BC Environmental and Occupational Health Research Network

This program is jointly managed and funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). Its aim is to promote the development of Canadian-Chinese scientific co-operation between universities, hospitals, research institutes or affiliated research organizations in Canada and China through the support of collaborative research teams.

The Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP) program supports focused interdisciplinary collaborative research projects involving any field of the natural sciences or engineering and any field of the health sciences. Proposed research projects should be innovative, and lead to health benefits for Canadians, more effective health services, and/or economic development in health-related areas. All applicant teams are required to demonstrate they will engage and collaborate with a knowledge/technology user that could benefit from the results of the research. Typically, support will be for up to three years for defined projects with clear milestones and decision points.

Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) - including coronary artery disease, angina, congestive heart failure, hypertension and stroke - is the major cause of death and disability worldwide claiming 17.1 million lives annually.1 There is a growing body of evidence related to sex and gender differences with regards to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of those with the disease, however, gender and sex are not adequately considered in clinical interventions for CVD (i.e. interventions carried out by clinicians and healthcare providers to improve, maintain or assess the health of a person with CVD). For example, medications for treating CVD are not always tested specifically to determine if their effects differ in women and men, yet we know that gender and sex influence drug adherence, absorption, and side effects. Taking account of sex and gender in clinical interventions for CVD has the potential to improve prevention, detection and treatment strategies. Thus, there is a need to find ways to synthesize what is currently known about sex and gender in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of CVD, and to engage this knowledge through innovative approaches for improving clinical practices.

CIHR launched its café scientifique program as an outreach initiative that would provide answers to questions of popular interest to the general public. As a result, over 330 CIHR Café Scientifiques events have been funded to provide educational and informal discussions regarding popular health topics. CIHR Cafés are typically held in bars or cafés, and involve a panel of experts who specialize in the topic at hand. The primary point of these events is accessibility: to be a member of the audience, you don’t have to have a science degree. You need to be interested in learning and asking questions. Through its Café Scientifique program, CIHR organizes its own Café events but also establishes partnerships with non-profit organizations, universities, research centres, science centres and museums across Canada. If successful, these Café Scientifique partners can expect to receive $3,000 in funding to host their own Café. Please note: these funds can be used to host more than one Café.

Proof of Principle Phase II (POP-II) Grants will fund proof of principle research projects up to 12 months duration at the co-investment stage undertaking follow-on proof of principle activities in partnership with a non-academic investor. This funding opportunity is aimed at providing a platform to better enable the academic institution/researcher to move the discovery/invention further down the innovation pipeline. Research projects across all four pillars of CIHR are eligible for this program. Note that the end product is not required to generate revenue, but there must be a demonstrated market and opportunity for your product.

Many of the inventions and discoveries (products/tools/services) arising through academic research are at a stage beyond discovery-driven research and yet are often of uncertain commercial utility or insufficiently developed to be of interest to relevant receptor companies and potential investors. Such intellectual property may never be licensed or commercialized, or take years to do so, without additional targeted research, market research, investment and business development activities. These activities are of paramount importance, because they serve to validate, better define and add value to the intellectual property but they require resources that typically cannot be obtained through the traditional funding mechanisms. CIHR’s Proof of Principle Program aims at filling part of this funding gap. Proof of Principle Phase I (POP-I) Grants will fund proof of principle research projects of up to 12 months duration designed to advance discoveries/inventions towards commercializable technologies, with a view to attract new investment and create new science-based businesses. Research projects across all four pillars of CIHR are eligible for this program. Note that the end product is not required to generate revenue, but there must be a demonstrated market and opportunity for your product.

Aboriginal peoples experience a profound burden of ill health that has resulted in health status that is significantly below that of the larger Canadian population. Many of the health issues facing Aboriginal communities are multi-factorial and are therefore best addressed through multi-pillar, multi-disciplinary collaborations that both identify the relevant health priorities for Aboriginal peoples and produce scientifically excellent research. CIHR-Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health (CIHR-IAPH) mandate is to promote research that addresses the special health needs of Aboriginal peoples in Canada, and aims to improve the health of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples through the assertion of indigenous understandings of health and by fostering innovative community-based and scientifically excellent research. The purpose of this funding opportunity is to further strengthen policies and programs that impact on the health of Aboriginal peoples by encouraging health intervention research. It is expected that this targeted investment will lead to enhancement and expansion of the evidentiary base concerning effective health interventions for the special health needs of Aboriginal peoples in Canada.

The Institute of Aging of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR-IA) of Canada and the UK Research Councils’ New Dynamics of Ageing (NDA) programme are pleased to announce the relaunch of their joint initiative to promote international collaborations among Canadian and UK researchers. International partnerships are, and will continue to be, increasingly indispensable in addressing many critical global health issues, particularly those related to ageing populations. The purpose of this CIHR-IA and NDA Research Initiative is to promote international collaborations among Canadian and UK researchers through the support of Canadian research contributions to excellent and competitive research programmes under the NDA.