INMD Connections – December 2012

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Message from Philip Sherman, INMD Scientific Director

Photo of Partners Forum

Photo: Dr. Norm Rosenblum facilitates a Mock Grant Review session

Photo of Poster Judges: Drs. Carolyn Pullen and John Bienenstock

The year 2012 ended on a high note for INMD as we hosted a New Investigator meeting, December 6-8 at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. In planning the meeting, we worked closely with our partners, Voluntary Health Organizations and Medical Professional Societies, from across the INMD mandate.

To start the meeting, we hosted a Partners Forum to share best practices and lessons learned. Initial feedback from those gathered indicated great enthusiasm for the initiative and the need to continue this dialogue over the long-term.

The New Investigator meeting brought together over 40 INMD-related researchers, who are in their first ten years of a faculty appointment, from across the country to network and interact with individuals in positions of leadership. The investigators were treated to keynote presentations by Professor André Marette (Univ. Laval) and Beth Potter (Univ. Ottawa) and symposia on Knowledge Translation, Partnership and Citizen Engagement, Applying to Strategic Funding Opportunities, Tips to Academic Success, and issues related to Work-Life Balance.

A very lively and interactive part of the meeting was the poster judging sessions. Each participant had the opportunity to present a poster to the judges and the other participants. Congratulations to the three top poster prize winners: Darren Bridgewater (McMaster Univ.), Jordan Feld (Univ. Toronto) and Jess Haines (Univ. Guelph).

A mock Grant Review was conducted to provide tips on both writing and reviewing grants submitted to the rigors of the peer review process. We incorporated social media by encouraging meeting participants to Tweet during the meeting. An evaluation of the meeting is underway, to assist in next steps for future planning.

Many thanks to each of the partners who supported and participated in this meeting. Thanks also to the established researchers who were so generous in providing inspiration and encouragement as speakers and facilitators at the meeting.

Wishing you all the best for the holiday season, and peace, joy, and research productivity for 2013!

Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC

New Investigators

New Investigator Profile

Andrea Gruneir, PhD
Women’s College Hospital, University of Toronto

New Investigator salary support provided by a Team Grant with support from INMD allowed Andrea Gruneir, PhD, to secure the footing necessary to establish her independent research career. Today, she is on faculty as a Scientist in the Women’s College Research Institute at the Univ. Toronto. “Without the initial opportunity, I wouldn’t have had the same ability to advance my career and submit my own successful awards,” notes Dr. Gruneir. “The INMD Team Grant funding support was essential in getting me established as an independent researcher.” INMD team funding has supported the career path of multiple promising trainees, who have then been enabled to secure other independent funding opportunities – through CIHR and elsewhere – as a result of their involvement with an experienced team of productive scientists. Dr. Paula Rochon, MD, MPH, FRCPC, Team Co-Principal Investigator, states: “Our work looks at issues from a clinical perspective. It is important to know the range of potential adverse events, as well as the cumulative risk of events, so that informed decisions can be made about the risks and benefits of initiating or continuing a specific drug therapy.”

“The Team Grant allowed us to support both new investigators and post-doctoral fellows, thereby improving research capacity in Canada” observes Dr. Geoffrey Anderson, MD, PhD, Team Co-Principal Investigator. “Team funding created a forum for researchers to bring their ideas to the table, and to then quickly and effectively engage with a well-equipped and experienced interdisciplinary research team.”

Update to the CIHR Open Access Policy

Starting January 2013, CIHR-funded researchers will be required to make their peer-reviewed publications accessible at no cost within 12 months of publication – with no exception. Amendments to the CIHR Open Access Policy, formerly known as the Policy on Access to Research Outputs, modify current requirements to provide the public with freely accessible research articles while aligning with other major funding agencies, such as the US National Institutes of Health. Researchers can comply with the green open access policy by depositing the articles in an archive, such as PubMed Central Canada or an institutional repository, and/or by publishing results in an open access journal.

While the CIHR Open Access Policy provides researchers with clear guidance on CIHR’s minimum expectation, in the spirit of public benefits of research, CIHR continues to encourage researchers to make their publications accessible for free as soon as possible after publication. Compliance with the policy will continue to be monitored through end of grant reporting. The revised Open Access Policy is available on the CIHR website. For further information, please contact Access CIHR.

Congratulations to Dr. Claude Roy: 2013 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Inductee

INMD congratulates Dr. Claude Roy, who is among the six medical heroes named to Canada’s Medical Hall of Fame. Considered one of the early pioneers in pediatric gastroenterology, Claude is a man of science and humanism who always puts the child first. An outstanding researcher, teacher, and clinician, Dr. Roy played a leading role in the transformation of Ste-Justine University Hospital in Montreal, an internationally-respected child health centre. His research, including infant nutrition, chronic liver disease in children and gastrointestinal and hepatobilliary manifestations of Cystic Fybrosis, has had a major impact on the health of children. Dr. Roy’s ongoing worry that today’s clinicians are becoming increasingly disengaged from scientific research has prompted him to take action at both a national level and with local investigators. Not one to sit back, Dr. Roy continues to work tirelessly to create training programs that are more effective in developing the Clinician Scientist – a key issue for the future of the science and practice of medicine.

News & Funding Opportunities

  1. Catalyst Grant: Environments, Genes and Chronic Disease
    Applications due April 2, 2013

  2. Operating Grant: Winter 2013 Priority Announcement/INMD Start Up Funds, Bridge Funding and Bariatric Care
    Applications due March 1, 2013

  3. Planning Grants: Winter 2013 Priority Announcement
    Applications due February 15, 2013

  4. Travel Awards - Institute Community Support (Winter 2013 Competition)
    Applications due January 25, 2013

  5. Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA): Phase 2 of the Human Microbiome Project funded by NIH Common Fund
    Applications due February 8, 2013

  6. Programmatic Grants in Food and Health
    Letter of Intent Results Posted

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