The Dec. 9, 2016 CIHR funding announcement.
Federal government invests $10.2 million towards research through CIHR’s project grant program
Researchers to advance knowledge in areas such as Indigenous health, HIV, kidney transplants, and antimicrobial resistance
On Dec. 9, Robert-Falcon Ouellette, Member of Parliament for Winnipeg Centre, announced, on behalf of Minister of Health Jane Philpott, that 16 grants were being awarded to health researchers at the University of Manitoba, for a total investment of $10.2 million through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s Project Grant program.
The Government of Canada is the country’s largest investor in health research through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
“Some of Canada’s most important health discoveries are being made right here in Winnipeg. This announcement highlights the bright minds and the strong support for research and innovation at the University of Manitoba,” said Ouellette.
Health research leads to discoveries and knowledge that helps improve the health of Canadians through new treatments, health services and health promotion and disease prevention programs.
The funding will support the work of researchers at the University of Manitoba across the spectrum of health research areas, ranging from microbiology and nanoparticles, to healthcare delivery and population-based wellness strategies.
Two U of M researchers shared snapshots of their collaborative research projects.
Dr. Julie Ho, associate professor of internal medicine and immunology in the Max Rady College of Medicine (Rady Faculty) and a team of researchers at the U of M will lead a new clinical trial led that could change the current standard of care for monitoring kidney transplant patients and potentially increase the longevity of successful kidney transplants.
Ho, Principal investigator on the study, says many Canadians don’t realize that kidney disease is a silent killer. “It’s actually really sad.… When patients tell their families they have kidney disease, it doesn’t have the same implication as if they were to say ‘I have cancer.’ But the mortality rate with kidney disease is actually just as bad as with many cancers, although there is less public awareness about it.” [Read more about this study.]
Marissa Becker [MD/99], an associate professor in community health sciences (U of M) with cross-appointments to internal medicine and medical microbiology, will lead a project designed to understand how the consequences of conflict, migration and disrupted health services affect risk in the context of HIV, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and hepatitis C virus (HCV). The study is being conducted by an international, inter-disciplinary team in order to understand this complex public health issue.
The study will generate important information for its Ukrainian partners, who provide HIV prevention programs in Dnipropetrovsk, and address an important knowledge gap globally.
“We’re working with local program partners, researchers and policy makers,” Becker says. “We’ve been doing work in Ukraine for a number of years now. It’s important to us to sustain and further develop those partnerships for impactful work.” [Read more about this study.]
The following researchers also received funding:
Christopher Anderson | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Keith Fowke | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Spencer Gibson | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Richard Keijzer | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Christine Kelly | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Ayush Kumar | Brian Mark | Faculty of Science
Josée Lavoie | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Brian Mark | Faculty of Science
Lyle Mckinnon | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Donald Miller | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
James Nagy | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Abdelilah Soussi Gounni | Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Jude Uzonna| Rady Faculty of Health Sciences
Research at the University of Manitoba is partially supported by funding from the Government of Canada Research Support Fund.