36th Advisory Board Meeting – Institute of Infection and Immunity
June 12-13, 2012Prince George Hotel
Halifax, NS
Minutes
Present: P. Allibert, J. Angel, E. Brown, R. Duncan, P. Ernst, A. Fernandes, A. Jevnikar, M. Karmali, M. Levings, G. Wu
Staff: J. Bray, D. Christin, S. Desnoyers, J. Gunning, D. Hartell, P. Kirton, M. Ouellette, M. Perrault, J. Raven
Regrets: R. Hogg, C. Kaposy, M. Mulvey, B. Ward
Agenda and Minutes
Motion to approve the agenda without changes (R. Duncan/ P. Ernst).
Motion to pass the minutes from the Calgary 2012 meeting (G. Wu/ M. Karmali).
Scientific Director's Report
M. Ouellette presented his activities as Scientific Director since the IAB meeting in January. In February he attended the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) Advisory Board Meeting. There are many organizations involved in this initiative, which could help to bring additional money into this field of research. There was a joint Governing Council-Science Council meeting on commercialization, which coincided with the SC meeting in Toronto. During the meeting, CIHR held a community forum regarding the ongoing reforms. In general there is some anxiety about the open program and peer- review reforms, and about the implementation and outcomes. Marc also met with representatives of the European Union to discuss microbiome research opportunities, and representatives of the Canadian Medical Countermeasures group to discuss opportunities related to emerging infectious diseases. In April he attended a meeting focused on the eradication of HIV/AIDS, and the PHAC-CIHR Influenza Research Network (PCIRN) annual meeting. In May a CIHR-Industry workshop on Personalized Medicine was organized in Montreal.
Budget
The Canadian Microbiome Initiative has now been incorporated as a part of the Inflammation in Chronic Disease Initiative (ICDI). This increases the III investment in level 3 initiatives at CIHR. III will invest $4,813,744 over 4 years in this program. 2 new projects are being supported by III in the Network Catalyst Grant FO, for a total investment of $1,777,839 over 4 years. 3 new grants were also funded under the Collaborative Health Research Program, a partnership with NSERC. We will invest $449,999 over 3 years. $125,875 will be invested in 2 projects under the KRESCENT Fellowship and Training initiative, over the next 3 years. III is continuing to invest in Bridge Funding, and will support 3 projects from the September 2011 competition. Upcoming investments in multi-level initiatives include: the Transplantation Program ($7,725,000/6 years); Personalized Medicine RSI ($2,500,000/3 years); Inflammation in Chronic Disease RSI ($150,000 catalyst grant, then $1,000,000 per year for 5 years); Healthcare Renewal Policy Analysis RFA ($300,000 for one year); Café Scientifique RFA (total investment of $21,000), the Structural Genomics Consortium ($200,000 for one year); and the Journalism Awards ($20,000). The last FO is to support media stories that inform Canadians of evidence-based health-related research issues carried out by health researchers. The board agreed that this was a useful tool, as long as journalists faced no restrictions on the topics they could address.
Transplantation
J. Bray gave an overview of the development steps to-date of the Transplantation Research Initiative, as well as the overall timeline. The Letter of Intent deadline was May 15th, and only one was received. This is what we wanted from the community. The full application is due October 15th, with the peer-review scheduled to occur in January 2013. The NPI for the proposal is Lori West at the University of Alberta, and the LOI outlines the plan for a single program, with 6 sub-projects and 2 core facilities. III is currently providing funds to bring the applicants together to prepare the full application. Organizations partnering with III on this initiative include: the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health; the Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes; the Institute of Gender and Health; the CIHR Ethics branch; Canadian Blood Services; the Kidney Foundation of Canada; Genome British Columbia; Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé; and Cystic Fibrosis Canada. The total amount currently available for the program is $11,750,000, however III is in negotiation with additional partners, so this could increase. This is viewed as an excellent way to proceed with strategic funding opportunities, but given that the government has cut the funding for many Network Centres of Excellence, the network model may be harder to sell in the future.
Personalized Medicine
J. Bray provided an update on the Personalized Medicine Signature Initiative. The program was launched on January 31st with a Ministerial announcement. CIHR has committed to a minimum investment of $20 million in this initiative, with Genome Canada committing to $40 million. At this time, III has committed to $2.5 million over 5 years, which is enough for a single project. 146 pre-applications were received; 36 of which were relevant to III. Sub topic areas include: microbiome, emerging threats, HIV, transplantation, inflammation, auto-immunity, and vaccines. In total, only 40 submissions will be invited to submit full applications.
