INMD Newsletter - October 2011
Inside this Issue:
- Message from the Scientific Director
- INMD’s 32nd Advisory Board Meeting
- Newsletter Survey — Our Response to Your Feedback
- Researcher Profile: Dr. Nina Jones
- Funding Opportunity Announcement: Evidence on Tap - Expedited Knowledge Synthesis
- Other CIHR News
- Feedback on the INMD Newsletter
[ PDF (647 KB) ]
Message from Phil Sherman, INMD Scientific Director
On September 12-14, 2011 the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes (INMD) was pleased to co-host the Canada-China Joint Health Research Initiative Scientific Workshop on Diabetes with the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). This Workshop and the accompanying events in Shanghai were convened in support of a five-year agreement signed between CIHR and the NSFC to support a joint health research program. The partnership promotes scientific cooperation between universities, hospitals, research institutes in Canada and the People’s Republic of China. Launched on an annual basis, the joint program supports collaborative research grants in ten areas of research. For more information on this Initiative, please review the funding opportunity that will be posted in December on CIHR’s Funding Opportunity Database.
We were honoured to have Dr. Bruce Verchere, Head of the Diabetes Research Program at the University of British Columbia, as the Canadian Scientific Co-Chair of the Workshop. INMD was also proud to showcase five outstanding CIHR-funded Canadian diabetes researchers who presented their research:
- Gillian Booth, University of Toronto - The weight of place: The role of social and environmental factors in the diabetes epidemic
- Timothy Kieffer, University of British Columbia - Gene and cell therapy for diabetes
- Tony K.T. Lam, University of Toronto - Nutrient sensing in the gut and glucose regulation
- Guang Sun, Memorial University - Understanding the etiology of diabetes: A multi- faceted approach
- Bruce Verchere, University of British Columbia - Stemming the tide: slowing beta cell loss in type 2 diabetes and islet transplants
The events also included meetings with investigators at the Institute of Nutrition, Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences; and the Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University.
INMD is grateful to our hosts at the NSFC for the warm welcome provided to Canadian researchers. We look forward to future interactions and the dynamic research collaborations that evolve in support of diabetes research.
All the best for the fall,
Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC
INMD’s 32nd Advisory Board Meeting, University of Guelph
Dr. Sherman with Drs. Joseph Lam (University Delegate), Michael Emes (Dean, College of Biological Science), and Rickey Yada (IAB member)The INMD Institute Advisory Board (IAB) received a warm welcome at the University of Guelph when we met on September 26-28, 2011. The University of Guelph is notable because it receives the largest amount of CIHR funding of any Canadian university without a medical school.
Dr. Joseph Lam, the CIHR University Delegate and a distinguished senior researcher at the University of Guelph, played a key role in ensuring the success of this IAB meeting, and we wish to thank Joe for his generous hospitality.
The opening Meet and Greet event included a poster session, with students from both the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo showcasing their research. IAB members were impressed by the calibre of the poster presentations, and felt that the students did an exceptional job presenting their posters. The poster session was also an opportunity for the INMD IAB members to engage with the students, explain CIHR and INMD, and encourage trainees to pursue their research training. It was a pleasure interacting with the University of Guelph research community and representatives from the University of Waterloo at this event.
IAB members had the honour of hearing a lectureship presented by Dr. Nina Jones, an Associate Professor in the University of Guelph Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology. Dr. Jones completed the Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training (KRESCENT) Program, a funding and mentoring program for doctoral students, postdoctoral fellows, and new investigators interested in research activities related to kidney health and disease. Dr. Jones is a highly successful graduate of the program, and now holds a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair.
The IAB also had the pleasure of interacting with Dr. Kevin Hall, University of Guelph’s Vice-President of Research, who spoke with us about Food and Health research activities in Canada. INMD wishes to thank Dr. Hall for his stimulating presentation and the warm welcome he provided us to the University of Guelph.
Newsletter Survey — Our Response to Your Feedback
INMD wishes to thank all the respondents who participated in the Newsletter survey held earlier this year. The feedback provided was very thoughtful and extremely helpful. We sincerely appreciate the time taken to share your thoughts.
Over the next few months, we will be implementing a series of changes to the Newsletter to reflect what we heard. It was decided that we will report back on all the funding that INMD has provided in support of the various institute mandate areas on a yearly basis. We will also emphasize new funding opportunities that could be of interest to researchers in our mandate areas in each of the four pillars/themes of CIHR. We also plan to review the Newsletter on a yearly basis, because we recognize the importance of being responsive to your needs and interests. One notable suggestion was that we highlight young and upcoming researchers in more detail. For that reason, this month we are providing a more in-depth highlight of the research undertaken by Dr. Nina Jones.
Researcher Profile: Dr. Nina Jones
Associate Professor and Tier 2 CRC
University of Guelph
Dr. Jones joined the University of Guelph’s Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology in 2006. Nina earned her Ph.D. in Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto and completed postdoctoral research at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute in Toronto. Her research focuses on defining eukaryotic signal transduction pathways, and investigating how mutations in components of these pathways contribute to human disease.
Dr. Jones was a New Investigator (grant awarded in 2008) in The Kidney Research Scientist Core Education National Training (KRESCENT) Program. The KRESCENT Program was created in 2005 through a special contribution of The Kidney Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Society of Nephrology, and INMD. The program focuses on training world class scientists and supports researchers, like Dr. Jones, so they can dedicate more time to studying in their area of research focus.
In 2011, Dr. Jones was awarded a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Eukaryotic Cellular Signalling. This important research will improve understanding of cellular communication pathways and should contribute to new therapies for cancer and other human diseases, including kidney disorders.
INMD is proud to have supported Dr. Jones through the KRESCENT program, and we are looking forward to following her career as it unfolds in the future.
Funding Opportunity Announcement: Evidence on Tap
Expedited Knowledge Synthesis – Focused on Healthcare System Financing, Sustainability & Governance
Ministries of Health across Canada have outlined a series of 15 priority synthesis questions related to health care financing and funding which are directly relevant to the INMD mandate and link closely with our Strategic Priorities (e.g. Short Stay Assessment and Treatment STAT, chronic disease management, Patient Reported Outcome Measurements – PROMS, non-appropriate imaging ordering and utilization, physician remuneration, rapid developments in human genetics and related technologies and their impacts).
CIHR, in partnership with the Ministries of Health, is launching a funding opportunity to support teams of researchers to conduct an expedited knowledge synthesis related to these 15 priority areas of Evidence-Informed Healthcare Renewal. This targeted investment will support the use of synthesized evidence in decision-making by ministries of health as well as CIHR's Evidence-Informed Healthcare Renewal Working Group. This program also aims to increase linkages between researchers and knowledge-users.
Please visit our website to find out How to Apply.
For more information, you can contact Jennifer Campbell at 613-941-0805.
Other CIHR News
Insulin at 90: Banting & Best’s Scientific Legacy
CIHR is featuring a special Research Profile this month to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the discovery of insulin - a miracle to those suffering from diabetes at the time. Take a minute to check out the website and remember this life-saving discovery.
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.