September 30, 2006 - Issue Eighteen
:: CFRI Introduces Clinician Scientist Awards The Child & Family Research Institute has issued a request for applications for its Clinician Scientist Salary Awards. The program is intended to enable recruitment of clinician researchers in both the basic and clinical sciences who have developed a reputation for excellence in research, so as to increase capacity for clinical research at this centre. Salary awards, which will be for a fixed term of three years (with the possibility of an additional two years of support), are made possible through funding from the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation. Applications must be submitted by October 31, 2006. For more information see the General Guidelines and Application Form. Questions about the request for applications or application process can be directed to CFRI Scientific Director Dr. Geoff Hammond or Dr. Anne Junker, CFRI Associate Director, Clinical. |
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| :: GATC Project Gets Donation from Eli Lilly On September 21, representatives from Eli Lilly Canada were on hand at the CFRI’s Chieng Atrium to present a cheque for $500,000 in support of the Genotype-Specific Approaches to Therapy in Childhood (GATC) project. The donation is to be contributed over two years. The GATC project is a BC-led national strategy to improve drug safety for children. The study, led by CFRI researchers Dr. Bruce Carleton and Dr. Michael Hayden, aims to prevent adverse drug reactions in childhood by identifying predictive genomic markers for specific adverse drug reactions. The markers will permit specific dosing recommendations for commonly used drugs based on a patient’s genetic makeup. Dr. Carleton, with CFRI’s Centre for Healthcare Innovation & Improvement, and Associate Professor with UBC’s Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is an international leader in drug safety research. Dr. Michael Hayden, an internationally recognized expert in pharmacogenomics, is director of CFRI’s Centre for Molecular Medicine & Therapeutics and Professor in UBC’s Department of Medical Genetics. Several other universities are partnering on the project. Total funding for the GATC project is set at $8.4 million over three years. Half of this total is funded by Genome Canada through Genome BC. Other major contributors include the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network, the Provincial Health Services Authority, UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, the Child & Family Research Institute, and Pfizer Canada. CFRI Executive Director Dr. Stuart MacLeod says it is notable that Eli Lilly’s commitment has been made independently of any product-specific concerns. “Eli Lilly’s support is an important indication of the willingness of a major pharmaceutical manufacturer to encourage the broad scope of drug safety research. It is also a strong expression of confidence in the Canadian and Vancouver child health research environment.” |
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| :: MSFHR Team Planning Awards Announced Two of the four successful teams recently granted Team Planning Awards by the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) are headed by CFRI investigators. This year’s third round of the competition saw teams led by CFRI researchers Dr. Stuart Turvey and Dr. Patricia Janssen make the grade. The BC Team to Study the Origins of Asthma & Allergy is co-led by Dr. Stuart Turvey, researcher with the CFRI Infectious & Inflammatory Diseases research program, and Assistant Professor, University of BC Medicine/Pediatrics. Co-leader is Dr. Richard Hegele, Professor & Head, Medicine/Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, UBC. The award funds the creation of a team focused on studying the genetic, immune and environmental factors that lead to allergic diseases and asthma. Dr. Patricia Janssen, of the CFRI’s Centre for Healthcare Innovation & Improvement, and Assistant Professor, UBC Medicine/Healthcare & Epidemiology, is heading up The Collaborative Research Group for Designing Safety Interventions for Individuals in Violent Relationships. The award will fund the development of a team focused on enhancing safety of victims of relationship abuse by developing abuse interventions. Community agencies and health institutions, including the Vancouver General Hospital and St. Paul’s Hospital emergency rooms, will participate. The MSFHR Team Planning Award is a developmental award that provides infrastructure funding for up to one year so that new groups of BC researchers can come together and plan shared research activity. The focus is on the establishment of a viable research team and research program, rather than planning for specific projects. |
