Research Ambassadors Knowledge Translation Award

About the award

The "IMHA Research Ambassadors Knowledge Translation Award" was introduced in 2009-2010 in order to encourage CIHR applicants to write excellent lay abstracts. This award is given to Principal Investigators who submit a superior lay abstract for an IMHA-funded grant or award, and was created to assist with an overall goal of CIHR, which is to foster knowledge translation from scientific research into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened health care system. It is important that researchers be able to communicate their work to a general audience and a variety of stakeholders. IMHA hopes that this award will encourage success in this area, and looks forward to continuing to acknowledge excellent lay abstracts in the upcoming years.

Award winners

2012

Vinod Chandran (University Health Network)
Joy C. MacDermid (McMaster University)
Robin N. Michel (Concordia University)

2011

Ciarán Duffy (University of Ottawa, CHEO)
John Esdaile (Arthritis Research Centre of Canada)
Joy MacDermid (McMaster University)
Victor Rafuse (Dalhousie University)

2010

Douglas W. Hamilton (University of Western Ontario)
Hubert B. Labelle (Saint-Justine Hospital)
Joanna E. Sale (St. Michael's Hospital)

Criteria for an excellent lay abstract

Judging of lay abstracts is done by the IMHA Research Ambassadors (RAs), a panel of non-scientist consumers identified by health charities relevant to IMHA, and who are members of IMHA's Knowledge Exchange Task Force. The RAs are looking to select lay abstracts that are well written, easily understood by a lay audience, comprehensive and highly informative. In particular, excellent lay abstracts should:

1. includes overview of key project elements
2. adequately explain technical terms when introduced
3. have a logical flow of thought that is easy to follow
4. describe anticipated results that are likely to impact future research in the area
5. be appropriately presented in general language
6. be clear and logical in the explanation of the research project

As examples of excellent lay abstracts, please review the three abstracts chosen for the 2009-2010 Research Ambassadors Knowledge Translation Award:

1. The Firefighter Injury Reduction Enterprise: Wellness Enabled Life & Livelihood (FIRE-WELL) – Joy MacDermid (McMaster University)

Firefighters are exposed to significant personal risk while providing essential services. Musculoskeletal (MSK) injuries, poor fitness & cardiovascular health are common problems. Firefighters, their union and employer approached researchers to develop, implement and evaluate an evidence-based "wellness" program to prevent injuries, optimize safe return to work and reduce rising health care costs. The research program has 2 phases. The goal is to evaluate the impact of community-based medical, fitness and MSK injury screening. Phase 1 will examine and characterize health problems identified by a doctor specialized in occupational medicine in a series of 300 firefighters and monitor the health services they require. In preparation for Phase 2, we will define job demands using motion analysis of firefighting tasks. Then we will conduct a screen of MSK injury and fitness of 150 firefighters with identified signs of emerging MSK problems. From these, 75 will be assigned to a personal education intervention within their fire station about how to perform their work in a manner that reduces risk of injury. We will evaluate our success by measuring health and work indicators at the start, and 6 & 12 months later. Outcomes include; number/type and cost of injuries, lost work, self-reported overall health status, change in fitness and at-work limitations. They will be measured by trustworthy methods. Mathematical models will help us know if this approach reduces the illness and disability burden experienced by firefighters. Cost savings will be put back into the wellness program to enable program expansion and long-term sustainability. Firefighters intend to lead the project and share it with other groups.

2. Identifying Biomarkers for Psoriatic Arthritis: From Discovery to Prognostication – Vinod Chandran (University Health Network)

Psoriasis is a common skin disease affecting 3% of our population. Psoriatic Arthritis (PsA) is a specific arthritis that affects 30% of patients with psoriasis that often leads to progressive joint damage, disability and poor quality of life. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent joint damage, disability and improve quality of life. However, early diagnosis is often difficult. There is a high prevalence of undiagnosed PsA in patients with psoriasis. Identifying markers in the blood for the presence of PsA will help in early diagnosis and help determine who is going to fare poorly. Since PsA primarily affects the skin and joints, the source of markers for PsA may reside in these tissues. We therefore plan to identify these markers from skin and joint fluid obtained from patients with PsA. The most promising of these markers as well as markers previously identified by us and other researchers will then be investigated in a large number of subjects with psoriasis, PsA and healthy controls to determine if they distinguish patients with PsA from those with psoriasis alone. We also plan to test the usefulness of these markers for predicting future joint damage using methods developed in our long-term follow-up clinics at the University of Toronto. Results of these studies will help us develop blood tests that may serve to screen for PsA in patients with psoriasis. Simple blood tests developed through this program may help in early diagnosis and appropriate management, and thus ultimately prevent disability and improve quality of life in thousands of Canadians suffering from psoriasis and PsA.

3. Role of calcineurin and its signaling modulators in the dystrophic phenotype – Robin N. Michel (Concordia University)

The signature feature of muscular dystrophy as a disease is the absence of a key muscle fiber membrane protein called dystrophin. One of the most promising therapeutic strategies for countering muscular dystrophy is to replace in the diseased muscle the missing dytrophin protein with its "twin sister" protein, utrophin, which is found in small amounts in the muscles of people that have muscular dystrophy. We have provided exciting new evidence showing that utrophin is under the control of another muscle protein, calcineurin, an enzyme that we have shown to be an orchestrator of muscle growth. Indeed, we showed that when calcineurin is turned on within a muscle fiber, utrophin is enticed to appear in abundance all over the muscle fiber in areas usually reserved for dystrophin. By virtue of this replacement calcineurin is thus capable of rescuing fibers that are damaged by muscular dystrophy. Within the time frame of this proposal, we plan to further define the role of calcineurin in this rescuing of damaged dystrophic muscles and plan to identify other players in this symphony to help us to better understand and develop strategies and interventions to reverse its damaging effects.