March 2011 - III Newsletter

Message from Marc Ouellette
III Scientific Director

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to reach you through this Newsletter. There have been several advances on a number of fronts since the last message in November 2010.

International Review
The Institute and CIHR are currently undergoing their second evaluation by international expert panels. The Institute was evaluated on February 8^th, and both CIHR and the Institute will be reviewed again from March 30-31. As soon as recommendations become publically available, we will let you know. I wish to thank the staff of the Institute who worked diligently in preparing for this evaluation and all the researchers and stakeholders who participated in the review. For more information on the review process, please see CIHR International Review 2011.

Pandemic Influenza News
The Canadian Pandemic Preparedness Meeting: Outcomes, Impacts and Lessons Learned was held on November 12-13, 2010 in Montréal. Key research findings and public health impacts of the Pandemic Preparedness Strategic Research Initiative (PPSRI) and other influenza – and pandemic-related projects in the last five years were discussed.

The PPSRI has been a major success in creating capacity and has generated great advances for pandemic research in Canada. The challenge that the Institute is now addressing is how to sustain these efforts in preparing for and responding to emerging threats. Last month, CIHR participated in a workshop with other international research organizations to outline the scope, governance, capacities, resource needs and research priorities of a proposed international influenza consortium. We will report back on the progress of this effort as we move forward.

Congratulations to Dr. Mark Loeb whose paper Effect of Influenza Vaccination of Children on Infection Rates in Hutterite Communities: A Randomized Trial has been chosen as the 2010 paper of the year in The Lancet.

New Upcoming Initiatives/Activities

The Institute's next funding opportunity will focus on transplantation. To prepare for this initiative, III hosted an invitational workshop for about 60 participants in Montréal on February 1-2, 2011. The objectives of the workshop were to: generate discussion and collaborations among the broad transplantation community; solicit recommendations on the scope and focus of potential strategic research initiatives; and identify opportunities for leveraging existing programs and resources. In addition, the workshop served to inform and prepare the transplantation community for future
( funding opportunities emerging from the CIHR Roadmap strategic initiative on Inflammation in Chronic Disease - a multi-Institute initiative being co-led by III and the CIHR Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis. Based on the recommendations from the workshop, subsequent funding opportunities will be launched in partnership with other CIHR Institutes and external organizations, many of whom were represented at the workshop. A follow-up meeting with the Canadian Blood Services explored opportunities for partnerships related to organ and cell donation.

III will hold its 4^th New Investigator Forum on October 14-16, 2011 at Lac Delage, near Québec City. The steering committee is being led by Dr. Brian Coombes and they are currently discussing how best to make this event effective for the participating new investigators. A website is in preparation and we hope to open registration soon. The recipient of the Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity, Dr. Martin Schmeing from McGill University, will give a short presentation of his award-winning research during the meeting. Congratulations to Dr. Schmeing!

Participants of the III-CIHR Microbiome Workshop held in Vancouver, March 8^th, 2011

As indicated in the last Newsletter, seven teams were funded under the Canadian Microbiome Initiative RFA. As a lead up to the International Human Microbiome Consortium meeting in Vancouver this month, the Institute brought together representatives from all of the funded teams to explore potential areas for further networking and collaboration. This exercise was worthwhile for the researchers, and we plan to have this type of workshop in the early stage of each major strategic initiative.

The Institute had its 32^nd IAB meeting in Toronto, from January 25-26 and will have its next meeting in Winnipeg, May 25-26. We are also planning a joint meeting with the Public Health Agency of Canada to determine how we can best work together on a potential new strategic initiative aimed at preparing for and responding to emerging threats to health. A Café Scientifique on Antibiotic Resistance is also planned in Winnipeg on May 24^th.

I have participated in a number of town hall meetings across the country where researchers have expressed their opinions on current activities at both the Institute and CIHR corporate level and I will continue to meet the research community in the coming months. Your opinion is important and part of my role is to bring it to the CIHR Scientific Council. Please do not hesitate to contact myself or other III team members if you need help or further information.

I look forward to very fruitful interactions with you in the future,

Best wishes,

Marc Ouellette

III Funding opportunities

Master's Award - HIV/AIDS (Community-Based Research) (2010-2011) - Application deadline: April 1^st, 2011

Catalyst Grant - HIV/AIDS (Community-Based Research) (2010-2011) Application deadline: April 1^st, 2011

Operating Grant - Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC Partnered) (2011-2012) - Application deadline: October 1st, 2011

Planning and Dissemination Grant - There will be a P&D Grant launch in April. Please, check the III website for updates and precise date of the launch.

Bridge funding - Four researchers from the I&I community have been awarded III bridge funding. Congratulations to John P. Dalton (McGill U.), Amee R. Manges (The Research Institute of the McGill U. Health Centre), Jonathan P. Rast (Sunnybrook Research Institute), and Juan C. Zuniga-Pflucker (Sunnybrook Research Institute).

For further information on these and other funding opportunities.

Meetings of interest

AMMI Canada – CACMID Annual Conference, April 7-9, 2011 Montréal, QC

24^th Annual CSI Conference, April 8-11, 2011 Lake Louise, AB

CSM/SCM 61^st Annual Conference, June 20-23, 2011 St. John's, NL

Prion2011: New World, May 16-19, 2011 Montreal, QC

CAHR 2011 – 20^th Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research, April 14-17, 2011, Toronto, On