IMHA On The Move - January 2012

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Table of Contents

A Message from the Interim Scientific Director

Phillip Gardiner

Welcome to the January edition of IMHA – On the move! I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season.With the start of this new year, I would like to update the community on some of the activities coming down the pipeline in 2012.

Firstly, we will soon begin working on our next strategic plan for 2013-2018. Our overall objective will be to determine the best ways to maximize the impact of IMHA's strategic research dollars. Planning will take place in consultation with our research community, stakeholders, and consumers.

As an institute, IMHA places importance on supporting and nurturing the next generation of researchers. As such, we will be holding a Young Investigators (YI) meeting June 10-12, 2012. This meeting will bring together YIs from across the country to attend learning sessions and network with fellow YIs and mentors.

A lot of recent work has gone into further developing the Inflammation in Chronic Disease Signature Initiative; this includes funding opportunities which will be launched over the course of the year.

In response to the International Review that was conducted in 2011, CIHR has prepared a Response and Action Plan which has recently been posted online. Overall, there was agreement with the spirit and direction of the 16 specific recommendations made by the International Review Panel. In this report, each of the 16 recommendations is followed by a summary of the CIHR response. In addition, the response announces a review of the role of institutes, their mandate and a review of the current slate of CIHR institutes.

I encourage you to nominate your colleagues for the newly established IMHA KT Prize which has a deadline of February, 2012. Nominated individuals, teams or organizations will be assessed on significant achievements in knowledge translation activities relevant to IMHA research areas including: Physical Activity, Mobility and Health; Tissue Injury, Repair and Replacement; and Pain, Disability and Chronic Disease. As always, IMHA welcomes your comments and questions. Please feel free to contact us at imha.iala.cihr.irsc@utoronto.ca.

Phillip Gardiner PhD, Interim Scientific Director
Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis

Did You Know?

A recent in-house environmental scan of inflammation-related funded research projects revealed that this is an area relevant to all of CIHR's 13 institutes. While the majority of research is focused on a single disease area, a number of projects entailed collaborations across different disease areas, highlighting the multidisciplinary and cross-area possibilities of inflammation research. From heart disease to MSK disease, inflammation is highly pertinent!

Good News Story

KT at IMHA: Meet Natalia da Costa

Natalia da Costa

My name is Natalia da Costa, a Research Ambassador (RA) for IMHA. A month after my high school graduation I was a passenger in a near fatal car accident in ShawniganLake, twenty minutes away from my hometown of Victoria. As a result, I sustained a T4 spinal cord injury, amongst over two dozen other injuries, leaving me paralyzed from the chest down. The doctors gave me a prognosis of paralysis for life, and further advised my family to renovate my childhood home. This prognosis discouraged my plans to teach English as a second language overseas, putting my life on hold. I spent three months in VancouverGeneralHospital in efforts of stabilizing my health, and a further three months at GF Strong Rehabilitation Centre. During my stay at GF Strong, I was able to conquer the odds of my prognosis, and regained movement in my legs, walking out of that very centre! Although I appear to be relatively "normal" I still suffer the consequences of a spinal cord injury, and have developed a newfound respect and interest in health care. In light of this accident and my injury, I've decided to take a new vocational direction, hoping to work in rehab as an Occupational Therapist.

I was led to CIHR by my physiatrist, and am honoured and excited to take a Research Ambassador position. In October of 2011, we met in Vancouver to review research abstracts, and award the IMHA Research Ambassador KT Award. As a consumer and an RA, it was an eye-opening experience. It made me realise that I myself needed to be more mindful about relaying lay language to my family members and loved ones about my own injuries. The importance of proper knowledge translation can't be argued. It is important for me and my peers with similar ailments to be able to understand the work being done in order to be able to learn and benefit from it.

I'm excited to be part of the CIHR as an RA. Already my experience has been rewarding and beneficial. The future of health research is inspiring.

Upcoming Events

YI Meeting

IMHA will host a Young Investigators (YI) meeting June 10-12, 2012 at the Kingbridge Conference Centre located just outside of Toronto. IMHA recognizes the value of bringing YIs together to network with one another and to take part in learning sessions. Several other Institutes hold regular YI meetings and have received positive feedback from their research communities. Our learning sessions will cover various topics including grant writing, giving effective presentations, and understanding the CIHR peer review process. Participation in this meeting will be by-invitation-only; however, if you know an outstanding YI we would be happy to receive nominations which can be sent to Tanya Gallant at IMHA@cihr-irsc.ca.

Ask the Scientific Director

We invite you to send questions that you have about IMHA to imha.iala.cihr.irsc@utoronto.ca. Each month, this section of the newsletter will feature the answer to one of these questions. This month, we answer the following question: Why will there be a review of CIHR institutes?

