35th Advisory Board Meeting – Institute of Infection and Immunity

January 31-February 1, 2012
Hotel Le Germain
Calgary, AB

Summary

Present: P. Allibert, J. Angel, E. Brown, R. Duncan, P. Ernst, A. Fernandes, R. Hogg, A. Jevnikar, C. Kaposy, M. Karmali, M. Levings, M. Mulvey,  G. Wu

Staff: J. Bray, D. Christin, S. Desnoyers, A. Devost, D. Hartell, J. Hutchison, P. Kirton, S. Marcantonio, M. Ouellette, M. Perrault, J. Raven

Regrets: B. Ward

Agenda and Minutes

Motion to approve the agenda without changes (E. Brown/C. Kaposy). 

G. Wu proposed shortening the minutes for future meetings, to present primarily the topic discussed, the main issues, and the resolution.  Motion to pass the minutes from the September 2011 meeting (P. Ernst/ J. Angel).

Scientific Directors’ Report

M. Ouellette gave an overview of his III-related activities and key issues from the past four months.  Topics included: increased investments in the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; the reform of the open suite of programs and peer-review system (discussed in detail on Day 2); planning for the 10th Canadian Immunization Conference; the meeting of CIHR and Genome Canada prior to the launch of the Personalized Medicine Signature Initiative; CIHR Awards Night; the participation of III in the Structural Genomics Consortium; the potential renewal of the PHAC-CIHR Influenza Research Network (PCIRN)  through a directed grant; and the management changes at CIHR.

Budget

D. Hartell presented the updated Institute Strategic Initiatives budget, and detailed the projects that will be, or have been recently funded.  Funding for the teams supported through the Canada-UK partnership on Antimicrobial Resistance began, and was announced at a press conference with the Minister of State for Science and Technology.   CIHR is investing $1 million per year for the next four years in this initiative.  The Transplantation Initiative was launched in January 2012; with an LOI deadline of April 16th.  Applications for the Network Development Grant competition were received in October 2011, and 2 grants will be funded at $200,000 each per year for 3 years.  The Collaborative Health Research Program (with NSERC) was launched in March 2011, and 1 grant will be funded shortly, at $150,000 per year for 3 years.  III is also a partner in several Roadmap Signature Initiatives (RSIs).  The Personalized Medicine Initiative was officially launched in January 2012, and III has committed to investing $2.5million over 4 years in this program.  The Evidence-Informed Healthcare Renewal – Policy Analysis RFA is scheduled for launch in spring 2012.  III is investing $300,000 for one year in place of the previously planned investment in KT Supplement Tool, which is not going forward.  III is also investing $200,000 in the Structural Genomics Consortium, as “bridge support” to allow them time to prepare their renewal application.  There is just under $8.5 million over 5 years that has currently been earmarked for an initiative on Emerging Threats.

Current Business

New Investigator Forum

S. Desnoyers gave an overview of the III New Investigator Forum held in October 2011.  There were 77 participants in all; 29 females and 48 males.  Participants represented institutions in all provinces with the exceptions of Saskatchewan and Prince Edward Island.  The majority of investigators were from the biomedical theme, followed by population health, health systems, and clinical research.  The hard work and contributions of G. Wu, J. Stankova, J. Raven, M. Perrault, D. Christin and S. Desnoyers, as well as B. Coombs and the rest of the organizing committee, were acknowledged by the IAB members.  The next event will be held from May 31st-June 2nd, 2012 at the same venue (Manoir du Lac Delage). 

HIV/AIDS Research Initiative

P. Kirton and D. Hartell gave an update of the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative.  Several funding opportunities were/ will be launched in early 2012, but they are primarily smaller programs as there were no large, strategic launches planned.  The Community-Based Research (CBR) Catalyst Grant and Master’s Awards were launched in January, Planning and Dissemination Grants and Fellowship Awards will launched in February, and Operating Grants will be launched in March.  In December 2011, the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) announced the funding of 5 successful applicants for the Large Team Grants in Vaccine Discovery and Social Research FO.  The results can be viewed online.  On December 1, 2011, it was announced that the Alliance Coordinating Office would be housed at the International Centre for Infectious Disease (ICID) in Winnipeg.  This will be led by Dr. Greg Hammond, with the goal of identifying gaps in the HIV vaccine field, while simultaneously facilitating the development of innovative projects. 

