INMD Connections - April 2013

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Message from Philip Sherman, INMD Scientific Director

Thank you to those who completed the recent INMD Newsletter Survey. We were pleased to learn that the majority of respondents indicated that they read the INMD Newsletter every month and that they find it informative and timely. Although two-thirds of respondents indicated that the Newsletter provides them with a better understanding of INMD strategic priorities, some individuals asked for more information about the implementation of the INMD Strategic Plan.

The Strategic Plan for INMD can be viewed on the CIHR website or as a publication [Can J Gastroenterol 2011;25(10):560-564]. Provided below is an overview of the status of our implementation of the INMD Strategic Research Priorities:

Food and Health

  • The Programmatic Grants in Food and Health were launched as a $10.24M initiative in March, 2012. The high application pressure demonstrated great interest by the research community from across the country. Results of the peer-reviewed Letters of Intent (LOI) are posted on the CIHR website. The full applications were due in January 2013 and the notice of decision is scheduled for June 2013.
  • INMD supported a related Institute of Population and Public Health-led initiative, Programmatic Grants in Health and Health Equity. INMD is contributing funds to support two applications relevant to Food and Health that are focused on food security and food systems.
  • INMD launched Priority Announcements related to Sodium and Health, and the reduction of sodium in the food supply. These grants support the Sodium Reduction Strategy for Canada.

Environments, Genes, and Chronic Disease

  • Environments, Genes, and Chronic Disease Catalyst Grants were launched in December, 2012 with a number of partners. These grants will generate preliminary data and promote interdisciplinary collaborations in anticipation of a subsequent call for full research proposals. The anticipated notice of decision for the Catalyst Grants is September 2013.
  • INMD partnered with the Institute of Genetics to support Emerging Team Grants in Rare Diseases, which resulted in INMD support for a relevant team grant focused on Fabry Disease and contributed to grants related to health services research and rare disease.

Obesity and Healthy Body Weight: Seeking Solutions

  • INMD co-hosted a national Workshop with the Canadian Obesity network (CON) focused on Bariatric Care Research. Since then, INMD has launched Priority Announcements to support grants relevant to bariatric care.
  • Development of a Bariatric Care Research Initiative is currently under discussion with potential provincial partners.

Continuum of Care

  • INMD partners to support INMD-relevant grants in the Partnerships for Health Systems Improvement (PHSI) competition.

In addition to INMD leading or contributing to these strategic initiatives, INMD is a partner on a number of pan-CIHR Signature Initiatives that align with INMD strategic priorities. These include:

  • Canadian Epigenetics, Environment and Health Research Consortium
  • Inflammation in Chronic Disease
  • Community-Based Primary Health Care
  • Personalized Medicine
  • Pathways to Health Equity for Aboriginal Peoples
  • Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR)

Many of these initiatives have been profiled in past issues of the INMD Newsletter. We will endeavour to continue to keep you informed about relevant strategic funding initiatives going forward.

Philip M. Sherman, MD, FRCPC

Researcher Profile

Jean-Philippe Chaput, PhD
Assistant Professor in Human Kinetics, University of Ottawa
Junior Research Scientist, CHEO Research Institute

Dr. Chaput has a bachelor degree in biology and a master’s in kinesiology from the University of Sherbrooke. In 2004, he undertook a doctorate in kinesiology at Université Laval under the supervision of Prof. Angelo Tremblay. His doctoral thesis focused on a wide range of subjects, including the limits of weight loss, dietary insecurities and the lesser-known causes of weight gain, especially lack of sleep and mental stress.

He thereafter undertook two years of postdoctoral research (2008-2010) at the Department of Human Nutrition of the University of Copenhagen (Denmark) under the supervision of Prof. Arne Astrup. His research included the effects of experimental deprivation of sleep and the effect of passive video gaming on energy balance in adolescents.

Dr. Chaput currently holds a Junior Research Chair in Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute (Ottawa) and is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. His research focuses on obesity prevention and the adoption of a healthy lifestyle. He is also interested in the investigation of new determinants of obesity and recently obtained an INMD start-up grant from CIHR ($100,000) to examine the influence of active video gaming on appetite control and feeding behaviour in children and adolescents.

Dr. Chaput has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and has contributed to a large number of conferences around the world. He received several awards for his research, including the New Investigator Award from the Canadian Obesity Network (2011), the New Investigator Award from the International Association for the Study of Obesity (2010) and the Ethan Sims Young Investigator Award from The Obesity Society (2005).

Café Scientifique - Chronic Diseases: Are they an effect of the environment or your genetic destiny?

Photo: Drs. Jason Gilliland, Cheril Clarson, Philip Sherman, David Hill, and Victor Han

Thanks to Café Scientifique speakers Drs. Jason Gilliland, Cheril Clarson, Philip Sherman, David Hill, and moderator, Dr. Victor Han in London, ON (April 11) for a stimulating and interactive discussion on environments, genes, and chronic disease!

2012 CIHR-CMAJ Top Achievements in Health Research Awards

CIHR and the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) recently announced the recipients of the 2012 CIHR-CMAJ Top Achievements in Health Research Awards. INMD would like to congratulate Drs. Brenda Hemmelgarn, Braden Manns, and Marcello Tonelli who are being recognized for their research and knowledge translation activities in the areas of hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease and vascular disease. For more information about the Awards, visit the CIHR website.

Funding Opportunities

  1. The CHRP funding opportunity is now posted! You can find it at the CIHR funding opportunity database
  2. Planning Grants: Spring 2013 Priority Announcement (relevant to INMD mandate); Application Deadline: June 17, 2013
  3. Planning Grants: CIHR Science, Knowledge Translation and Ethics Branch; Application Deadline: June 17, 2013
  4. Dissemination Events: Spring 2013 Priority Announcement (relevant to INMD mandate); Application Deadline: June 17, 2013
  5. Dissemination Events (Spring 2013 Competition): CIHR Science, Knowledge Translation and Ethics Branch; Application Deadline: June 17, 2013

Feedback on the INMD Newsletter

INMD welcomes researchers, partners and other stakeholders to share news stories that relate to areas of our mandate. If you have interesting research results or developments, are organizing a conference or workshop, or wish to report on a past event, we would like to feature them in our newsletter or other communication materials.

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