The Brain Brief - Vol. 6. No. 1 September 2010
Table of Contents
- Message from the Scientific Director
- Institute Staff
- Institute/Initiative Activities
- Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine Initiative (RMNI)
- Epigenetics, Environment and Health Consultation Workshop
- Sad News
- CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee Grade 12 Guelph Student Wins Canada's "Best Brain" Competition
- International Review of CIHR
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research is 10 years old!
- CIHR Funding Opportunities
- Funding Decisions
- Other Funding Opportunities
- Contact IMNHA
Message from the Scientific Director
As many of you will be aware, the past year has been one of transition in the ongoing evolution of INMHA.
The challenge, of course, in assuming stewardship of an organization that has been superbly led by Dr. Remi Quirion and his team at the Douglas Hospital in Montreal and in Ottawa, was to retain the values and focus of past success, while at the same time refocusing activities to reflect new leadership within CIHR and new opportunities in a changing landscape. From my perspective, I feel we have been able to achieve this fine balance.
The new office at the University of British Columbia is now functioning smoothly and is staffed, with Dr. Elizabeth Theriault as Assistant Scientific Director playing a key role, along with Dr. Nathalie Gendron as her counterpart in Ottawa. They both enjoy outstanding support from Diane Parsons, Executive Manager, along with Kale Gossen, Administrative Assistant, and Asimina Saikaley, Project Officer (who has just returned to the fold after her maternity leave).
INMHA is also blessed with a truly committed and fully engaged Institute Advisory Board under the seasoned guidance of its Chair, Dr. Ravi Menon and they too will continue to play key roles in shaping the future of INMHA to reflect the hopes and aspirations of our stakeholders.
As described in detail below, our highest priority has been preparation for the upcoming Second International Review of CIHR that will take place in Ottawa in February 2011. A detailed report of INMHA's activities from 2005-2010 is in preparation and will showcase many innovative and influential initiatives undertaken under Remi's leadership. Of particular note is the success during the past year in bringing two large strategic initiatives from concepts to reality. The first project on Co-morbidity of brain disorders and other health problems has resulted in awards to six teams in a total funding envelope of $8.96 million. The second project, focused on The Senses (Vision, Hearing and Communication Disorders), resulted in awards to three teams in a total funding envelope of $4.2 million. These programs arose from extensive consultation within the respective research communities and indeed were key elements within the second INMHA Strategic Plan. For me, they exemplify two essential principles that must continue to guide our decision-making as we strive to optimize the impact of our strategic programs on a broad and diverse research community: namely, broad consultation and secondly, strong support for innovative programs linking neuroscience research to clinical research in mental health, addiction and the senses. In short, we must always deliver on our promises!
This issue of the Brain Brief highlights many other exciting initiatives and events that arose during the past year and we trust that subsequent issues, along with access to a reinvigorated website, will keep our community fully informed in the months and years to come.
Institute Staff
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce the new INMHA team members.
Elizabeth Theriault, Assistant Scientific Director. From 2003 to 2006, Elizabeth was seconded by the federal government (DFAIT) to the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo as Science and Technology Counsellor where she had the opportunity to assist Remi, Tony and Astrid Eberhart, former INMHA Assistant Director in building INMHA's bilateral programs with Japan. In 2009 she accepted the ASD position for INMHA and is based at UBC in Vancouver.
Nathalie Gendron, Assistant Director. Nathalie holds a Ph.D. from the Université de Paris VII. After holding a position as a Research Scientist at the CHEO Apoptosis Research Centre in Ottawa she joined CIHR as a Deputy Director in Program Delivery in 2006. In 2010 she joined the INHMA team as Assistant Director and is based at CIHR in Ottawa.
Diane Parsons, Executive Manager. After completing a Fine Arts degree at UBC, Diane started working with Tony in the UBC Department of Psychiatry in 2003. She joined the INMHA, UBC-based team in April 2009.
Kale Gossen, Executive Assistant. Kale has a Bachelor of Applied Business Administration – Accounting from Mount Royal University in Calgary. Most recently, she worked with the Weekend to End Breast Cancer and Vancouver 2010 Olympics. She joined the INMHA, UBC-based team in March 2010.
Asimina Saikaley, Project Officer. Asimina has a Bachelor of Sociology from the University of Ottawa. After completing her degree, she started working with CIHR in 2002 in the Knowledge Translation unit. She has been working with the INMHA – Ottawa-based team since 2003.
INMHA would like to thank Kimberley Mageau, in Ottawa for a job well done acting in the Project Officer role during the past year.
Institute/Initiative Activities
Institute Advisory Board (IAB)
The 35th Institute Advisory Board (IAB) meeting was held at the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis, Alberta on March 11-12, 2010. This meeting was largely focused on preparation for the CIHR International Review in February 2011. The 36th IAB meeting was held in Montréal, QC on August 24-25, 2010. This meeting focused on the International Review in February 2011 as well as preliminary discussions for the development of INMHA's new strategic plan.