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| :: Nine Technology/ Methodology Platforms Proceed to Stage Two of MSFHR Competition This summer, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR) announced that nine potential platform areas have been approved by the MSFHR Board Executive to proceed to Stage 2 of the Technology/Methodology Platform development process. The nine areas are: biobanks; clinical research; drug development; genomics; medical imaging; mouse models; pharmaceutical policy; population health data; and proteomics. Applicants proceeding to Stage 2 will develop detailed scientific, strategic and business plans for the proposed platforms; MSFHR is providing development grants of $50,000 per platform area to assist in developing the plans. Four of the selected platform areas involve CFRI researchers as co-leaders: Dr. J.M. Friedman and Dr. Michael Hayden are the co-leaders of the Clinical Genomics platform, which will make coordinated genotyping, genomic sequencing and associated bioinformatics, genetic epidemiology and family studies expertise available to clinician researchers and their patients across BC. Dr. Blair Leavitt is one of the co-leaders of the Mouse Models platform, which will provide experimental mice as testing models for genetic abnormalities, diseases and other basic and clinical research applications. Other co-leaders are Dr. Wilfred Jeffries, UBC Pt Grey and Dr. Geoff Payne, UNBC. Dr. Bruce Carleton is named one of the co-leaders of the Pharmaceutical Outcomes and Evaluation platform. This platform will provide efficient and effective evaluation services for population-based effects of pharmaceutical therapies and policies across the health system, informed by optimal use of administrative and clinical databases. Other co-leaders named are: Dr. James Wright, UBC Pt Grey, Dr. Colin Dormuth, UBC Pt Grey, Dr. Steve Morgan, UBC Pt Grey, and Dr. Malcolm Maclure, UVic. (Note that the Technology/ Methodology Platform guidelines limit the number of co-leaders to a maximum of four, so applicant teams that have proposed more than four co-leaders will be asked to limit this number as they move forward to a full application submission.) Dr. Ying MacNab is a co-leader of the Population Health Data Access and Analysis platform, which will provide coordinated and effective access to population health databases, integrated data standards and data management processes across BC, and support for technologies and methodologies that apply to the analysis of spatial and non-spatial datasets. Other co-leaders are Dr. Clyde Hertzman, UBC Pt Grey, Dr. Peter Keller, UVic, and Dr. Michael Hayes, SFU. The Technology/Methodology Platform program is part of Phase II of the MSFHR Networking Infrastructure Program, which links researchers and research resources to build critical mass across health research applications, institutions, organizations, and regions. The aim is to build capacity, facilitate and enhance BC's ability to address health issues, and align health research in the province with national and international research and funding priorities so as to improve competitiveness for external funding. Phase II was launched in January 2006. The three-stage process currently underway will identify the first platforms that will begin implementation later this year. |
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CFRI is pleased to announce the recipients of its annual Postdoctoral Fellowships and Graduate Studentships. These scholarships are intended to give promising trainees the start they need in their research careers. Past scholarship holders have an impressive record of quickly garnering external support. Graduate Studentship Awards Eui Ju Hong Supervisor: Dr. Keith Choi Project: Conditional knockout of p53 and brca ½ mouse ovarian surface epithelial cells for ovarian carcinogenesis Mande Leung Supervisor: Dr. George Sandor / Dr. Guy Dumont Project: Non-invasive assessment of the biophysical properties of the aorta and ventricular-vascular interaction in pediatric patients with Marfan syndrome Nicole Quenneville Supervisor: Dr. Elizabeth Conibear Project: Characterization of the retrograde transport machinery and its relationship to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using the yeast model system Postdoctoral Fellowship AwardsDr. Sanjoy Ghosh Supervisor: Dr. Sheila Innis Project: Dietary modulation of mitochondrial function in the prevention of diabetic heart disease Dr. Janine Krista Kruit Supervisor: Dr. Michael Hayden Project: The role of ABC1 in the pancreatic B-cell: is “cholesterol-toxicity” a novel mechanism in the development of type 2 diabetes? Dr. Anne Elizabeth Mullin Supervisor: Dr. Janet Chantler Project: Analysis of gene expression during pancreatic regeneration following coxsackievirus infection |
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Congratulations to neonatologist Dr. Rebecca Sherlock, who received a CIHR Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) Mentoring Award from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). Dr. Sherlock is a clinical associate with the UBC Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology at BC Children’s Hospital, and research fellow with CFRI’s Centre for Healthcare Innovation & Improvement. Her project is “RCTs in a vulnerable population: A comprehensive training for the neonatologist as an independent investigator.” The purpose of the RCT Mentoring Awards is to develop trialists who can lead in the conception, design and implementation of randomized controlled trials. CFRI also congratulates Dr. Pascal Lavoie, who received a Post Doctoral Award from the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP) in its April 2006 competition. Dr. Lavoie is with the CFRI Infectious & Inflammatory Diseases research program, and has a term limited junior faculty appointment in the UBC Division of Neonatology. The CCHCSP Post Doctoral Award is directed at candidates with a health professional degree and a prior PhD who wish to extend their research competence in child and youth health research. The CCHCSP provides support for highly qualified child health clinician candidates to develop their requisite knowledge and skills for a career as an independent scientist in child health research. Four types of awards are offered: Predoctoral, Postdoctoral, Career Development, and Rising Researcher Support. For more information on the CCHSCP contact the program’s local representatives Dr. Stuart Turvey or Kim Tomasson. |
