IMHA On The Move - January 2011

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Table of Contents

A Message from the Scientific Director

Jane Aubin, Scientific Director

Welcome to the first 2011 issue of IMHA On The Move. I hope that you all enjoyed the holiday season and the start of 2011. As IMHA rolls out its many activities planned for this new calendar year, I look forward to seeing and engaging with you.

Coming up early in 2011 is the second International Review of CIHR. Individual reviews of each Institute will take place in early February 2011, and the International Review Panel (IRP) meeting will follow in March 2011. This Review will evaluate CIHR's effectiveness in fulfilling its mandate, and provide suggestions for how CIHR and its Institutes can do even more to create and translate new research knowledge into better health and health care. Thank you again to everyone who took part in CIHR and IMHA surveys and those who provided stories on research outcomes and impacts, and helpful ideas for moving forward.

One knowledge translation activity that will also occur at the beginning of February is a Café Scientifique in Toronto that will be co-hosted by IMHA and the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (INMD). This café is on a topic that dominated much researcher and public discussion in 2010, that of Vitamin D, and how much is optimal not only for bone health but also for overall health. We anticipate a stimulating exchange with the public and an excellent start to our 2011 Café Scientifique knowledge translation activities.

As discussed in our previous newsletters, IMHA together with several other CIHR Institutes and external partners is also busy planning the Inflammation in Chronic Disease initiative. A significant early step is a consensus conference, scheduled for May 17-18, 2011, which will bring together multiple stakeholder groups to identify gaps and prioritize research questions in this hugely important area. With the enormous burden of chronic diseases, especially in aging societies, it is imperative that we seek to understand common mechanisms underlying inflammation across diverse conditions, useful new markers and therapeutic targets, strategies for detecting and monitoring inflammation, and interventions for prevention and treatment of chronic disease. The conference is by-invitation, and these will be sent shortly, but IMHA will continue to publicize widely the conference and its eventual proceedings, so do watch for additional information throughout 2011 and beyond.

I look forward to working with all of you in 2011, and hearing about your outstanding research and knowledge translation activities. Once again, my warmest wishes for your health, happiness and success in 2011!

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

Ask the Scientific Director

We invite you to send questions that you have about IMHA, to imha.iala.cihr.irsc@utoronto.ca. Each month, this section of the newsletter will feature the answer to one of these questions. This month, we answer a frequently asked question: How are initiatives chosen?

  1. As outlined in IMHA's strategic plan 2008-2013, IMHA's strategic priorities are Pain, Disability and Chronic Disease; Tissue Injury, Repair and Replacement; and Physical Activity, Mobility and Health. The latter became IMHA's flagship priority in 2008. These priorities were developed and updated by broad partner and stakeholder consultations, and Institute Advisory Board (IAB) retreats. They are formulated to cross IMHA's mandated areas, encourage recognition of common issues and promote multidisciplinary solutions. The IAB uses multiple approaches to choose research and knowledge translation initiatives that address the health challenges within the priorities and to assess progress towards meeting the objectives of the strategic plan.
  2. IMHA performs an annual environmental scan to determine how each focus area within IMHA's mandate and IMHA's strategic priority areas are doing in the CIHR Operating Grant Program (OGP) and Strategic Initiative Funding competitions. IMHA's Scientific Director, staff, and IAB members also use information on emerging areas from CIHR Scientific Council discussions, other CIHR Institutes, external partners and stakeholders, workshops-conferences and additional sources.
  3. Data from the environmental scan informs Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analyses and discussions at IAB meetings and retreats.
    • each member of the IAB represents particular focus and strategic priority areas and sits on working groups related to these topics
    • gap areas are identified and initiatives to address gaps strategically prioritized
  4. IAB discussions are followed up with workshops and/or consensus conferences to engage stakeholders in focusing and prioritizing research and knowledge translation questions within initiatives.

To advance its mandate, IMHA also partners strategically in the initiatives of internal and external partners.

Safety at Home: A Pan-Canadian Home Care Safety Study

IMHA has partnered with the Canadian Patient Safety Institute, as well as a number of other institutes and organizations, to fund a team research project in patient/client safety in Home Care in Canada. The successful research team, led by Dr. Diane Doran at the University of Toronto and Dr. Régis Blais at the University of Montreal, was announced in a News Release on September 21, 2010. This study is described in detail on the Canadian Patient Safety Institute webpage, and is also highlighted in a YouTube clip.

The study will use a population-based analysis to examine the prevalence and incidence of home care adverse events, and research patient safety issues among home care clients with particular consideration of client and caregiver perspectives. The team is made up of 21 members, and is distributed amongst five sub-projects. The final report from this research will be released in January, 2013, and is anticipated to generate new knowledge and inform change in policy and practice in order to improve the safety of clients receiving Home Care in Canada.

IMHA is pleased to be involved in this project, and in particular in the integrated and end-of-grant knowledge translation activities that will be occurring. IMHA is one of the members of the Working Group, which will work toward developing a knowledge transfer plan and engaging groups who will support results dissemination and uptake.

Did You Know?

