III Newsletter – March 2012

Message from Dr. Marc Ouellette,
Scientific Director

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It is my pleasure to reach you through this Newsletter for the first time using Campaigner. You will find anupdate on new activities since the Institute's last communication with you.

Institute Advisory Boards

The Institute benefits from the expertise of the Institute Advisory Board (IAB), the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Advisory Committee (CHARAC) and the Community-Based Research Steering Committee (CBR-SC) to provide advice which helps the Institute achieve the goals of the different programs it is responsible for managing. These advisory groups, each with expertise in their respective program areas, meet throughout the year to discuss opportunities and emerging priorities. The CBR-SC last met on October 23rd, 2012; CHARAC held its lastmeeting in Québec City on March 2nd, 2012 and the III-IAB met in Calgary, January 31 to February 1st, 2012.

At the III-IAB, we discussed the current and upcoming initiatives led by III, the 2012-2017 III Strategic Plan, and the reform of the CIHR Open Programs and Peer-review Process. At the CHARAC meeting, we discussed the initiative's involvement in the international endeavour “Towards a Cure” led by the International AIDS Society and how this intersects with the HIV/AIDS Initiative's next area of focus as well as new efforts being undertaken to address the HIV epidemic in Saskatchewan. At the CBR-SC, the group provided feedback on the priorities stemming from the CBR program consultation.

III will also be accepting applications for all three of its advisory bodies this spring. Board members typically have a mandate of three years, with the possibility of renewal for up to an additional 3 years. The Institute strives to achieve a balanced representation of the Infection and Immunity community with respect to geography, research themes and gender. For CHARAC and the CBR-SC, we also seek the strong voice of at least one person living with HIV. The call for nominees to the IAB is currently open for the Institutes and one new member will be selected for III-IAB. The call for members of CHARAC and CBR-SC will be launched in April.

Café Scientifique

As part of our commitment to reach out and engage the general public, III hosted a Café Scientifique entitled “Healthy Hospitals: How can we help prevent the spread of infections?” in Calgary at the end of January. Moderated by Dr. Mark Joffe from the University of Alberta, the evening's presentations included discussions on the acquisition of nosocomial infections, hospital design innovations, infection control strategies, and publichealth campaigns. Our expert speakers included Drs John Conly and Tom Louie from the University of Calgary, and Gwyneth Myers, a public health nurse and PhD candidate at the University of Calgary. A lively and involvedcrowd participated in the event and challenged the speakers with thought provoking and insightful questions. Our next Café Scientifique is tentatively planned for Halifax in June 2012.

Reform of the open and peer review

To better address the needs of the research community, and to enhance the way it funds investigator-initiated health research and knowledge translation, CIHR has embarked on a process to reform the Open Suite of Programs and Peer Review process. We will continue to engage with the research community in our reforms over the coming months, through a series of group discussions and other activities. The community's response to our proposal is critical to the finalization of the reforms and it is our intention to give every viewpoint a full chance to be heard and considered. Information on the proposed reforms, as well as the details on how you can provide feedback to CIHR, can be found on our website.

Upcoming and potential funding opportunities

The CIHR Program Grant in Transplantation Research is currently accepting Letters of Intent from interested research groups. The deadline for submitting Letters of Intent is April 16th, 2012.

The Institute is a participant in the Roadmap Signature Initiative (RSI) on Personalized Medicine and III will fund at least one teami n the field of Infection and Immunity. Registration for this competition is now closed. The Institute is co-lead with the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA) on the RSI on Inflammation in Chronic Diseases. Seven Institutes are partnering on this initiative, which has been approved by Science Council for launch in 2012. The HIVAIDS Research Initiative is also a partner on this Inflammation Initiative, as well as the RSI on Community-based Primary Healthcare (CBPHC) and will provide funds for at least one team.

On the vaccine front, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) has continued its partnership with CIHR to support the PHAC/CIHR Influenza Research Network for a directed grant aplication (PCIRN). Through the Canada-China Science & Technology Agreement, human vaccines were selected as the topic for an upcoming initiative between the governments of China and Canada. Several discussions with the Government of Canada and bilateral discussions with Chinese officials (Ministry of Science and Technology; MOST) have taken place, and the announcement should be forthcoming within the next several months. Networking workshops between Canadian industry leaders and their Chinese counterparts are in preparation. The results of the large team grants in vaccine discovery and social research part of the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) were announced recently. Also to help Government of Canada agencies involved in HIV vaccine research, a CHVI Alliance Coordinating Office (ACO) was recently announced. The ACO and Governmentof Canada representatives met with the Gates Foundation in Seattle February 2012 to explore common areas of interest in HIV vaccine research and future funding opportunities within the Advancing Basic Science component of the initiative. Opportunities under CHVI should be released in the summer of 2012.

