INMD Connections – October 2012

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Message from Philip Sherman, INMD Scientific Director

Photo: From left: Drs. Jovita Sundaramoorthy, Phil Sherman, André Carpentier and Bruce Verchere

This year INMD was pleased to co-sponsor two Young Investigator Awards, which were announced at the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA)/ Canadian Society for Endocrinology and Metabolism (CSEM) Annual Meetings held in Vancouver earlier this month. INMD co-sponsored the CDA Young Scientist Award, which was presented to Dr. André Carpentier, Univ. Sherbrooke, who is profiled in this issue. André delivered an outstanding lecture entitled, Adipose Tissues Dysfunctions and Mechanisms of Ectopic Fat Deposition in Type 2 Diabetes: To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before..., and paid tribute to his mentors and collaborators. He also injected good humour into the presentation by sharing how his enthusiasm for Star Trek inspired him to use positron emission tomography (PET) imaging to study fat metabolism.

Photo: From left: Drs. Larry Leiter, Sophie Jamal, Philip Sherman, and Jean-Francois Richard

INMD also co-sponsored the CSEM Young Investigator Award, along with Merck (represented by Jean-Francois Richard), which was presented to Dr. Sophie Jamal, a clinician scientist at Women's College Hospital, Univ. Toronto, and who will be profiled in an upcoming INMD newsletter. Sophie delivered a compelling lecture entitled, Nitric Oxide and Bone: What a Gas! Her presentation provided a rationale for considering novel approaches to promoting bone health.

I want to congratulate both the CDA and the CSEM on the success of their annual meetings, and thank Dr. Jan Hux, CDA Chief Scientific Advisor, Ms. Jovita Sundaramoorthy, CDA VP-Research & Education, and Dr. Larry Leiter, CSEM President, for facilitating INMD participation at their annual meetings and award lecture presentations.

Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC

Partnership Award

Photo: Drs. Elizabeth Kristjansson and Robert Thirsk

Since 2002, CIHR has recognized outstanding partnerships with the annual CIHR Partnership Award. We are happy to announce that the 2012 Award winner is the Ottawa Neighbourhood Study (ONS), awarded to principal investigator Dr. Elizabeth Kristjansson, Univ. Ottawa, and presented by new CIHR Vice-President, Dr. Robert Thirsk.

The ONS was set up in 2005 to measure, quantify, and map different aspects of the social and economic determinants of health across the city. Team members work together to collect information on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis related to demographic structure, number of parks or green spaces, quality of housing, and much more. The idea was that with these figures in hand, governments and residents could better address social challenges by directing interventions based on unique needs of each neighbourhood.

The ONS also gathered data about obesity and physical activity rates of residents, and the food environment of each neighbourhood, including access to grocery and specialty-food stores, sit-down restaurants, and fast food chain restaurants. The ONS serves as an example of cross-disciplinary work, as geography researchers work alongside health researchers, and cross-sectoral partnerships, with community organizations playing a role in gathering and validating data. For more information, visit the Neighbourhood Study website, the CIHR Partnership Award web page or contact Mary Beshai at mary.beshai@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

New Investigator Profile

André Carpentier, MD, FRCPC, CSP
2012 Canadian Diabetes Association/CIHR-INMD Young Scientist Award Recipient

Dr. Carpentier is the recipient of the CIHR/GlaxoSmithKline Research Chair in Diabetes and Professor and clinician-scientist in the Departments of Medicine and Physiology in the Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Sherbrooke and the Centre de recherche clinique Étienne-Le Bel. He is also the director of the university's Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiovascular Complications Research Centre and Director of the new Cardiometabolic Health, Diabetes and Obesity Research Network of the Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec (FRQS).

Dr. Carpentier's research interests include the investigation of postprandial fatty acid metabolism and brown fat metabolism in the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases. He also investigates the anti-diabetic mechanisms of bariatric surgery. His research funding includes grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Canadian Diabetes Association (CDA), and the FRQS. Dr. Carpentier has published more than 80 peer-reviewed publications.

He is the recipient of multiple awards, including the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Quebec's Jonathan- Ballon Award (2004), the 2009 André-Dupont Young Scientist Award of the Club de recherche clinique du Québec, the 2010 CSEM Diabetes Young Investigator Grant from the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and the 2012 Young Investigator Award from the CDA and CIHR INMD.

Congratulations, André!

Congratulations to Funding Recipients

INMD congratulates researchers who were successful in the following INMD-supported Priority Announcements:

Principal Investigator Institution Project Title
Planning Grants - PA: Nutrition, Metabolism & Diabetes
Canadian Obesity Network Canadian Obesity Network Obesity and Mental Health Hot Topic Conference
Laurie Twells Memorial University Bariatric Care Research Planning Meeting
Dissemination Events - PA: Nutrition, Metabolism & Diabetes
Mary-Louise Greer Hospital Sick Children Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Disease Imaging Workshop: Special Focus on Magnetic Resonance Enterography - the Current and Emerging Role
Heather Keller University Waterloo Innovative Agri-food and Nutrition Strategies to Improve Quality of Life for Older Adults
Canadian Obesity Network Canadian Obesity Network 3rd National Obesity Summit

CIHR-National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Joint Scientific Workshop

INMD was pleased to participate again this year in the CIHR-National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Joint Scientific Workshop. The workshop, held in Montreal, focused on Personalized Medicine. INMD planned the session on Metabolomics, and was delighted to feature two outstanding Canadian metabolomics researchers who work in the INMD mandate area: Dr. Jane Shearer, Univ. Calgary, presented, Guidance of Nutritional Therapeutics & Outcomes by Metabolomics, and Dr. David Wishart, Univ. Alberta, presented on Metabolomics and Personalized Medicine. Both showcased their unique research programs and stimulated a fruitful scientific exchange. Many thanks to both Drs. Shearer and Wishart!

Setting Research Priorities for Dialysis Survey

The Canadian Kidney Knowledge Translation and Generation Network (CANN-NET) has launched a survey to identify the most important unanswered questions regarding the management of dialysis patients from the perspective of patients, care providers, clinicians or health care workers. The survey asks respondents to identify questions (about diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, and anything else) that you think should be studied through research. To access this survey or for more information, please visit the CANN-NET website. The survey deadline is November 30, 2012. CANN-NET is supported by the Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

Check it out!

CIHR-INMD, along with other CIHR institutes, was featured in UK's International Innovation magazine.

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