INMD Connections - August 2012
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Inside this Issue:
- Message from the Scientific Director
- Team Grant: Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation Initiative
- Ensuring a healthy kidney research environment
- Congratulations to Funding Recipients
- CIHR releases the Analysis of Feedback on the Design Discussion Document
- Call for applications: 2012 CIHR/CMAJ Top Achievements in Health Research Awards
- Feedback on the INMD Newsletter
Message from Philip Sherman, INMD Scientific Director
August is the time of year when we bid a fond farewell to INMD Institute Advisory Board (IAB) members who have completed their terms of service. This year we are very sad to say good-bye to three individuals who have each made unique contributions to the INMD IAB over the past six years. Jeffrey Johnson (U. Alberta), Donna Lillie (former Director of Research of the Canadian Diabetes Association), and Karen Chad (Vice-President of Research, U. Saskatchewan) each provided strength and leadership to INMD. Their contributions will be sincerely missed by the INMD staff and the IAB.
Jeff Johnson provided tremendous leadership to the IAB, particularly in the areas of diabetes, health services and policy research. Jeff also enthusiastically embraced and advocated for the inclusion of physical activity in INMD IAB agendas, whether it was curling, indoor rock climbing, hiking in a national park or bowling.
Donna Lillie represented the voluntary health sector and medical charities and often spoke passionately about the role of Voluntary Health Organizations (VHOs) in funding health research. She was also especially strong in promoting the role of VHOs in supporting researchers in early stages of career development.
Karen Chad provided leadership in the area of obesity research and was able to provide guidance to the IAB about the interactions between CIHR and universities in sustaining the health research enterprise. Karen also has a terrific way of diffusing tension and injecting an element of fun into IAB meetings.
he Roles and Responsibilities of IAB Members and the Role and Responsibilities of the IAB Chair were recently modified and approved by Governing Council at their June 26-27th meeting. The revised Terms of Reference, including the Roles and Responsibilities for both IAB members and the IAB Chair, are posted on the CIHR website.
I trust that you've all had a great summer!
Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC
Team Grant: Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation Initiative
The CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (INMD) is pleased to be a partner on the Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation Initiative. The overall objective of the Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation initiative team grant is to support health research through the discovery and validation of common biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and universal inflammatory mechanisms across chronic diseases, with the ultimate goal to prevent, monitor and /or treat chronic disease by reducing inflammation.
Key aspects of this new funding opportunity include:
- Trans-disciplinary approach
- Dedicated funds to support teams whose primary research focus is investigating health services and population health research into inflammation in chronic disease
- Project must study at least two distinct inflammatory chronic diseases
- Project must include at least two health research themes (biomedical, clinical, population health, and health services)
- Teams must include a new investigator (under 5 years as an independent researcher)
For further details concerning the Team Grant: Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation Initiative please consult the CIHR Website.
Ensuring a healthy kidney research environment
Wim Wolfs, National Director of Research, The Kidney Foundation of Canada
The KRESCENT Program emphasizes multi-disciplinary research approaches, team-based collaboration, and knowledge translation as well as offering a core curriculum and mentorship support. This year, INMD is pleased to be partnering with the CSN, the KFOC, the New Brunswick Health Research Foundation, and the Fond de recherche en santé du Québec to fund two Post- Doctoral Fellowships and three New Investigators. Congratulations to all of the successful applicants. For more information about KRESCENT, see Burns et al., Clin Invest Med. 2010; 33(6): E1-E12.
| Krescent/CIHR Post-Doctoral Fellowships: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fellow | Supervisor | Institution |
| Ngan Lam | Amit Garg | Lawson Health Research Institute, Western University |
| Chris Wiebe | Peter Nickerson | U. Manitoba |
| Krescent/CIHR New Investigators: | |
|---|---|
| New Investigator | Institution |
| Sacha De Serres | U. Laval |
| Matthew James | U. Calgary |
| Sandra Turcotte | U. Moncton |
Congratulations to Funding Recipients
INMD congratulates researchers who were successful in the following INMD-supported Priority Announcements.
| Principal Investigator | Institution | Project Title |
|---|---|---|
| Operating Grant - Priority Announcement: Bariatric Care | ||
| Anne Klassen | McMaster University | Developing a Patient-Reported Outcome Measure for Bariatric and Body Contouring Surgery Patients: the BODY-Q |
| Paul Poirier | Université Laval | Impact of a 12-week structured training program on changes in body composition and insulin resistance after a biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch surgery in severe obesity |
| Operating Grant-PA: INMD Start Up Funds (Bridge Funding) - Assistant Professors | ||
| Jean-Philippe Chaput | Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario | Effects of Active Video Games on Energy Balance: A Randomized Crossover Study in Adolescents |
| Operating Grant-PA: INMD Start Up Funds (Bridge Funding) - Clinician Scientists | ||
| An Tang | Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM) | Comparison of Magnetic Resonance and Ultrasound Elastography with Liver Biopsy for Noninvasive Staging of Liver Fibrosis |
| Operating Grant-PA: INMD Start Up Funds (Bridge Funding) - New Investigators | ||
| Jonathan Schertzer | McMaster University | NOD2 immunity protects against obesity-induced inflammation and insulin resistance |
| Operating Grant - PA: INMD -Bridge Funding | ||
| David Jenkins | University of Toronto | The effect of a dietary portfolio of cholesterol lowering foods to reduce arterial damage in a multi-center trial. |
| New Investigator Salary Award - PA: Inflammatory Bowel Disease (in partnership with Canadian Association of Gastroenterology and the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada) | ||
| Julia Liu | University of Alberta | The Role of Pyroptosis Induced Intestinal Epithelial Cell Extrusion in the Pathogenesis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease |
CIHR releases the What CIHR Heard: Analysis of Feedback on the Design Discussion Document
On August 2, 2012, CIHR published the What CIHR Heard: Analysis of Feedback on the Design Discussion Document. This document presents a summary of the feedback received from CIHR's researcher and stakeholder communities regarding the proposed changes to the Open Suite of Programs and Peer Review Process. INMD invites you to visit the CIHR website to read the report along with a message from Dr. Alain Beaudet, CIHR's President.
2012 CIHR/CMAJ Top Achievements in Health Research Awards: Call for applications
CIHR is currently accepting applications to the CIHR/Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) Top Achievements in Health Research Awards competition. Through this award, CIHR and the CMAJ recognize important contributions and say thank you for the work done. Dr. Daniel Drucker, winner of a 2011 Top Achievement Award for his innovative work in improving the lives of patients with type 2 diabetes stated that receiving this award provided national recognition to his research.
Submission deadline is September 28, 2012.
Visit the CIHR website for more information or contact Jasmine Lefebvre.
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.
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