A new funding opportunity called Healthcare Renewal Policy Analysis will be launched later this month. It is a joint program developed by CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (IHSPR) and the Knowledge Translation Branch as part of CIHR's Roadmap Signature Initiative in Evidence-Informed Healthcare Renewal (EIHR). These grants seek to form meaningful partnerships between researchers and senior-level policy makers who work directly within the health sector in federal, provincial or territorial government departments, regional health authorities, or Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs) as well as those who work in other sectors (e.g., education, social services, industry) that develop policy with population-level health impacts. III is a partner on this funding opportunity, and will fund 2 grants related to various aspects of our mandate.

Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity

The Bhagirath Singh Early Career Award in Infection and Immunity was established to honour the outstanding work of III's inaugural Scientific Director, Dr. Bhagirath Singh. To recognize the excellence of research being done in Canada, this prize ($25,000) is awarded annually to a new investigator (less than five years as an independent researcher) in the field of Infection and Immunity with the highest percentile ranking in the Fall and Spring Open Operating Grants competitions. The winner for 2011 is Dr. Tara J. Moriarty, Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Dentistry, Matrix Dynamics Group, University of Toronto. The title of her project is “Mechanism of Vascular Dissemination in the Lyme Disease Spirochete”. Congratulations and we wish Dr. Moriarty much success in her research.

Strategic Plan

The 2007-2012 III Strategic Plan is coming to an end and the Institute and its IAB are now planning the next reiteration. Discussion amongst Institute staff, IAB members, and the III Strategic Plan Steering Committee has taken place on several occasions and the consensus was to set forward two main strategic priorities, including dedicated research areas in each of the strategic priorities. These priority areas are:

1. Immunity and Inflammation (including transplantation, inflammation in chronic disease, vaccines, personalized medicine, and the microbiome) and
2. Existing and Emerging Threats (including antimicrobial resistance, influenza, HIV/AIDS, and hepatitis C).

The final decision has not yet been made on these priorities, and a web-based consultation process will be undertaken in the coming months to solicit comments from the community. If you have comments we will be pleased to receive them.

Your feedback on any issue related to CIHR and health research are important, and my role as Scientific Directoris to bring your issues to the CIHR Science Council. Please do not hesitate to contact myself or other III team members if you need advice or further information.

I wish you success in your research endeavours,

Best wishes,

Marc Ouellette

Funding Opportunities

Transplantation Research (LOI deadline April 17th 2012)

Merieux Research Grants

Meetings of Interest

• l5th Annual Cancer Immune Therapy Symposium – April 11-13, 2012 – Hôtel Omni - Montréal
• Canadian Association of HIV Research – April 19-22, 2012 – Montreal, Quebec
• AIDS 2012 – July 22-27, 2012 – Washington D.C., US
• AMMI Canada CACMID 2012 Annual Conference – May 2-5, 2012 – Vancouver, British Columbia
• 25th Annual Canadian Society for Immunology (CSI) Conference – June 15-18, 2012 – St. John's, Newfoundlandand Labrador
• Canadian Society of Microbiologists (CSM) 2012 – June 20-23, 2012 – Vancouver, British Columbia

III Events

Visit our web page for the full list of III events.

Contact us

Staff list

The Institute of Infection and Immunity provides national leadership and creates programs that promote innovative research aimed at reducing the global burden of infectious diseases and disorders of the immune system.

Québec City

2705 Laurier Blvd., CHUL - Room TR 62
Québec Qc G1V 4G2
Tel: 418-577-4688
sd.iii-imii@crchul.ulaval.ca

Marc Ouellette, Ph D
Scientific Director
Tel: 418-577-4688
sd.iii-imii@crchul.ulaval.ca

Serge Desnoyers, Ph D
Assistant Director
Tel: 418-656-4141 x46251
serge.desnoyers@crchul.ulaval.ca

Jennifer Raven, Ph D
Associate, Strategic Initiatives
Tel: 418-656-4141 x46250
jennifer.raven@crchul.ulaval.ca

Mireille Perrault
Assistant
Tel: 418-577-4688
mireille.perrault@crchul.ulaval.ca

Ottawa

Room 97, 160 Elgin Street
Address locator: 4809A
Ottawa ON K1A 0W9
Tel: 1-888-603-4178
sd.iii-imii@crchul.ulaval.ca

Judith Bray, Ph D
Assistant Director
Tel: 613-954-7223

Diane Christin
Institute Project Officer
Tel: 613-941-0997

David Hartell
Associate, Strategic Initiatives
Tel: 613-941-4329

Jennifer Gunning
Associate Director, HIV/AIDS, Research Initiative
Tel: 613-941-4483

Paula Kirton
Associate Director, HIV/AIDS
Partnerships & KT, Research Initiative
Tel: 613-941-4439

Suzete Dos Santos
Associate HIV/AIDS, Research Initiative
Tel: 613-941-4464

Jane Hutchison
Associate HIV/AIDS, Research Initiative
Tel: 613-948-9396

Marc-Étienne Joseph
Associate HIV/AIDS, Research Initiative
Tel: 613-641-4464

Simone Marcantonio
Project Officer HIV/AIDS Research Initiative
Tel: 613-948-2461

Andrew Rajhathy
Program Officer HIV/AIDS, Research Initiative
Tel: 613-952-4263