IMHA has travel awards! With four application deadlines each year, these awards provide a maximum of $1,000 to research trainees to help cover the costs of travel and accommodation related to presenting their research at regular interval meetings that fall under IMHA's mandate.

Good News Stories

Angela Cheung, M.D. Ph.D. recently received the 2010 Lindy Fraser Memorial Award from Osteoporosis Canada. The Lindy Fraser Memorial Award was created to recognize individuals who have done exemplary research and have helped to increase the knowledge about osteoporosis. Dr. Cheung, who co-chaired the Oversight Committee for IMHA's 2009 Bone Health Research Consensus Conference, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Lillian Love Chair in Women's Health at the University of Toronto. She is also the Director of the University Health Network Osteoporosis Program and the Director of the Centre of Excellence in Skeletal Health Assessment (CESHA).

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 Trainee Resources

IMHA is pleased to announce our new webpage devoted to resources for trainees. With information regarding funding opportunities, training programs, networking, and other areas of interest, this webpage is intended to support the next generation of arthritis, musculoskeletal rehabilitation, bone, muscle, skin and oral health researchers. For more information, please visit the CIHR-IMHA Trainee Resources webpage.

Upcoming CIHR Events

February 2, 2011 (5:00 - 7:00 PM EST)
CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis and Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes will co-host a Café Scientifique on Vitamin D.
Location: L'Espresso Bar Mercurio, 321 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON.

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

Meetings of Interest

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.

CHSPR 2011 Health Policy Conference: BOOMERANGST: Myths and Realities about health care for an aging population (Feb. 22-23, 2011). Vancouver, BC. For more information about this conference, please visit the CHSPR website.

GTA Rehab Network's Annual Best Practices Day (March 7, 2011). Toronto, ON. For more information about this conference, please visit the GTA Rehab Network 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

Fast Facts from the 2009 Canadian Community Health Survey - Osteoporosis Rapid Response

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) recently released a fact sheet based on the results from a questionnaire on osteoporosis that took place in two months of the 2009 Statistics Canada Canadian Community Health Survey. This fact sheet is an excellent resource for information regarding the prevalence of osteoporosis, what Canadians are doing to maintain healthy bones, and the prevention and management of osteoporosis.

Justice Emmett Hall Memorial Foundation Student Essay Competition 2011

Students are invited to submit essays that address any topic in health services or health policy to the Justice Emmett Hall Memorial Foundation Student Essay Competition. The application deadline is March 25, 2011, and three prizes for students with exceptional essays are awarded annually. Details about this competition can be found on the Canadian Association for Health Services and Policy Research (CAHSPR) website.

Contribute to The Arthritis Society's New Strategic Plan

The Arthritis Society (TAS) is seeking input for development of a new strategic plan to guide its activities in Research and Career Development. The deadline for feedback is March 1, 2011. For more information, including how to submit constructive commentary, please visit The Arthritis Society's website.

Power of Movement

Power of Movement, a fundraising event to benefit arthritis and autoimmune disease research in Canada, will take place on Sunday, February 27th, 2011. Join thousands of Canadians as they come together in twelve different cities to practice yoga in support of the more than 4.2 million Canadians living with arthritis and autoimmune conditions. For more information, including how to register, please visit the Power of Movement webpage.

Participants engaging in yoga practice at last year's Power of Movement Toronto mega-session on March 7, 2010.

Participants engaging in yoga practice at last year's Power
of Movement Toronto mega-session on March 7th, 2010

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 has changed from 11:59 p.m. EST to 8:00 p.m. EST. For questions regarding this change, please contact CIHR's Information Service at 1-888-603-4178 or info@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

Team Grant: Bone Health

The funding opportunity Team Grant: Bone Health was launched on December 15, 2010 by IMHA in partnership with the Institute of Gender and Health. This grant is intended to encourage teams of researchers to undertake new, high priority research challenges in bone health. The Letter of Intent deadline is April 1, 2011. For more information, please visit the description of this funding opportunity on the CIHR website.

Meetings, Planning and Dissemination Grant: Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (Winter 2011 Competition)

The Meetings, Planning and Dissemination Grant: Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis Winter 2011 funding opportunity was launched on December 15, 2010. These grants will provide support for meetings, planning, and/or dissemination activities that are consistent with CIHR's mandate, are directly relevant to IMHA research, and have a national or international scope. The Application deadline is February 15, 2011. For more information, please visit the description of this funding opportunity on the CIHR website.

Operating Grant: Winter 2011 Priority Announcement

There are three IMHA-relevant priority areas for the upcoming Open Operating Grant: 2010-2011 funding opportunity: arthritis; musculoskeletal health, arthritis, skin and oral health (IMH); and neuromuscular research (JNM). Applications to these priority areas are submitted through the 201103MOP competition of the Open Operating Grant: 2010-2011 funding opportunity. Registration must be completed by February 1, 2011 and applications are due on March 1, 2011. For more information, please visit the description of the Priority Announcement on the CIHR website.

Phillip Gardiner (IAB Chair), Jane Aubin (IMHA SD) and Monique Gignac (IAB Vice Chair)

Phillip Gardiner (IAB Chair), Jane Aubin (IMHA SD)
and Monique Gignac (IAB Vice Chair)

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
Contact IMHA

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