Given the number of registrants, and the strength of our community, it is likely that more than one project related to III will receive a high ranking. The possibility of funding one additional project was discussed, which would bring the total commitment up to $5 million. A decision does not have to be made immediately, but the board gave tentative approval for this plan. This money would roll out on April 1, 2013.
Inflammation in Chronic Disease Initiative
S. Desnoyers presented an update on the Inflammation RSI. The first RFA under this initiative is planned for launch on July 1, 2012, and will address Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation. This RFA will fund Team Grants for $500,000/year for up to 5 years. Applications must be multi-themed, focus on 2 diseases, and include at least one early career (first 5 years) investigator. The LOI is due on November 25th, with a funding start date for the development grant of March 1, 2013. The full application is due August 2013, with an anticipated funding start date of April 2014. Current partners on the RSI include: III; the Institute of Aging; the Institute of Cancer Research; the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health; the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis; the Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction; the HIV/AIDS initiative; Tekes (for Finnish researchers only); and Cystic Fibrosis Canada. So far, $25 million has been committed over 5 years. CIHR is still in talks with various pharmaceutical companies about potentially joining as partners, but this is challenging as most of these companies have their head offices outside of Canada, and must get approval from them before committing to such as partnership.
New Investigator Forum
S. Desnoyers gave an overview of the New Investigator Forum that III is planning for 2013. The goal of this event is to provide an opportunity for new investigators in the field of infection and immunity to interact with their peers from across the country, to help them to develop and enhance the skills required for starting and maintaining a successful research career, and to inform the Institute of potential opportunities for strategic programs needed to support new investigators. 2013 will mark the 5th NIF that III has organized. This event will run from May 31-June 2, 2013 at Manoir du Lac Delage, QC. We are currently in the process of putting together the organizing committee. C. Kaposy will serve as one of the IAB representatives, with G. Wu remaining on as an alumnus member.
HIV/AIDS
P. Kirton gave an update on several programs run by the HIV/AIDS Research Initiative. The Collaborative Centres HIV Community-based Research will be launched on June 15, 2012. This program is intended to help community-based organizations to build capacity to conduct their own research and represents a substantial investment for the program. The CHVI Alliance Coordinating Office (ACO), which was named in December 2012, has completed its consultations and approved the report "Building Linkages, Achieving Impact: A framework to guide the CHVI research and development". The HIV/AIDS Research Initiative has been actively involved in the Government of Canada's involvement in the International AIDS 2012 conference from the development of satellite sessions, contributions to the Canada Booth and contributing to the CTN Booth. At present, CBR is only used in the area of HIV research, but it could have impact in many other areas. A meeting was held on April 27th to discuss the HIV epidemic in Saskatchewan, and address the request that the researchers made for a rapid response RFA from CIHR. Participants discussed the current state of HIV disease burden and research efforts in Saskatchewan, existing programs and resources, and the next steps. A report of the event will be prepared and circulated, and a Best Brains Exchange will potentially be organized on the topic. Overall this event was viewed as a success, and as a good example of how the Institute can make an impact independent of its strategic initiatives.
J. Gunning presented the CIHR Initiative: Funding a Cure for HIV. The goal of this program is to expand the knowledge base on HIV latency and persistence and contribute to the design, development and evaluation of curative strategies. A consultation meeting is scheduled for June 15th. This is a priority not only for CIHR, but for the International AIDS Society, which identified this as a goal in 2010. The HIV/AIDS initiative is also conducting evaluations of 2 key programs: the CIHR Clinical Trials Network in HIV Program, and the Centers for Research Development in HIV/AIDS Program.
PHAC-CIHR Influenza Research Network
J. Raven discussed the renewal of the PHAC-CIHR Influenza Research Network (PCIRN). This network was formed in 2009, as a part of the Pandemic Preparedness Strategic Research Initiative (PPSRI). It currently consists of over 100 investigators at 30 institutions, and covers 8 broad research themes. In December 2011, CIHR and PHAC committed to supporting the research activities of PCIRN for an additional 3 years. A directed grant was launched in February 2012, which would provide funding of $4.45 million over 3 years. The application deadline was April 13, and the anticipated funding start date is June 1, 2012. The network has proven itself to be flexible, agile, and would likely be able to address challenges posed by other infections aside from influenza. It has received support from industry in the past, and the reality is that due to their size and scope, networks like this might never be able to be funded completely separately from industry.