Canadian Association for Neuroscience Conference 2010, held May 14th to 18th in Ottawa, Ontario
The Canadian Association for Neuroscience represents the largest group of Canadian scientists interested in the brain, spinal cord and the entire nervous system. INMHA hosted a booth at the conference and staff was able to interact with many of the conference participants.
Stem Cell Global Blueprint Conference 2010, held May 21st and 22nd in Toronto, Ontario
The purpose of this conference was to take an international multi-stakeholder approach to discuss stem cell translational barriers and to assist in defining a blueprint for stem cell innovation, translation and commercialization for spinal cord injury and related degenerative disorders of the central nervous system. Dr. Eric Marcotte attended on behalf of CIHR.
Brain Star Award
Hong-Shuo Sun from the University of Toronto is the recipient of the 2009 Marlene Reimer Brain Star of the Year award. Hong-Shuo received the award for an article published in Nature Neuroscience. The paper was presented to the Canadian Association for Neuroscience in Ottawa, Ontario in May of 2010.
Sun HS, Jackson MF, Martin LJ, Jansen K, Teves L, Cui H, Kiyonaka S, Mori Y, Jones M, Forder JP, GoldeTE, Orser BA, MacDonald JF & Tymianski M. Suppression of Hippocampal TRPM7 Protein Prevents Delayed Neuronal Death in Brain Ischemia. Nature Neuroscience. October 2009, 12(10): 1300-1307 (featured in News & Views pp1215).
Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine Initiative (RMNI)
RMNI was developed and is co-led by INMHA in collaboration with other CIHR Institutes and external funding partners. Since its inception in 2003, RMNI has committed over $66M of funding toward new and innovative research approaches in regenerative medicine (including stem cell-based approaches) and nanomedicine (nanotechnology applied to health). A fifth Team Grant competition is currently underway, with an additional $18M funding commitment. Please see the RMNI website for updates or more information.
RMNI Staff
Eric Marcotte, Assistant Director. Eric holds a PhD in Medical Sciences from McMaster University. Prior to joining CIHR, Eric served as a biotechnology analyst for a financial investment firm, identifying biomedical and pharmaceutical companies for investment purposes. Eric joined CIHR in 2003 to help establish the RMNI, now one of the major Large Initiatives of CIHR.
Susan Lalumiere, Project Officer. Susan has with been CIHR since 2002, when she joined as an administrative officer and meeting coordinator for the precursor to CIHR's Scientific Council. Prior to joining CIHR, she spent 18 years with the Royal Canadian Mount Police in various positions, including working in the Commissioner's Office. More recently, Susan has served as the Project Officer of the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative.
Epigenetics, Environment and Health Consultation Workshop
Over the last year, the INMHA team has made remarkable progress in moving rapidly towards the creation of a broadly based national strategic focus on epigenetics. In July 2009, we convened a small, focused workshop on Neuro-epigenetics. Based on the growing realization that complex diseases such as diabetes, asthma, schizophrenia, inflammatory bowel disease, and the overwhelming majority of cancers, may involve an interplay between specific environmental factors related to epigenetic regulation of the genetic blueprint, the workshop participants strongly recommended that INMHA lead a CIHR-wide effort to establish a broader-based national epigenetics consortium. In the fall, the INMHA team prepared a Concept Paper on Epigenetics which was submitted for internal review at CIHR.
To further explore this consortium opportunity, INMHA hosted a broad-based Consultation Workshop on "Epigenetics, Environment and Health" at Niagara-on-the-Lake in early April 2010. The event was attended by approximately 50 representatives from research institutes across Canada, including CIHR, universities, hospitals, and government and non-governmental organizations. Two key objectives of the Workshop were to examine the current state of knowledge regarding epigenetics as it relates to human health and disease and to identify the most important themes related to epigenetics, environment and health that could benefit from new programmatic funding to ensure that Canada maintains a leadership role in this field. A report of the outcomes of this very successful Workshop will be posted to the INMHA website very shortly.
In late June 2010 INMHA's Concept Paper entitled the "Canadian Epigenetics, Environment and Health Research Network" (CEEHRN) received enthusiastic support from the CIHR Scientific Council as one of a select group of pan-CIHR strategic proposals approved for development of a 'Business Case,' the final stage in the new and rigorous approval process for all strategic initiatives.
The INMHA team will develop the Business Case over the summer and we look forward to the final announcement of formal approval for a 5 year/ $30 million program by the end of the current fiscal year. We still have a great deal of work to do, but we are much closer to the goal than when we started less than a year ago.
