INMD Newsletter - April 2011

Inside this issue:

• Message from Phil Sherman, INMD Scientific Director
• Ethics at CIHR: Upcoming Consultations & New Research Funding Opportunity
• CIHR Initiative in Community-Based Primary Healthcare
• INMDMandate
• Contact INMD

Back to Newsletter Main page
Back to INMD Main page

---

Message from Phil Sherman, INMD Scientific Director

Investing in world-class research excellence is identified as one of the strategic directions in the CIHR Health Research Roadmap. Promoting interdisciplinary research and international innovation are recognized as important in achieving this strategic direction.
To this end, Institutes are leading and supporting international collaboration efforts in health research. This includes connecting Canadian scientists with health researchers in the international community, leading the development of international health research consortia, and facilitating health research capacity building in low- and middle-income countries.

In October 2010 the CIHR and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) signed the renewal of a five-year agreement to support joint health research. This partnership promotes the development of scientific cooperation between universities, hospitals, research institutes, and affiliated research organizations in Canada and China through the support of collaborative research grants.

The Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes (INMD) is pleased to be participating in this collaboration with the NSFC. In September 2011 a group of CIHR funded Canadian diabetes researchers will meet with diabetes researchers from the People's Republic of China to discuss opportunities for the development of new research collaborations to advance knowledge in the area of diabetes. We are honoured to have Dr. Bruce Verchere, Head of the Diabetes Research Program at the Child and Family Health Research Institute at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, as the Canadian Co-Chair of this important meeting.
Canada has a rich legacy in diabetes research. One of Canada's most recognized scientists, Dr. Fredrick Banting, along with Dr. John Macleod, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1923 for the discovery of insulin and its use in the treatment of type 1 diabetes. Today, many Canadian diabetes investigators are internationally recognized for their research accomplishments. INMD is pleased to showcase some of these outstanding Canadian diabetes researchers at this joint international meeting in Shanghai.

Sincerely yours,
Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC

---

Ethics at CIHR: Upcoming Consultations & New Research Funding Opportunity

The CIHR-Ethics Office and CIHR Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health, together with Health Canada, the Maternal Infant Child and Youth Research Network and the McGill Centre for Genomics and Policy announce consultations on the 2^nd draft of the Best Practices for Health Research Involving Children and Adolescents. This document analyzes national and international norms, and extends the guidance available in TCPS 2^nd edition, with a view to helping establish a common vision for reviewing paediatric research protocols. Specific issues in longitudinal research, genomic research, palliative care research and novel therapies are also explored. A list of consultation dates and the draft document will be available in April on the CIHR Ethics Website or at PediaGen. Investigators, health practitioners involved in research, research administrators, research coordinators, REB members, parent and patient representatives are all invited to attend a live consultation session or submit comments in writing to Best Practices-Children.

The CIHR Ethics Office is committed to building capacity for research in health ethics and in fostering better integration of health ethics knowledge into policy. In addition to ethics-focused salary awards and recurring operating and catalyst grant opportunities, a new Meetings, Planning and Dissemination Grant: Planning Grant- Priority Announcement in Ethics will be offered with a June 2011 Competition deadline. The Ethics Office funds systematic analyses of ethics issues and related activities associated with health (health research, health promotion and maintenance, clinical care, population and public health, including health systems and services, policy and governance.

---

CIHR Initiative in Community-Based Primary Healthcare

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (CIHR-IHSPR) and its partners are launching a major ten-year initiative to fund research that supports the delivery of high-quality community-based primary healthcare (CBPHC) across Canada.

INMD is highlighting this initiative because it links to our Strategic Plan, particularly the strategic priorities of Continuum of Care and Obesity and Healthy Body Weight: Seeking Solutions.

In order to foster the development of prospective teams, CBPHC Planning Grants will be launched in April 2011. Twenty four Planning Grants of up to $25,000 will support researchers to come together to build active and meaningful collaborations and to understand the existing CBPHC research landscape, including needs and priorities, before embarking on a full CBPHC Team Grant application. (Note: Teams who plan to apply for a CBPHC Team Grant are not required to apply for a CBPHC Planning Grant). For more information about the CIHR Roadmap Signature Initiative in CBPHC please register for a Webinar on May 17 at 1pm EDT.

CBPHC Team Grants will support inter-disciplinary, cross-jurisdictional teams of researchers to conduct excellent research, to provide superior research training and mentorship, and to engage in knowledge translation activities. The first launch of CBPHC Team Grants will take place in Fall 2011. Successful Teams will receive funding to address the following research priority areas:

• Better Systems: Chronic Disease Prevention and Management in Community-Based Primary Healthcare
• Access to Appropriate Community-Based Primary Healthcare for Vulnerable Populations

---

CIHR News
Researcher News

Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP)
INMD will fund collaborative research projects submitted to the CHRP program involving any field of the natural sciences or engineering and the health sciences that are determined to be relevant to research on sodium reduction in the food supply - from food safety and preservation, to taste, and texture.

Café Scientifique
Funding Opportunity

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.