October 14, 2009
Pandemic research grants announced across Canada
AHFMR commits $200,000 to the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Canada-wide team studying pandemic flu and pregnancy
As part of the Government of Canada’s H1N1 research initiative announced this morning in Winnipeg, the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research is supporting a pan-Canadian research team investigating “Outcomes of Pandemic Influenza in Pregnancy”. Funded by the CIHR in partnership with AHFMR, and led by Dr. Alison McGeer at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, the team includes 28 members from five provinces – B.C., Alberta, Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Quebec. Ten of the team’s members are Alberta researchers.
The Canadian OPIP Study team
Calgary: Dr. Steven Drews, Dr. Marie Louie, Dr. Thomas Louie, Dr. Reg Sauve
Edmonton: Dr. George Zahariadis, Dr. Michelle Levy, Dr. Bonita Lee, Dr. Leonora Hendson,
Dr. Mark Joffe, Dr. Geoffrey Taylor
Halifax: Dr. Victoria Allen, Dr. Sarah Manos, Dr. Shelly McNeill
Quebec City: Dr. Guy Boivin, Dr. Emmanuel Bujold, Dr. Katy Gouin
Ottawa (PHAC): Dr. Catherine McCourt, Dr. Louise Pelletier, Dr. Rachel Rodin, Dr. Anne-Marie Ugnat
Toronto: Dr. Allison McGeer, Dr. Brenda Coleman, Dr. Robert Fowler, Dr. Kellie Murphy, Dr. Matthew Sermer
Hamilton: Dr. Jennie Johnstone, Dr. Mark Loeb
Vancouver: Dr. Deborah Money
The team will investigate influenza in 800 pregnant women at 8 sites across Canada: Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Hamilton, North York, Toronto, Quebec, Vancouver. The research team is looking at whether:
- pandemic flu in the second and third trimester of pregnancy is associated with an increase in adverse fetal outcomes
- close contact with young children at home or work is an important risk factor for pregnant women
- receipt of seasonal influenza vaccine from 2007 to 2009 will increase the risk of illness due to H1N1 flu in the second and third waves of the pandemic
- pandemic flu vaccine is effective in preventing symptomatic flu in pregnant women
- vaccination of pregnant women against a particular strain of influenza protects their infants against influenza infection in the first six months of life
Alberta researchers working on this study are available for interviews with reporters today in Calgary and Edmonton.
To book an interview, please contact:
Dwayne Brunner, AHFMR Communications,
1.877.423.5727 x224, .