INMD Newsletter - September 2011

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Message from Phil Sherman, INMD Scientific Director

Phil Sherman

Newsletter Survey:

INMD Update, INMD's monthly newsletter, aims to provide timely information on events and funding opportunities supported by INMD. The Newsletter is distributed to the INMD community and includes everyone with an interest in the INMD mandate area, including: students, researchers, representatives from non-governmental funding agencies, health authorities and government. We hope that you find the articles in the Newsletter interesting and informative, but now we would like to hear from you!

Please take a few moments to answer a brief survey. Your answers will help us to revise and improve the Newsletter in order to better serve you. The survey will remain open until September 30th. Thank you, in advance, for sharing your opinions.

Welcome to New Institute Advisory Board Member:

Amit Garg

New to the INMD Institute Advisory Board (IAB) on September 1, 2011 for a 3‑year term is Amit Garg, MD, PhD, FRCPC. Dr. Garg is a Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Western Ontario and a Nephrologist at the London Health Sciences Centre where he is Director of the Kidney Clinical Research Unit. Amit is well-funded by the CIHR, has published extensively and is recognized as a leading physician-scientist in the kidney community. He has also kindly agreed to take on the role of Ethics Designate for INMD. Welcome Amit!

Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC
INMD Scientific Director

Health Research Roadmap: Signature Initiatives

Strategic investment planning aims to ensure that Canadians get the most benefit from investments in health research by capitalizing on areas of strength and excellence, energizing priority areas, and building research capacity in new fields of health research. CIHR has launched a process to attain greater focus and impact from strategic investments, as envisioned in the Health Research Roadmap: Creating innovative research for better health and health care.

This process involved environmental scanning and a critical evaluation to identify needs and opportunities where additional research could make a difference and produce measurable results. The CIHR Signature Initiatives will help CIHR allocate its resources to make the strongest possible impact on the health of Canadians and the Canadian health care system - today, tomorrow and well into the future.

In keeping with strategic research priorities, INMD is currently contributing to the following Signature Initiatives: Community-Based Primary Health Care, Inflammation in Chronic Disease, the Canadian Epigenetics, Environment and Health Research Consortium and the Personalized Medicine Initiative (through contributions to the Rare Diseases Initiative). INMD is also aligning efforts with partners to support the Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research.

Consultation on the draft Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research

CIHR, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (the Agencies) continue to update and strengthen their existing policy framework for research and scholarly integrity. On August 15th, the Agencies launched a consultation on the draft Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research. Whereas previous Tri-Agency documents were limited to research integrity, this draft Framework takes a broader approach on the responsible conduct of research. It sets out the responsibilities and corresponding policies for researchers, institutions, and the Agencies, that together help support and promote a positive research environment. The draft Framework also sets out the process to be followed by the Agencies when addressing allegations of breaches of Agency policies; for example: misuse of funds, unethical conduct of research involving human participants, or plagiarism.

The Agencies invite institutions, associations, organizations, and individuals to provide input on the draft Tri-Agency Framework: Responsible Conduct of Research by September 30, 2011. Comments on the draft consultation document should be sent electronically to consultation@nserc-crsng.gc.ca. The feedback gathered will be considered when finalizing the Framework, which is expected for December 2011.

 

A note to CIHR-funded researchers from CIHR's Communications & Public Outreach Branch

CIHR's Communications and Public Outreach Branch has developed a variety of ways to draw attention to health research in Canada:

  1. Researcher profiles: highlight researchers' successes and their impact on health and healthcare in Canada
  2. Expert alerts: identify experts who can discuss specific issues with the media
  3. Social media: update the public, via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr, and our blog, "Science on Tap"
  4. Café Scientifiques: Canadians from coast to coast can take part in these informal discussions in cafes, bars and restaurants
  5. Synapse: award-winning youth-engagement program that awakens high-school students to the fascinating world of health research and the researchers who populate it.
  6. Journalist Workshops: allow health and science reporters to meet with some of Canada's most renowned researchers.

But we can't do it without you. We need to know about your research so that we can feature it in our stories, on our social media sites and in our Café Scientifiques. Let us know when you hit a milestone in your research – we're always interested in big news. As well, when you're talking about your research, please let your audience know that you're funded by CIHR.

There's also something in it for you. First, through media stories, potential collaborators get to know about you. Second, public attention translates into greater reach for your research. More people hear about it, more people may put the findings into practice. And finally, public awareness of Canadian research can translate into greater public support for increased research funding for you and your colleagues. For more information, please consult: A Guide to Public Communications for CIHR-funded Researchers.

Other CIHR News

Researcher News

Institute Community Support: Community Outreach Program for Non-Governmental Organizations

Calling all non-governmental organizations. We can help support partnerships, innovative communication tools and knowledge translation.

Canadian Epigenetics, Environment and Health Research Consortium (CEEHRC)
New funding opportunities available!

Feedback on the INMD Newsletter

INMD welcomes researchers, partners and other stakeholders to share news stories that relate to areas of our mandate. If you have interesting research results or developments, are organizing a conference or workshop, or wish to report on a past event, we would like to feature them in our newsletter or other communication materials.

Have a comment? Please share it with us! You can also write to subscribe or unsubscribe to our Newsletter. Simply send us an e-mail at: INMDComms@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.