CIHR-III received a letter from a group of HIV researchers, front line healthcare workers and provincial minister representatives, regarding the state of the HIV epidemic in that province.  They requested that CIHR launch a Saskatchewan-specific funding opportunity for HIV/AIDS and provided direction on the key themes and development of such an FO.  CIHR discussed this with the First-Nations and Inuit Health Branch (FNIHB; Health Canada), PHAC and the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative Advisory committee (CHARAC).  Following these discussions, CIHR drafted and sent a response letter to the community, offering to set up an information session to inform the concerned parties of the existing resources that are already available to address many of their concerns.

Funding for the Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN) is coming to an end in the 2012/13 fiscal year.  As a co-investigator, J. Angel recused himself from this session.  Negotiations are currently underway to renew CTN using a directed grant; however this renewal application will not be submitted and reviewed before funding expires.  The investigators have therefore been given a 6-month extension in order to prepare the application. 

Inflammation in Chronic Disease Initiative

S. Desnoyers gave an update on the progress of the development of the Inflammation in Chronic Disease Roadmap Signature Initiative (ICDI).  As a part of the development of the first Request for Applications (RFA), the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (INMHA) conducted an environmental scan of all of the previous and current investments in inflammation research by CIHR.  From 2009-2011, 546 projects were supported, for a total investment of $247 million; mostly in the biomedical theme.  On November 22, 2011, personnel from the CIHR Institutes leading this initiative met with representatives from Rx&D member companies, including Amgen, Bayer, GSK, Hoffman-La Roche, Novartis, and Takeda.  Inflammation is a priority area for many companies, and a partnership with academic could be mutually beneficial.

Personalized Medicine

J. Bray gave an overview of the Personalized Medicine Roadmap Signature Initiative, officially launched January 31, 2012 with a ministerial announcement at the University of Ottawa.  This is a major partnership between CIHR, Genome Canada, and the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC).  There is $67.5 million available over 4 years, and when matching funds from provincial and institutional partners are included, the total could be as high as $135 million.  The goal is to support large, transformative projects.  To ensure that the Infection and Immunity community is aware of this initiative, we will send out a funding announcement using our mailing list, and include it in the next newsletter.  The Letter of Intent (LOI) deadline is April 10th, with the full application due on August 20th.  This is being managed through Genome Canada’s infrastructure, rather than ResearchNet. 

CIHR Program Grant in Transplantation Research

J. Bray gave an overview of the Transplantation Research Program, which was launched on January 20, 2012.  It is based on the Terry Fox New Frontiers Program, which was managed by CIHR.  Multiple applications can be submitted for this program, but ultimately only one national group will be funded.  $10 million in total is available over 5 years.  The CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, and the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes are partners on this initiative, along with the Kidney Foundation of Canada, Cystic Fibrosis Canada, Canadian Blood Services, and Genome BC.  There are various requirements for the successful applicant, which can be found in the funding opportunity.  The deadline for the LOI stage is April 16th, with the full application due October 15th.  Funding is expected to start April 1st, 2012.  The feedback that III has received from the community at this point is that they are excited by the initiative, but are concerned about the number of components that the successful applicant must have in place. 

Level 2 Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance

J. Bray gave in introduction about the CIHR investments and programs to-date that have focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Approximately $17 million is invested in AMR research annually, primarily in biomedical research, and primarily through the open program.  The investments that III has made to-date have also been largely in the biomedical theme, which should be kept in mind when planning a new initiative.  3 members of the IAB gave presentations outlining what they viewed as the most important challenges in the area of AMR. 

• P. Allibert recommended focusing on the challenges posed by gram negative resistant strains, with a sub-focus on carbapenemases.  He advocated putting in place a surveillance structure to map the spread of resistant bacteria in Canada’s largest cities, as well as establishing surveillance programs in hospitals within exposed regions.  The plan would also include economic modeling of the impact of AMR, and the development of guidelines defining what industry should do to evaluate the clinical and financial impact of better diagnostic tests.  He felt that the importance of the animal world and disease reservoirs should not be ignored.
• M. Mulvey stated that the priorities in this field include the development of new drugs, alternative therapies minimizing emergence and transmission, and new emerging infections.  Like Dr. Allibert, he supported a focus on gram negative strains, as well as partnerships with industry, the study of combination therapy, and revisiting research into alternatives to antibiotics. Minimizing emergence and transmission of AMR strains should also be a priority, as should surveillance.  PHAC currently does not research the cost and outcome severity associated with AMR, so this is another potential area of investigation.  Infection control studies should be improved, and not limited to healthcare settings alone.  His biggest concern is carbapenem-resistance in gram negative strains. 
• E. Brown recommended funding opportunities not currently supported (awarded funding) by investigator-initiated panels, such as surveillance, drug discovery, and diagnosis.  He also advocated a focus on teams that span bench to bedside, and integrated knowledge translation activities.  He felt that partnerships should be pursued, but not at the expense of research excellence. 

