INMD Institute Advisory Board Meeting Highlights - September 2011

32nd Institute Advisory Board Meeting
September 27 - 28, 2011
University of Guelph
Guelph, ON

The Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism, and Diabetes (INMD) held the 32nd Institute Advisory Board (IAB) Meeting on September 27-28, 2011, at the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario. The meeting commenced with a poster session combined with a Meet and Greet session, which was held on campus September 26, 2011. The Poster session provided the IAB members with an opportunity to engage with students and the INMD-relevant research community. Poster session presenters included students from University of Guelph and University of Waterloo.

The IAB meeting observers of the Institute Advisory Board meeting were Deirdre Freiheit, Executive Director of the Health Charities Coalition of Canada and Jovita Sundaramoorthy, Acting Vice President, Research and Professional Education, of the Canadian Diabetes Association. These observers attended the Meet and Greet session and first morning of the IAB meeting.

Two lectureships were provided at the meeting:

• Nina Jones (U. Guelph), presented a compelling lecture, Signalling pathways in kidney podocytes. She highlighted how the Kidney Research Scientist Core Education and National Training Program (KRESCENT), a funding and mentoring program for new investigators, postdoctoral fellows, and doctoral students interested in kidney health and disease, helped support her career development. This program is a joint initiative of INMD and the Kidney Foundation of Canada (KFOC), the Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN), the CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH), and industry.

• IAB member Ricky Yada (U. Guelph), provided a superb lecture, Nanotechnology: How the Science of Small Could Have Large Implications for Your Food.

Review of Agenda / Approval of the 31st IAB Meeting Minutes/Approval of Minute Highlights for Website/Conflict of Interest Declarations
The Board reviewed the meeting agenda, as well as the meeting minutes and highlights from the 31st IAB Meeting held in Vancouver, B.C.
The motion to accept the minutes and highlights of the February 2011 IAB meeting was carried.

P. Sherman shared the new, draft CIHR Conflict of Interest (COI) guidelines, and then led a discussion with the IAB on proposed changes. He asked IAB members to read the proposed draft COI form and provide comments.

International Review Update
P. Sherman reported on the International Review process. The International Review Report was sent to CIHR Governing Council (GC), and GC will release a response. Issues to be addressed by GC include: 1) the organization and coordination of Canadian health research funding, 2) chronic underfunding of health research in Canada, and 3) lack of support for commercialization of health research discoveries. There are also concerns about training the next generation of researchers, insufficient evaluation of the outcomes of research funding, and insufficient support for clinician scientists.

Performance evaluation
P. Sherman discussed the need for improved data and evaluation processes at CIHR, as identified in the 2011 International Review. David Peckham, Manager of CIHR's Evaluation Unit, Internal Audit & Risk Management, joined the meeting by video conference. D. Peckham reviewed a draft INMD Program Logic Model (PLM) and explained the role of a PLM in for the institutes. David left the IAB with questions to consider, including: 1) Does the PLM appropriately reflect understanding of what INMD does? 2) What outcomes are INMD responsible for evaluating? 3) What does INMD directly control and what does it enable?

CIHR is currently identifying a series of performance metrics for common use by institutes and initiatives. INMD will map these metrics onto the PLM. The mandate of CIHR is to be "transformative" so it is important to define how to measure this outcome, in both quantitative and qualitative terms.

INMD Strategic Initiatives

• Food and Health - M.J. Makarchuk presented an update on the Food & Health research initiative, including potential partners.

• Environments, Genes and Chronic Disease (EGCD) - K. Rose presented a draft Workshop agenda for the Environments, Genes and Chronic Disease Workshop planned for February 2012. IAB members provided suggestions to revise the agenda and continue Workshop planning.

• Bariatric care - P. Belanger presented on the INMD Bariatric Care research initiative. The research community may look at this funding opportunity and consider it surgery-focused; whereas, the definition of bariatric care is broader than surgery and includes primary health care. There was a question about whether basic science support should be included in this initiative. P. Sherman said it would not be relevant, because there is to be an emphasis on treatment interventions in this initiative. The IAB strongly encouraged the involvement of decision-makers in this research initiative. INMD will work with the Canadian Obesity Network (CON) to recruit potential partners.

Retreat of Science Council
P. Sherman reported on proposed reforms to Open Operating Grants Program and the response to the International Review.
IAB members recommended that CIHR use IABs to convey messages to stakeholders and that IABs could be better engaged.

Grants and awards budget update
The IAB discussed the balance between INMD contributions to CIHR's Signature Initiatives and INMD's Strategic Priorities.

CIHR Reforms to Open Operating Grants Program
P. Sherman presented information in camera.

Peer Review Enhancements
P. Sherman summarized key features of proposed changes related to the proposed College of Reviewers (CoR).

IAB Matters

• IAB Ethics Designate - Amit Garg kindly agreed to take on the Ethics Designate role, for a period of 1 year.
• IAB Voluntary Health Organization (VHO) Representative - Donna Lillie reported on the role of lay representatives and VHO's which has evolved over time to a more formalized role with Partnerships and Citizen Engagement (PCE) Branch of CIHR. In 2010, SC discussed how this approach is working, and there are a number of relevant recommendations in the International Review.

Next Meeting

• The next IAB meeting will be held at the University of Calgary May 14-16, 2012, beginning in the late afternoon of May 14 with a Meet & Greet Poster Session.