Hepatitis C Research Initiative
J. Raven gave an update on the status of the Hepatitis C Research Initiative, including the overall investment by CIHR in hepatitis C research since 2000. Recently announced funding is limited to a Dissemination Event grant for the Canadian Symposium on Hepatitis C Virus, however several Priority Announcements will be launched later this month. 2 Knowledge Synthesis grants with a value of $100,000 each will be available, as will 2-3 Dissemination Event grants with a value of $25,000 each. The current MOU with PHAC is valid until the end of the 2014-15 fiscal year, therefore we should soon begin renewal talks.
Partnerships and Funding Opportunities
D. Hartell gave an overview of the recent partnership requests and funding opportunities presented to III. Computational Biology is a partnership opportunity with Genome Canada to advance the field of bioinformatics and computational biology. This comes on the heels of a joint CIHR and Genome Canada workshop in December 2011, and would include complex, large-scale projects, as well as innovative, small-scale ones. The current financial breakdown is: $5 million from Genome Canada, $4 million in matching funds, and $1 million from CIHR ($250,000 each from IG, III, ICR and INMHA, pending IAB approval). The RFA would be launched during summer 2012, with funding to start January 1, 2013. The board felt that the training of bioinformaticians is important, as their workload is increasing. There is some risk associated with investing as there is no guarantee that the funded projects will be relevant to III; however the chances are good that it will not be a problem. It was decided that III will support the small, innovative grants.
Pathways to Health Equity for Aboriginal Peoples is an RSI led by the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health, which aims to overcome implementation challenges, to scale up interventions across a range of settings, and to strengthen systems to improve health outcomes while reducing disparities across populations. 4 specific exemplars were identified in this area as requiring attention: suicide, obesity, tuberculosis, and oral health. TB in particular is relevant to the III mandate, and the rate of infection in Aboriginals is 30-150 times greater than that of non-Aboriginal Canadians. 4 different funding opportunities will be launched over the course of the initiative. To date, $26.1 million has been committed by 11 CIHR Institutes. The question before the board is whether III should invest $300,000 per year for 5 years. This was seen to be a good investment, and was approved.
Strategic Plan
A. Jevnikar gave an overview of the goals of this discussion, as well as what has been done up to this point. J. Bray outlined the revised approval process for Institute Strategic Plans, which includes: approval by the IAB; approval by Strategic Policy and External Relations; approval by J. Aubin (Chief Scientific Officer/VP, Research and Knowledge Translation); and approval by Science Council and the President. We have received feedback from J. Aubin on the initial draft, and although she liked the link to ongoing Roadmap Signature Initiatives, she would like more of a link to what is happening in the open competition. Ideally we should show how III's investments are strategic, due to the gaps in the open competitions, and why having the Institute manage these funds is better than investing it into the open programs. Overall the document should be more concise and clearer. The integration of III activities with those of the HIV/AIDS branch should also be clarified. Another idea is to highlight the non-funding activities of the Institute, such as citizen engagement, knowledge translation, and building relationships with the community. A list of strategic directions would help with the revision of the plan. Suggestions include: nosocomial infections and AMR; emerging threats; and knowledge translation and the impact on the community. Stakeholders, including the health research and knowledge-user communities, should be engaged in the development of the plan at some point.
Outcomes and Performance Measurement
J. Raven updated the board on the changes to the Research Reporting System (RRS) at CIHR. Beginning in March 31, 2011, CIHR began asking Nominated Principal Investigators (NPIs) to report their research results using the Research Reporting System (RRS). The goal is to make selected portions of the data collected available to partners, the research community, and the general public in the future. CIHR has conducted reviews of each question within the template, to ensure that only essential data is being requested. The RRS template is 30 pages long, and includes multiple choice/scale responses in a number of broad categories, and it will be pre-populated when possible to minimize input burden. Historically, III has done its own data collection for strategic initiatives, and has tailored its templates to the goals and objectives of the initiative, and has tried to capture "stories" rather than metrics. However, CIHR is moving to this new system, and it is important that strategic initiatives are captured in the overall CIHR data. The RRS template may be useful to capture the initial data, and to help the Institutes identify areas for follow-up. It is important that we do not increase the reporting burden on our investigators, therefore any additional requests must be essential and the rationale clearly stated.