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:: Deborah Money Named Executive Director of New Research Institute CFRI extends its congratulations to Dr. Deborah Money, who has been appointed Executive Director of the Women’s Health Research Institute. Dr. Money has long been a researcher associated with CFRI. She is also Associate Professor & Head of the Division of Maternal Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of British Columbia and BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre. Her appointment is effective October 16, 2006. She will initially assume the position on a part time basis in order to maintain her clinical and research activities. Dr. Money has 25 years of experience in women’s health research as a clinical researcher, as a collaborator in basic science and qualitative research, and as an educator translating new knowledge to improve clinical care. Most recently, her research efforts have focused on mother to infant transmission of viral infections, in particular herpes virus (HSV, Hepatitis C, HPV and HIV). |
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:: Kudos: David Speert Rides for Research This summer, Dr. David Speert, head of the CFRI Infectious & Inflammatory Diseases research program, again took to the road in support of research. Dr. Speert first cycled 1000 km from Vancouver to Calgary, accompanied by 12 other riders, including Ms. Meghan MacLeod, Research Development Facilitator with CFRI’s Research & Technology Development Office. Then, over the next month, he continued on his own to Minnesota. Over the past two summers he’s cycled a total of 6770 Km (4130 miles). The goal? To raise money for research, this year specifically for cystic fibrosis (CF). CF is a fatal inherited disease characterized by a build-up of mucus that affects mainly the lungs and digestive system. Over the past two years, Dr. Speert’s fundraising initiatives have raised more than $100,000. On just the first leg of this year’s trip, Dr. Speert and his fellow riders brought in more than $70,000 for CF research. Last year, Dr. Speert rode 3000 km, from Minneapolis to Maine, to raise more than $11,000 in travel and living expenses for a former patient, Chris Adams, who has chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) and who was being assessed for a lung transplant. |
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:: CFRI Summer Student Poster Competition The CFRI Summer Student Program held its Poster Day in the Chieng Atrium on July 27. The day is an opportunity for summer students to show off what they've learned and to get valuable feedback from mentors and peers. Prizes are awarded for the best posters in both clinical and basic science categories. Congratulations to the winners in each category: Basic Sciences CategoryFirst place: Karen To (Supervisor: Dr. Sandra Dunn) Second place: Patrick Yang (Supervisor: Dr. Erik Skarsgard) Third place: Jonathan Pearce (Supervisor: Dr. Cheryl Wellington) Clinical Sciences CategoryFirst place: Supna Kaur Sandhu (Supervisor: Dr. Ellen Wiebe) Second place: Junella Lee (Supervisor: Dr. Kenneth Lim) Third place: Melanie Finkbeiner (Supervisor: Dr. Andrew Campbell) |
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• Dr. Pierre Chartrand of the Université de Montréal has been appointed Vice-President of Research of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), effective September 5. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Chartrand was the Chief Executive Officer, Institute for Research in Immunology and Cancer, and a Full Professor, Department of Pathology and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, at the Université de Montreal. • In July, CIHR released its Report of the International Review Panel. The open review was commissioned by CIHR to assess its first five years of operation. The international panel members met with more than 100 young and established investigators; senior university officials; partners from the provinces, health charities and industry; health sector administrators; scientific directors; members of the CIHR advisory boards; CIHR staff; and government officials. See the HTML version or the PDF version. • CIHR and the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) have announced the launch of the CIHR/CFI - Leaders Opportunity Fund (CIHR/CFI - LOF). This program falls under the third stream of the CFI's Leaders Opportunity Fund. CIHR is the first federal funding agency to tie this stream of the CFI's Leaders Opportunity Fund to their major operating grant program and provide researchers and universities an option to secure operational and infrastructure research support. Researchers will apply to CIHR's Operating Grants Program according to CIHR's application guidelines, while universities will have the option of attaching an abbreviated CFI-LOF application to their researchers' CIHR Operating Grants proposals. • On September 21-22, CIHR's Institute of Genetics held its first science journalists' workshop on genetics, attended by working journalists and science writers who’ve told CIHR they’d like to learn more about some of the key concepts underlying different fields of health research. The workshop provided an overview of major issues in genetics such as genetic testing, stem cells, genetically complex diseases, epigenetics and HapMap. Presenters included Dr. Michael Hayden, Director of CFRI’s Centre for Molecular Medicine & Therapeutics. |
