INMD Newsletter - February 2011
Inside this issue:- Message from Phil Sherman, INMD Scientific Director
- Café Scientifique on Vitamin D in Toronto
- INMD Priority Announcement Funding
- The Canadian Obesity Network Weight Bias and Discrimination Summit
- INMD Mandate
- Contact INMD
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Message from Phil Sherman, INMD Scientific Director
Organizers of the 2011 Banff Inflammation Workshop Left to right: Drs. Wally MacNaughton, Pierre-Yves von der Weid, Jason McDougall, and Andre Buret
Inflammation plays a key role underlying many acute and chronic disease processes that are relevant to the INMD mandate area. The 7th Banff Inflammation Workshop was held January 27-30, 2011.
This Workshop, widely recognized as the most prominent meeting of its kind in the world, was highly inter-disciplinary in nature with state-of-the-art research presentations related to the role of inflammation in reactive airway and chronic lung diseases, various forms of chronic arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases.
Graduate students and post-doctoral fellows from Canada and abroad were in attendance, and participated actively in the question-and-answer periods following formal presentations. The trainees also had the opportunity to meet with members of the research community, both at their poster presentations and during informal team-building social activities
In keeping with previous editions, this meeting serves as an ideal opportunity for international exchanges of young Canadian scientists with leading edge research laboratories from around the world. Mechanisms underlying the activation and resolution of inflammatory responses were considered at length. The potential for commercialization and for the development of novel therapeutic targets to reduce pain responses to inflammation were highlighted as future priority areas. National and international speakers also noted the importance of trans-disciplinary research activities, and the exceptional possibilities for building on current Canadian research excellence and capacity in this rapidly evolving field. INMD is proud to have provided support for this meeting, through a Meetings, Planning, and Dissemination (MPD) Grant.
On a related topic, the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity (III) hosted a workshop in Montreal, Quebec on February 1-2 that focused on transplantation. The primary objectives of the workshop were to: provide an overview of the Canadian transplantation field; identify current challenges and opportunities; identify key research areas that are not being adequately addressed through existing funding programs and mechanisms; improve dialogue, networking, and communication in the transplant community; and identify opportunities to leverage existing programs and resources. III intends to move forward, in collaboration with partners, to develop a strategic research initiative to address some of the challenges identified at the workshop. We are monitoring how the transplantation research agenda develops, because it is relevant to the INMD mandate, including kidney, liver, and small bowel transplants as well as bone marrow and stem cell transplants for auto-immune diseases, including IPEX syndrome. The initiative also links to inflammation research, which is of great interest and relevance to multiple conditions included in the INMD mandate.
Sincerely yours,
Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC
Café Scientifique on Vitamin D in Toronto
From left: Jane Aubin, SD IMHA; Expert Panel members: Glenville Jones, Angela Cheung, Stephanie Atkinson, and, Phil Sherman, SD INMD
February 2, 2011 was a cold and snowy day on the streets of Toronto, but things heated up inside L’Espresso Bar Mercurio during the Café Scientifique, Vitamin D: Hope or Hype? The Café was co-hosted by the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) and Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes (INMD), and was moderated by the Scientific Directors Jane Aubin (IMHA) and Philip Sherman (INMD).
Three researchers shared information about their research and engaged in a dialogue with the public including Drs. Stephanie Atkinson (McMaster University), Angela Cheung (University of Toronto), and Glenville Jones (Queen’s University). Over 70 people participated in the Café, which included presentations on the basics of vitamin D, issues related to vitamin D and bone health, the 2010 Institute of Medicine (IOM) report Dietary Reference Intakes for Calcium and Vitamin D, and vitamin D and its association with non-skeletal health outcomes.
While there is general consensus about the role of vitamin D in bone health, there remains a good deal of controversy about the role of vitamin D in other diseases, such as certain cancers, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, and chronic inflammatory bowel diseases. The speakers discussed new research findings that provide clues suggesting that vitamin D may well play an important role beyond bone health. This new research was described as intriguing, and so the vitamin D research field was characterized as a “work in progress”.
INMD Priority Announcement Funding
INMD congratulates the 15 applicants who were awarded funding in our three Bridge Funding Opportunities; INMD Start Up Funds ; Mandate Bridge Funding; Obesity – Interventions to Prevent or Treat; and one applicant who was funded under our Priority Announcement on Sodium and Health. We acknowledge the hard work and dedication to health research excellence of the many applicants whose applications were highly rated, but did not receive funding.
The Canadian Obesity Network Weight Bias and Discrimination Summit
The Canadian Obesity Network Weight Bias and Discrimination Summit
The Canadian Obesity Network-Réseau canadien en obésité (CON-RCO), together with multiple partners, held a Weight Bias and Discrimination Summit in Toronto on January 17th 2011. Prominent researchers and thought leaders in the field presented findings on how weight discrimination prevents people from seeking medical treatment and how society reinforces this bias. To address this challenge, CON recruited a panel of 12 prominent Canadians to come up with recommendations to address weight bias and discrimination in health care settings, education, and policy. INMD helped to plan this event, and will continue to work with CON-RCO to ensure funded research addresses weight bias, and that this knowledge is translated into improved health care services for those Canadians suffering from morbid obesity.
INMD Mandate
The Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes supports research to enhance health in relation to diet, digestion, excretion, and metabolism; and to address causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range of conditions and problems associated with hormone, digestive system, kidney, and liver function.