IMHA On The Move - Holiday Edition! December 2010

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Table of Contents

A Message from the Scientific Director

Jane Aubin

Welcome to the December Issue of IMHA On the Move. As 2010 comes to an end, we are provided with an opportunity to reflect upon the many advances made this year by health researchers throughout Canada.

Excellent and impactful research was celebrated at the Ninth Annual Canadian Health Research Awards, which took place in Ottawa on November 16, 2010. Hosted by CIHR and Prix Galien Canada, this event recognizes excellence in Canadian health research, in both the public and private sector. Highlights this year included speeches from His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, who spoke of the importance of public-private partnerships, and the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, who added her congratulations to award recipients for their contributions to the health and well-being of Canadians. Dr. Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR, and Dr. Jacques Gagné, Prix Galien Canada Jury President, noted the importance of innovative research and its translation for better health and growth of a knowledge-based economy. Of course, it is always a highlight to hear the inspiring words of the recipients of these prestigious research awards: what has motivated them to do their research and the satisfaction they take in the difference that their results and innovations make to the lives of Canadians and others. Please join me in congratulating this year's winners. Nothing captures better or as succinctly the importance of our research and knowledge translation efforts as the YouTube video, "Health is Everything", which was prepared for awards night.

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston joins CIHR and others
at the Ninth Annual Canadian Health Research Awards

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston greets Dr. Nicole Letourneau, member of CIHR's Governing Council, Dr. Joy Johnson, Scientific Director of the Institute of Gender and Health, and Dr. Jane Aubin, Scientific Director of the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis.

The end of 2010 has also been marked by planning for future IMHA activities, such as the inflammation in chronic disease initiative that was mentioned in the November Newsletter. IMHA is now reaching out to other CIHR Institutes and external partners to work together with them to map out the initiative and work towards a consensus conference in 2011. I look forward to working with our partners on this important new initiative, and will continue to update the IMHA community as plans progress.

I wish you all a joyous holiday season, and health, happiness and success in your research and knowledge translation activities in 2011!

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

Did you know?

According to Health Canada, being physically active improves both physical and mental health. Physical activity can reduce the rate of bone loss in normal aging or osteoporosis, reduce inflammation and pain in arthritis, maintain muscle mass and strength, improve energy levels, and do so much more! Simple adjustments, such as walking instead of driving, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, can greatly impact one's health.

Jane Aubin

Jane Aubin, IMHA Scientific Director, enjoying a game of Wii bowling, with Institute Advisory Board (IAB) Chair Phillip Gardiner looking on, during a break at our recent IAB meeting in November, 2010. Physical activity breaks are included in each IAB meeting.

Good News Stories

Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance Steering Committee member discusses consumer involvement in research and knowledge translation

Laurie Proulx

Dealing with the symptoms and complications of Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis has become a part of daily life for Laurie Proulx, a member of the Steering Committee of the Canadian Arthritis Patient Alliance (CAPA). However, also part of her daily life is advocating for improved access to healthcare for arthritis patients and actively engaging in arthritis research teams. Laurie took some time to speak with IMHA about her experiences as a consumer and a member of arthritis research groups. Laurie was diagnosed with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis when she was fourteen years old, and first became involved with CAPA in 2004 as a member of the Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) committee. She has since been involved in many organizations and research teams, and in particular noted her experiences working with pediatric rheumatologists. Laurie writes articles for the CAPA website and Facebook pages to update members on the current research and its findings. Laurie discussed the benefits of involving consumers in the early stages of research, such as grant applications, so that they can comment on the relevancy of a particular project or how the research results could ultimately affect arthritis patients. She also emphasized the value of involving multiple consumers, since different patients and/or family members have varied perspectives. Laurie works tremendously hard towards the ultimate goal of resolving unanswered questions and translating that knowledge into improvements in the overall quality of available treatments for arthritis patients. Noting that "research does not just happen on its own, it always affects us", Laurie encourages others living with arthritis to get involved in research either by joining a consumer group or partnering with other organizations. Even with a small commitment, consumers can affect research directions and ensure that studies done are relevant to and helpful for arthritis patients. Congratulations on your hard work and successes, Laurie! We look forward to working with you and other consumers, including IMHA's Research Ambassadors, on research and knowledge translation.

Upcoming CIHR Events

February 2, 2011. CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis and Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes will co-host a Café Scientifique on Vitamin D.

Location: Toronto, ON

For information on upcoming Cafés, please visit the CIHR Café Scientifique website.

Meetings of Interest

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

Canadian Rheumatology Association (CRA) Annual Meeting (Feb. 11-15, 2011). Cancun, Mexico. For more details about this conference, please visit the Canadian Rheumatology Association website.

9th Annual Cochrane Canada Symposium (Feb. 14-15, 2011). Vancouver, BC. For more details about this symposium, please visit the Symposium website.

89th General Session & Exhibition of the IADR, 40th Annual Meeting of the AADR, and 35th Annual Meeting of the CADR (March 16-19, 2011). San Diego, California. For more details about this meeting, please visit the IADR website.

Partner Corner

IMHA Partnership with The Arthritis Society (TAS)

CIHR-IMHA is pleased to announce that we are once again partnering with the Arthritis Society in the Open Operating Grants Priority Announcement competition. Together, we will support excellent research in the area of arthritis. This opportunity will be launched in mid-December, 2010 on the CIHR website, and the application deadline will be in March, 2011.

International Day of Persons with Disabilities

December 3rd was the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, themed "Keeping the promise: Mainstreaming disability in the Millennium Development Goals towards 2015 and beyond." IMHA and its communities support the efforts of the United Nations and others to achieve well-being and effective participation of persons with disabilities.

Canadian Cochrane Centre (CCC) director named co-chair of The Cochrane Collaboration Steering Committee

The Cochrane Collaboration named Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw the new co-chair of its Board of Directors (Steering Committee), at the 18th Cochrane Colloquium in Keystone, Colorado. Dr. Grimshaw is currently the Canadian Cochrane Centre director, co-coordinating editor of the Cochrane Effective Practice and Organization of Care Review Group, and Canada Research Chair in Health Knowledge Transfer and Uptake. For more information, please see the Media Release.

Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group (CMSG) launches Decision Aids for patients to determine best treatment

The Cochrane Musculoskeletal Group recently launched Decision Aids that are designed to complement health practitioner counseling and encourage patient involvement in decision making. There are 10 Decision Aids in total, divided between those for Osteoarthritis, Osteoporosis, and Rheumatoid arthritis. For more information, please visit the CMSG 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.

Other News

Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans

On December 7, 2010, CIHR, NSERC and SSHRC announced the release of the 2nd edition of the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research involving Humans. This document represents the first comprehensive revision of the joint research ethics policy statement since it was created in 1998. For more information, please visit the Panel on Research Ethics webpage.

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.

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.

Institute Community Support: Travel Awards for Students and Post-Doctoral Fellows

The next deadline for the IMHA travel awards is January 15, 2011. These awards provide a maximum of $1,000 to research trainees to assist with the costs of presenting their research at regular interval meetings that fall under IMHA's mandate.

Happy Holidays…from the IMHA team!

The IMHA team

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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