INMD Newsletter - November 2011

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Message from Phil Sherman, INMD Scientific Director

Dr. John Dirks, President, Gairdner Foundation with Dr. ShermanDr. John Dirks, President, Gairdner Foundation with Dr. Sherman

The end of October was marked in Toronto by celebrations to commemorate the 90th anniversary of the discovery of insulin. It was a privilege for me to participate in a day-long symposium to mark this occasion Diabetes: 90 years after the discovery of insulin, which was organized by Dr. John Dirks and the Gairdner Foundation. The national and international presentations on advances in diabetes research were truly outstanding. One of the speakers, Dr. Joseph Goldstein who was awarded the 1985 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, described the discovery of insulin as one of the most significant scientific discoveries in the history of medicine.

At the end of the symposium, I was also delighted to attend the opening of a new exhibit showcasing the artefacts from the discovery of insulin, INSULIN: Toronto’s Gift to the World, which is sponsored by the University of Toronto. The exhibit tells the story of how Frederick Banting, Charles Best, John Macleod, and Bertram Collip discovered the role of insulin in the treatment of diabetes and honours the continuing legacy of their work in Canada and around the world.

INMD also marked this important anniversary by hosting a Café Scientifique in collaboration with the Canadian Diabetes Association, “Closer to a Cure: 90 years after the discovery of insulin”. We were delighted to have three outstanding diabetes researchers share their insights at this Café: Drs. Gary Lewis (Univ. Toronto and current Director of the Banting and Best Diabetes Centre), Lorraine Lipscombe (Women’s College Hospital, Univ. Toronto), and Jeff Johnson (Univ. Alberta, Canada Research Chair in Diabetes Health Outcomes). It was also exciting to have Bob MacDonald, the host of CBC radio’s national science show Quirks and Quarks, moderate this Café Scientifique. CIHR is proud to host Café Scientifiques, which are one way in which we communicate science to the public – many thanks to all who participated!

Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC

Nobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine given to Drs. F. Banting and J. Macleod at the INSULIN: Toronto's Gift to the World exhibit, MARS Centre, Toronto
Cafe Scientifique SpeakersParticipants in a Café Scientifique (from left): Gary Lewis (Univ. Toronto/BBDC), Michael Cloutier (President & CEO, Canadian Diabetes Association), Jeffrey Johnson (Univ. Alberta), Lorraine Lipscombe (Women's College Hospital, Univ. Toronto), Bob MacDonald (moderator, CBC Radio Quirks & Quarks), and Phil Sherman

10th Annual New Principal Investigator Meeting

This year, INMD co-sponsored the annual Institute of Genetics young investigator workshop, which was held November 3-5 in Mont Gabriel, Quebec. The purpose of the meeting was to share science, foster future collaborations, and participate in a mock grant review to increase the success of young investigators’ grant applications. The meeting brought together senior faculty with new principal investigators from coast-to-coast. Outstanding researchers from the INMD mandate area - Drs. Rob Hegele (Univ. Western Ontario), Hope Weiler (McGill Univ.), and Tim Kieffer, (Univ. British Columbia) - shared their insights on building a successful independent research program. It was most impressive to meet the vibrant young faculty participants. Their active participation to the numerous networking opportunities lead to several new collaborations that will foster the development of their research program and strengthen the Canadian research community. Among the participants, there were six whose grants were ranked first by each of their respective grant review panels this year in the Open Operating Grants competitions. This impressive achievement highlights excellence in post-doctoral research training, as well as their hard work and persistence in grant submissions. Such talented young faculty also bodes well for the future of Canadian health research.

New Researcher Profile: Marie-France Hivert, MD

Dr. Marie-France Hivert

Assistant Professor of Medicine,
University of Sherbrooke

Dr. Hivert joined the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke in July 2009. She received her medical degree at the same university, and completed postdoctoral research training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. Her research program focuses on evaluating the contributions of both heritable and environmental factors on adipokine and glycemic regulation during pregnancy and fetal development. She is studying insulin resistance pathways and mechanisms linking impaired glucose regulation during pregnancy with the future risk of developing type 2 diabetes in offspring. Marie-France is also involved in international efforts to understand the pathophysiology of glycemic dysregulation by using genetic epidemiology approaches.

Dr. Hivert received a Scholar Salary Award from the Fonds de recherche de santé du Quebec and a Clinician Scientist Award from the Canadian Diabetes Association. Most recently, Dr. Hivert received the 2011 Maud Menten New Principal Investigator Prize (Clinical Theme) from CIHR’s Institute of Genetics (IG). This prize recognizes and supports the research excellence of Canadian New Investigators working in the mandate of IG by awarding $30,000 to the highest ranked application from the combined results of the September and March CIHR Open Operating Grant competition.

Prior to having received this impressive award, Dr. Hivert had submitted her operating grant twice to CIHR. On her first application, like many researchers, Marie-France was unsuccessful. On her second application, she received Priority Announcement funding from INMD in the New Investigator category. And then, as recognized at the CIHR IG/INMD Young Investigator Meeting held in Mont Gabriel, Quebec earlier this month, her grant submission was ranked #1 in the grants review panel! INMD is very pleased to have supported Marie-France’s research program, and we look forward to following her career path in the future.

Funding Results: CIHR Café Scientifique Program

This past summer, INMD partnered with CIHR’s Communications & Public Outreach Branch to fund the Café Scientifique Program. The following nine projects relevant to INMD were funded:

  1. ANDERSEN, Ross (McGill University) - Is it possible to manage your weight over the holiday season?
  2. BEILHARTZ, Melissa (London Health Sciences Centre) - You Are What You Eat: Eating to Prevent or Cure Disease
  3. CARPENTIER, André (Université de Sherbrooke) - Les liens entre l'obésité et le diabète de type 2
  4. CATTINI, Peter (University of Manitoba) - Demystifying Health Research at the University of Manitoba
  5. FERRARO, Zach (Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario) - Obesity: Disease or product of our modern environment?
  6. MARIGOLD, Daniel (Simon Fraser University) - Science in the Community
  7. NICHOLSON, Janice (Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children) - SickKids Cafe Scientifique Programs 2011
  8. VATANPARAST, Hassanali (University of Saskatchewan) - Our responsibility: healthy welcoming community for newcomer children
  9. WHELAN, Meaghan (Memorial University) – (1) Childhood obesity: causes, prevention and treatment; and (2) They are what you eat: the relationship between maternal diet and offspring health

More details can be found on CIHR’s funding decisions database.

Other News

IAB Minute Highlights

Highlights from the 31st meeting of the Institute Advisory Board in Vancouver (Feb 2011) are now available on our website.

Workshop Report now available on our website!

The Report from the National Consultative Workshop on Canadian Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is now available on our website. Look for a funding opportunity to be launched soon resulting from this consultation.

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