papers in the area of Skin Research. This proportion has doubled since 1997.

Good News Stories

Global health lecture series named after former Institute Advisory Board member

Lois K. Cohen IMHA is extremely pleased to report the commencement of The Lois K. Cohen Endowed Lecture Series in Global Health. Dr. Lois K. Cohen, an IMHA Institute Advisory Board (IAB) member from 2004-2010, is a retired Consultant for the National Institute of Dental & Craniofacial Research of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Cohen is a research sociologist who has been passionate about global health research for many years, and is gratified to note the lecture series as an expression of the interest that students of today's generation have in global matters.

Dr. Cohen sees the objectives of this series as to sensitize, inform, and start a dialogue among students, faculty, administration, and the general community, about the value of paying attention to global health. Noting that it is "not a one way street from industrial countries to the developing world", Dr. Cohen emphasized that we can learn a great deal from low-resourced countries about how to do business better with fewer resources. She hopes that the outcomes of the lecture series will include continued involvement and a linking of academia with the real world and with multilateral agencies. Among the future challenges of global health initiatives is being able to deal with the rapid rate at which circumstances are changing. Dr. Cohen feels that we must learn how to constantly change and act appropriately, as well as be willing to look for solutions that are not only within our country, but also outside of our borders.

Dr. Cohen's career, including her influence on this lecture series, is closely linked with her work as an international member of the IMHA IAB. It seemed natural to her that she should work with Canada in the area of research grants in health research, and she feels that our two countries are facing some of the same issues, and can learn from each other. Dr. Cohen emphasized the importance of moving together as partners, in order to allow further growth and development.

Dr. Cohen noted that she is "very grateful for the opportunity to serve on the IAB for two terms, under two dynamic Scientific Directors and with colleagues from various disciplines; [she] enjoyed every minute of it, and still enjoys those friendships formed." We are very grateful in return for the wise counsel Dr. Cohen brought to IMHA, and would like to congratulate her on the many successes in her career, including this new global health lecture series. Thank you, Dr. Cohen, for your immense contribution to IMHA, Canadian and American research, and the global health community as a whole.

Other News

Open Access and PubMed Central Canada Webinar Series
CIHR is hosting five webinar sessions between October 20 and November 5, 2010 to discuss CIHR's policy, PubMed Central Canada, and how to submit manuscripts. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions.

Osteoporosis Month
November is Osteoporosis Month! More information can be found on the Osteoporosis Canada website, and our upcoming November newsletter will highlight related work and events.

Upcoming CIHR Events

November 3, 2010 (5:30 - 7:30 PM EDT)
IMHA and the Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN) will co-host a Café Scientifique on ethical issues and workplace disability.
Location: Gladstone Hotel, 1214 Queen Street West, Toronto, Ontario
For more information on this upcoming Café, please visit the CIHR Café Scientifique website.

Meetings of Interest

Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN) Annual Scientific Conference (Oct. 28-30, 2010). Lac-Leamy, Gatineau, Québec
For more details about the conference, please visit the Canadian Arthritis Network website.

Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology Annual General Meeting – Exploring the Routes to Health and Fitness (Nov. 3-6, 2010). Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
For more details about the conference, please visit the CSEP website.

CAN CARES (Jan. 22, 2011). London, Ontario, Canada.
For more details about this session, please visit the Canadian Arthritis Network website.

Partner Corner

New Appointment
The Arthritis Society (TAS) is pleased to announce that Dr. David Hart has been appointed National Research/Scientific Director. As The Arthritis Society becomes a stronger organization, they are better positioned to increase their research funding. In his new role, Dr. Hart will be working closely with The Arthritis Society's Scientific Advisory Committee to evaluate The Society's current research investments and most importantly to help chart the future for its strategic investment in research and research capacity building.

Alberta Osteoarthritis team
The Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions Alberta Osteoarthritis team was formally launched on September 21, 2010. The team is comprised of 36 diverse people, including researchers, clinicians, and other experts, and is lead by Dr. Cy Frank and Dr. Walter Herzog. With the overall goal of investigating solutions for osteoarthritis, the group is composed of four multidisciplinary teams, each working on a different project. More details about this work can be found on the Alberta Osteoarthritis Team webpage.

Call for Success Stories
Do you have a story that has helped sustain health and enhance quality of life by eradicating the pain, suffering and disability caused by arthritis, musculoskeletal, oral and skin conditions? IMHA would like to celebrate our partners' success stories in our monthly newsletter. To nominate a success story, please submit a short essay (maximum 2,000 words) that describes the achievement and the rationale for its significance to IMHA at IMHA@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

IMHA Funding Opportunities

For information on current funding opportunities, please visit IMHA's Funding Opportunities.

Important changes to the cut-off time for CIHR funding opportunities

As of January 3, 2011, the cut-off time for CIHR funding opportunities will change from 11:59 p.m. EST to 8:00 p.m. EST. The cut-off time remains 11:59 p.m. for opportunities with deadlines before or on January 2, 2011. For questions regarding this change, please contact CIHR's Information Service at 1-888-603-4178 or info@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

Important changes to the Meetings, Planning and Dissemination Grant: Knowledge Translation Supplement competition

A core component of CIHR's mandate is to translate knowledge into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system. The Knowledge Translation (KT) Branch, through its KT Supplement Funding Opportunity, provides supplemental funding to enable widespread dissemination and implementation of research findings to communities beyond the traditional scientific community so as to accelerate the capture of the benefits of health research. The funding opportunity requires the use of active KT strategies and interventions supplementary to publication in peer reviewed journals. It is not intended to cover typical KT costs budgeted for at the time of submission of the original grant (e.g., publication costs and open access fees for anticipated publications, conference fees, etc.).

In order to maximize the impact of this funding opportunity, CIHR is instituting key changes to the scope of the KT Supplement Funding Opportunity. For information and deadlines, please visit the CIHR website.

Rare Diseases Emerging Teams

The Rare Diseases Emerging Teams: Translating Basic Biology to Enhanced Patient Care program was launched in October 2010. This funding will support interdisciplinary research teams that focus on understanding rare diseases, translating this knowledge to clinics and populations, or addressing health services and social issues. For more information on this opportunity, please visit the CIHR website.

Contact IMHA

CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
Department of Molecular Genetics
Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
The Banting Institute
100 College St., Room 207B
Toronto, ON, M5G 1L5
Tel: 416-978-4220
Email: IMHA@cihr-irsc.gc.ca
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