J. Bray outlined potential partnerships for an initiative on AMR, which would change with the specific focus of the program.  Possibilities include: Agriculture Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Department of Defense (DND), Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC), the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch (Health Canada), industry, and other CIHR institutes (IPPH, IAPH, IHSPR).  There are also initiatives from the European Union (global mapping of AMR, July 2012 FP7 program, and Horizon 2020) that might be useful for the Canadian research community. 

The IAB then engaged in a general discussion around the initiative.  Proper infection control methods can cause a reduction in the rates of AMR, but the smarter use of antibiotics also needs to be advocated.  The Evidence-Informed Healthcare-Renewal Signature Initiative could be used to show that such interventions and approaches work.  Currently there is very little innovative work being done in the field of molecular structures research.  A new initiative that finds the right balance between economics and health research would be advantageous. 

New Business

Open Program Reform

M. Ouellette gave a presentation outlining the forms of the open suite of programs and the peer-review system, the goal being to summarize the current plans for the reform, to seek feedback from the board members, and to provide them with enough information to be able to engage with their own networks and communities when the documents are made public. The reform centres on moving from the current suite of open programs that includes 12 separate funding tools, to a stable open suite that includes project and programmatic research schemes as well as a direct training scheme. CIHR has held consultations with University Delegates, department chairs and scientific officers, IABs, Institutes and various partner organizations.  They will be moving on to the public consultation process in February 2012, and anticipate supporting researchers under a redesigned scheme in 2014-15. 

The IAB members engaged in discussion surrounding many of the topics within the program reforms, including: the necessity of training junior reviewers and ensuring that there is no conflict or bias amongst more experienced reviewers; the increasingly prevalent requirement for researcher and knowledge user collaboration; the different teaching requirements for researchers in the different pillars; the impact of a failed renewal of a program grant on a researcher’s career and activities; the weight that an investigator’s track record should carry in the evaluation of their application for a project grant; the difficulty with the proposed triage system during the LOI phase; and where the current RCT program would fit into the proposed system.  The feedback provided by the IAB members will be conveyed to CIHR corporate offices.

Institute Strategic Plan

S. Desnoyers gave an update on the progress of the 2012-17 Strategic Plan development.  The steering committee consists of A. Jevnikar, R. Hogg, M. Karmali, B. Ward, M. Ouellette, J. Bray, S. Desnoyers, and J. Gunning.  The process is currently designed to include a consultation period from January to May, 2012, and a review of the draft document and feedback received, at the next IAB meeting in Halifax.  The presentation of the final version of the Strategic Plan is tentatively scheduled for the September IAB meeting.  Following that, it will be submitted to Science Council for approval in the fall of 2012.  The extent of the consultation process was discussed, and it was decided that the best course of action was to wait until there is a solid draft of the plan for the community to review.  This document does not need to be extensive, and can be distilled down to include only the points that require feedback.  When designing the draft document, the key things to keep in mind are: the goal of the Institute; the role of the Institute; the best way to break down silos and facilitate interaction between various pillars and disciplines; and the rationale behind the various objectives outlined in the plan.  Ultimately, the Strategic Plan for the coming years should be used to guide the Institute’s decisions about future initiatives, and not the other way around.

Non-human Primate Research

M. Karmali presented an issue that may present a problem for our research community.  Nearly 4000 non-human primates are used for research purposes in Canada each year.  At present, they are transported solely by Air Canada, but they are considering ceasing this practice.  The company has been under pressure from animal rights groups to stop the transport of research animals.  PHAC has sent a letter protesting this decision, to the Canadian Transportation Agency and Air Canada.  This issue was also discussed at the last Science Council, after which Dr. Beaudet wrote a letter to Air Canada on behalf of CIHR.  Queen’s University has also filed a complaint against Air Canada due to the same issue, and a formal hearing process has been started.  Dr. Karmali wanted to ensure that the IAB members were aware of this issue.

Meeting adjourned: 11:45 a.m.