Sad News
It is with deep sadness that we share the news that our dear friend and colleague, Barbara Beckett, passed away on Friday, July 2. We will all retain our individual memories of times spent with Barb as well as our shared appreciation of the pivotal role she played in shaping and guiding so many aspects of INMHA's development for so much of its existence.
Barb had a special place in her heart for 'the little guy' and this was reflected in the many effective partnerships she developed with the voluntary health sector. INMHA will always benefit from the imprint of Barb's values and will continue to be all the better for it.
CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee Grade 12 Guelph Student Wins Canada's "Best Brain" Competition
Regenerative Medicine and Nanomedicine, Associate Director Eric Marcotte stands amidst some of the brightest brains in Canada during the third annual CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee Championship at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Saturday, May 29, 2010. The Canadian Press Images PHOTO/Simon Wilson
The top three winners!
- Linda Zhu, Centennial Collegiate Vocational Institute, Guelph, Ontario
- Kerry Sun, Old Scona Academic School, Edmonton, Alberta
- Elena Mamycheva, York Memorial Collegiate Institute, Toronto, Ontario
On May 29th the top high school students from across Canada were at McMaster University to compete for the right to be called the best brain in Canada. These twelve students had won their regional competitions. Participants were tested on their knowledge of neuroscience and their skills at patient diagnosis and neuroanatomy. Topics covered memory, sleep, intelligence, emotion, perception, stress, aging, brain-imaging, neurology, neurotransmitters, genetics, and brain disease. The top three winners received trophies and scholarship awards of $1,500, $1,000, and $500. Linda Zhu, the winner of the competition, also took home a travelling trophy to display at her school for one year, and will be given the opportunity to work as a summer intern in a neuroscience laboratory.
Zhu will represent Canada at the International Brain Bee (IBB) on August 12-15, 2010, which will be held in San Diego, California. The IBB will be hosted by the American Psychological Association during their annual conference.
The Annual CIHR Canadian National Brain Bee was hosted by the Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour (PNB) at McMaster University.
International Review of CIHR
As CIHR reaches its tenth anniversary, the Governing Council is coordinating a second review of CIHR and its thirteen research Institutes. The review provides an opportunity to assess the accomplishments of CIHR over the past five years with the ultimate goal of ensuring continued excellence of health research in Canada. Governing Council will be seeking the expert advice of the International Review Panel on the following key questions:
- Has CIHR been effective in fulfilling its mandate as outlined in the CIHR Act?
- How can CIHR improve at achieving its mandate?
The International Review Panel in 2006 commended CIHR for the significant progress achieved in developing a more unified model of health research funding. Furthermore, CIHR had clearly enhanced capacity to fund research across all health related disciplines as well as launched new strategic initiatives that had strengthened multidisciplinary research and training.
The 2011 review will take place in Ottawa, beginning with the Institute Reviews, which will be conducted by 13 expert review teams, between February 7 -10, 2011. During the Institute reviews, expert review teams will meet with researchers and stakeholders from that Institute's community.
Following the Institute reviews, the International Review Panel will meet March 30- 31, 2010. This meeting will be conducted by an international panel of health research leaders and will be chaired by Dr. Elias Zerhouni, former Director of the National Institutes of Health Research. The International Review Panel will meet with senior officials, researchers, knowledge users, and stakeholders from across the Canadian health research landscape. Following the Panel's deliberations, Dr. Zerhouni will report the findings and recommendations to the CIHR Governing Council. CIHR will then share the results of the review with the broader health research community.
If you have comments or questions about the International Review, please do not hesitate to send them to the International Review Team at InternationalReview@cihr-irsc.gc.ca. You can also consult the International Review website.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research is 10 years old!
It's CIHR's 10th anniversary, which is a chance to reflect on and celebrate a decade of health research successes and their positive impacts. Please see CIHR's website for a message from the Minister of Health on CIHR's 10th Anniversary.
CIHR Funding Opportunities
INMHA-sponsored Funding Opportunities can be accessed from the CIHR Funding Opportunity Database.
A Complete list of recent INMHA related funding decisions is available on the CIHR website.
Funding Decisions
INMHA would like to congratulate the applicants who have been awarded funding in our three Priority Announcements in the fall 2009 competition and acknowledges the hard work and dedication to health research excellence of the many applicants whose applications were highly rated but did not receive funding.
A complete list of recent INMHA related funding decisions is available on the CIHR website.
Other Funding Opportunities
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science has launched a "Core to Core" funding opportunity. The purpose of this program is to create world-class research hubs and foster young researchers to advance multilateral collaboration in cutting-edge fields of science. Overseas counterpart research institutions interested in this program are advised to prepare a research plan with a Japanese counterpart institution; JSPS receives these proposals for the Core-to-Core Program from Japanese universities and research institutions. Proposals must be submitted by October 15, 2010.