The CIHR Act does not specify how many institutes CIHR should have nor what they should be. As science and health care delivery change, it is anticipated that the slate of the institutes may also need to change. The Governing Council Executive Committee will review the institutes and plan to report to the Governing Council by August 2012. The Terms of Reference are under consideration. As IMHA learns more about the process, we will share this information with our community.

Other News

IMHA Outcome Reports - Skin Disease and Conditions

IMHA has long been collecting data on funding trends, as well as surveying researchers within our mandated research areas. Recognizing the potential value of such data to others, IMHA initiated a more comprehensive approach to its data collection, analyses and evaluation activities. This led, amongst other things, to the creation of the IMHA Outcome Reports series. IMHA reports are posted online and are disseminated to IMHA's IAB as well as to a variety of interested stakeholders including senior management and staff at IMHA and CIHR, researchers, organizations, policy makers and others interested in knowledge translation and/or outcomes of projects funded in relevant health research areas.

This report describes the outcomes of research projects supported by the program Catalyst Grant: Skin Diseases and Conditions (SDC) launched in July 2007 and funded by the institute's Strategic Initiatives (SI) budget in 2008. From the 17 applications to the SDC program, 6 excellent and highly rated biomedical research projects were funded for a period of one year. Together, the six funded research projects aimed to better understand, develop treatment for, and/or prevent a wide range of skin conditions ranging from skin cancer, skin diseases involving inflammation and viral infection, wound healing, and skin aging and hair loss. Overall, the number of outcomes associated with knowledge creation, training, networking/collaboration, and commercialization are substantial, particularly given the relatively small amounts and short duration of funding. Check out the full report online to learn more about the noteworthy outcomes of this Catalyst Grant.

Partner Corner

The Arthritis Society

The Arthritis Society is pleased to announce the following open Requests for Applications:

Strategic Operating Grants
Deadline to apply: March 9th, 2012
Learn more or apply.

Consumer Activity Grants
Submission deadlines:
February 30, 2012; April 30, 2012;
July 30, 2012 October 30, 2012.
Learn more or apply.

Upcoming Deadlines:
GSK-CaNIOS-CRA-TAS Lupus Fellowship Application Deadline: Jan. 27th, 2012
Young Investigator Operating Grants LOI Application Deadline: Feb.1st , 2012
Investigator Awards Application Deadline: Feb.15th, 2012

Funding Opportunities

For information on current funding opportunities, please visit IMHA's Funding Opportunities.

Master's Award - Winter 2012 Priority Announcement (Dental Hygiene)
Priority Announcements on Canada Graduate Scholarships Master's Awards competitions offer additional sources of funding for highly rated applications that are relevant to specific CIHR research priority areas or mandates. The application deadline is February 2, 2012, with funding to begin September 1, 2012.

Knowledge Translation Prize
The CIHR Knowledge Translation Prize honours and supports the exemplary knowledge translation efforts and activities of an exceptional individual, team, or organization that has made an outstanding contribution to increasing the application of research findings, improving the health of individuals, improving health services and products, or strengthening the health-care system. The application deadline is February 15, 2012 with funding to begin November 1, 2012.

Dissemination Event
The specific objective of this funding opportunity is to support events/activities that contribute to the dissemination, exchange and uptake of research evidence. The application deadline is February 15, 2012, with funding to begin June 1, 2012.

Operating Grant Priority Announcement - Musculoskeletal Health, Arthritis, Skin and Oral Health
Operating Grants provide operating funds to support research proposals in all areas of health research including randomized controlled trials. The application deadline is March 1, 2012, with funding to begin October 1, 2012.

Travel Awards
Through the Institute Community Support (ICS) Program, the CIHR Institutes are launching the ICS Travel Awards competition for students, postdoctoral fellows, new investigators and knowledge users to present their own research at national and international meetings and/or conferences. The application deadline is January 30, 2012.

Meetings of Interest

Advances in Skeletal Muscle Biology in Health & Disease Conference
(February 22-24, 2012) Gainesville, FL.

GTA Rehab Network's annual Best Practices Day
(February 27, 2012) Toronto, ON.

Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for Dental Research
(March, 21-24, 2012) Tampa Bay, FL.

Canadian Rheumatology Association Conference
(March 28-31, 2012) Victoria, BC.

Contact Us

CIHR - Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
Department of Molecular Genetics
Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
The Banting Institute
100 College St., Room 207B
Toronto, ON, M5G 1L5
Tel: 416-946-7243
Email: imha.iala.cihr.irsc@utoronto.ca

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