Celebrating the achievements of cutting-edge researchers

On Friday, March 15, 2019, Terry Duguid, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South, toured the research facilities at the University of Manitoba on behalf of the Honourable Ginette Petitpas Taylor, Minister of Health, highlighting recent federal investment in health research.

The $10.4 million in funding for University of Manitoba researchers is part of a $275 million national investment by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to support Canadian researchers studying the full spectrum of health issues affecting the lives of Canadians.

MP Terry Duguid.

“I extend my warmest congratulations to the scientists receiving funding today,” said Terry Duguid, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South. “The research you are doing, on topics ranging from Alzheimer’s disease and cancer to heart disease and Indigenous health, holds great promise for improving the health and quality of life of Manitobans today and for decades to come.”

Duguid met with U of M grant recipients to celebrate their achievements and to learn more about their innovative, wide-ranging research projects. Included among the 16 researchers receiving funding is Dr. Roberta Woodgate, who is developing a new model of respite care to provide relief for children living with complex care needs. At today’s meeting, Woodgate presented details of a photovoice project in which participants choose images to help voice their pain, fear and other emotions.

Dr. Kellie Thiessen, working with Elder Katherine Whitecloud of the Assembly of First Nations, is identifying new ways of delivering maternity care in Indigenous and remote communities, recommendations arising from the Child Welfare Review both in Manitoba and nationally.

“The research that we are doing is an extension of the recommendations arising from the Child Welfare Review both in Manitoba and nationally,” says Whitecloud. “The key recommendation for “Bringing our Children Home” as well as in the Truth and Reconciliation recommendations, is to support traditional birthing and bring birthing home.”

“These researchers are doing cutting-edge studies that are a testament to the outstanding calibre of transformational research conducted at the University of Manitoba and at our affiliated partner organizations,” said Dr. Digvir Jayas, Vice-President, Research and International, and Distinguished Professor, University of Manitoba. “I congratulate them on receiving these research funds in a highly competitive environment.”

Details on the supported projects are available here. 

Projects funded through the $275M investment are supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)’s largest funding program. Eighty-two of the grants from the latest competition were awarded to early career researchers (those within the first five years of their first academic appointment). Eleven of the grants funded are focused on Indigenous health research. CIHR is proud to support these projects as part of its commitment to invest 4.6 per cent of its annual budget in Indigenous health research.