Microbial Threats Initiative
J. Bray presented a proposal for our next level 2 initiative on Microbial Threats. Based on the discussions that we have had at previous IAB meetings, there are several different foci that a new initiative could have.
III could develop a national Clostridium difficile Research program/consortium, similar to the Transplantation Research Program. Many researchers are working on the C.diff problem, but they are working independently. III could work to link these investigators. The potential problem with setting up a network is sustainability, once the strategic funding ends.
Alternatively, we could launch a Grand Challenges-like program to address Antimicrobial Resistance. Potential bacterial foci could be: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA); Vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA); Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE); Streptococcus pneumonia; Cephalosporin-resistant Neisseria gonorrhea; or Carbapenem-resistance in Gram-negatives, including NDM-1 and KPC. This would be a multi-step project, involving the identification of the challenge, development of clearly-defined goals and outcomes for the initiative, identifying the best strategy to address the problem, and assembling the expertise required.
We could also develop an industry-partnered initiative on this same topic, and include international linkages. This would align with the suggestions from the International Review Panel that III engage industry and focus more on commercialization, as well as helping the Institute to leverage funds. III is currently engaged in the organization of a workshop on AMR in the UK, hosted by the Canadian High Commission, as well as in the EU planning of an AMR initiative there. This might help us to strengthen the linkages we already have in the UK.
The last option is a provincial approach. This idea may get some traction, as health care is an increasingly large financial burden for the provinces, and nosocomial infections are only adding to this burden. Furthermore, the President is anxious to establish provincial partnerships. In total, III has $13.5 million earmarked for AMR research over a 5-year span.
The amount of money that CIHR has to invest in this problem, relative to other organizations may not be large, but our real value is in the expertise that our research community has built in this area. This is a global problem; therefore linkages with other countries, including the United States, should not be ruled out. The ultimate goal is to move beyond the discovery of new antimicrobial compounds, but to include translation, application, and decision making in the outcomes. The Public Health Agency of Canada would also be a valuable partner on this initiative, as they have identified AMR as a priority area. They are also in charge of national disease surveillance; and this information would be valuable for the design of any research program. A workshop is essential going forward, focused on how to decrease nosocomial infections in the next 5 years. A steering group will be formed to more clearly define the objectives of the workshop. E. Brown will chair this group, and J. Angel and M. Mulvey will also be members.
Roadmap Signature Initiative on Environmental Threats to Health
J. Raven gave an update on the status of the development of the RSI on Environmental Threats to Health. This is being developed in concert with the Institute of Population and Public Health, and the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health, to address the Health Research Roadmap Priority #4: prepare for and respond to existing and emerging threats to health. The current proposal identifies 5 main challenges that would be addressed by an RSI: natural disasters; infection; the built environment; pollutants and other contaminants; and "One Health". The Concept Paper is still being refined, so their priorities may change. Once the CP is finalized, it will be submitted to SPP for approval, and then move to Business Case development.
In order for this RSI to be effective, we need to be clear on what would be included in the definition of "the environment". At present, the definition is very broad, which would make it difficult to define the priorities of the initiative. The current (working) title is: Preparing for, and Responding to Environmental Threats to Health. A suggested alternative was: "Environmental Health: Impact on Human Disease". This would allow the "One Health" concept to be more easily included, and also include other planned initiatives like the level 2 on AMR that III is planning.
The board felt that there was not a lot of space in the suggested priorities in the current concept paper where III could play the lead. Suggestions for additions/modifications included: environmental effects on immunity, or interaction of the individual's immune system and the environment. Another suggestion was to have a single overarching theme, and then identify "exemplars", similar to the approach taken with the Pathways to Health Equity RSI. It was noted that although there is currently no RSI targeting roadmap priority #4, we must emphasize that there are initiatives (HIV/AIDS, Hepatitis C) that are addressing this issue.
Outgoing IAB Members
Robert Hogg has been an outstanding member of the board since 2008. He has made a significant contribution to our discussions, and has generously shared his expertise on pillar 3 and 4 research.
Gillian Wu has been an outstanding role model for women in science, and a great ambassador for the board to students of science. We have been very fortunate to have her as a board member, and extend our thanks for her 6 years of enthusiastic participation.
IAB Meetings
The next IAB meeting will be September 26-27, 2012 in Montreal.
The January meeting will be held in Vancouver, in conjunction with CHARAC.
Meeting Adjourned at 12:00pm.