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Presentation - MSFHR Career/Research Unit Guidelines - Oct 3 10:30-11:30 a.m., Chan Auditorium, CFRI Members of the Career Investigator and Research Unit teams from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research will give presentations on the Career/Research Unit guidelines, demonstrate the new MSFHR ApplyNet system and answer any questions about the application process. Workshop – Studentships & Fellowships – Oct 3 This new workshop will introduce the fundamental elements of successful trainee award applications. For more information and to register see the CFRI Training website. Workshop – Elements of Language & Style – Oct 17 Topics include proposal structure, achieving appropriate emphasis, constructing positive statements, critical review and editing, word choice, formatting, and tips to manage the writing process. For more information and to register see the CFRI Training website. |
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Workshop – Library Searching Skills - RefWorks – Sept 29
Seminar – Transcriptional Regulators of Oogenesis – Sept 192:00 p.m., Room 2108, CFRI Presentation by Aleksandar Rajkovic, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine. Hosted by the UBC Department of Medical Genetics and the CFRI Reproductive Health Research Program. Seminar - Understanding the Genetic Basis of Congenital Oculomotor Diseases – July 26 3:00-4:00 p.m., Room 2108, CFRI This seminar, hosted by the Centre for Molecular Medicine & Therapeutics, featured Elizabeth Engle, MD, Associate Professor in Neurology, Harvard Medical School. Seminar - Structural Analysis of Autoinhibited and Activated Forms of c-Abl Tyrosine Kinase – July 19 4:00-5:00 p.m., Room 3113, CFRI Presented by Bhushan Nagar PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University. Hosted by the Centre for Molecular Medicine & Therapeutics. |
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Reminders: MSFHR Research Trainee Program Signatures Trainees (and their supervisors) planning to submit applications for the Research Trainee Awards program of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research are reminded that prepared signature pages (page 1 & 2 of application, FoM Grant Cover Sheet) are to be submitted to room 202, CFRI by Monday, November 6, 2006, in order to allow sufficient time to meet the UBC signature requirements. CFRI staff will arrange for the Dean’s signature (required on the application), along with Director, Research Services signature (required on the FoM Grant Cover Sheet). The UBC Research Services deadline is 4:30 p.m., Wednesday, November 8. For more information also see the attached signature process guidelines. |
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CFRI Surveys Clinical Research IS/IT Needs Clinical researchers associated with CFRI are encouraged to participate in a survey concerning information services & technology (IS/IT) and data management needs for clinical research on site. In this instance, clinical research is broadly defined as ‘not wet-bench basic biomedical research.’ It can include patient and population studies, and research focused on outcomes evaluation and health services delivery. A working group will further define issues and develop an action plan based on survey results. Click on this link to TAKE THE SURVEY. |
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New My.CV Features Allow Researchers to Upload to Common CV Effective August 26, UBC researchers can upload a CV data file generated by my.CV to either create or upload their Canadian Common CV (CC CV). This new feature is in addition to the functionality already incorporated in my.CV that allows researchers to create compliant CIHR, SSHRC and MSFHR Contribution attachments. For information on how to use the system, see the myCV-CCCV Data Exchange reference sheet. |
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Welcomes: New Research Development Staff CFRI extends a warm welcome to Joel Livingston, who has joined the institute’s Research & Technology Development Office as a Research Development Facilitator. His role will be to help improve CFRI trainees’ competitiveness in studentship and fellowship competitions. Joel will be working alongside Senior Research Development Facilitator Dr. Dawn McArthur and Research Development Facilitator Ms. Meghan MacLeod and collaborating with Ms. Kimberley Tomasson, Manager of the Research Education Program. He can be reached at 604-875-2000, ext. 5521 or jrlivingston@cw.bc.ca |
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In the July issue of Research Reporting Online, we incorrectly named one of the CFRI researchers in the list of recipients of the March 2006 CIHR Operating Grants competition. Our sincere apologies to Dr. Jean-Pierre (J.P) Chanoine, who received an operating grant for his project “Role of ghrelin and obestatin in postnatal endocrine pancreas and growth in the rat.” |
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RR Online Back After Summer Break After a summer hiatus, Research Reporting Online is back! There’s lots going on at CFRI these days, and we hope you’ve enjoyed the abundance of news in this issue. Starting mid-to late October you can again watch for Research Reporting Online in your email inbox or on the CFRI website on a monthly basis. Want to get in touch? We welcome your comments and your story suggestions. Contact us at researchreporting@cfri.ca |
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