A new focus on teams
Great advances in medical research have come from asking very specific questions: What does a certain gene do? How does one cell recognize another? How does a pathogen get past the body's defences? The answers often provide insights into diseases and form the basis of innovative treatments. AHFMR has a 28-year track record in supporting researchers who ask these questions.
But there are broader questions too. Why does Alberta have the highest rate of preterm birth in Canada? How can we prevent osteoarthritis? Answers to these questions could also yield important insights, but they require resources beyond the reach of a single research lab. That's the thinking behind AHFMR's new research-funding initiative: the Interdisciplinary Team Grants program.
This multi-million dollar initiative provides opportunities for collaborative teams of researchers from different disciplines and institutions to address important research questions-questions closely linked with high-priority health problems in Alberta. AHFMR's Interdisciplinary Team Grants program is unique. Though other funding agencies also provide team grants, the AHFMR program boasts a broad, interdisciplinary aspect. It also requires its teams to plan for a way to move their research findings into the health system. The program is driven by the priority health needs of Albertans and is intended to benefit Albertans directly.
"This program represents a bold, new way of supporting research," says AHFMR interim president and CEO Dr. Jacques Magnan. "The varied disciplines of the investigators on these teams will allow them to address issues from all angles-from the basic science behind the problem and the effects across a population, all the way to real solutions to be used in the clinic and policy recommendations to be implemented by decision-makers.”
Each AHFMR Interdisciplinary Team Grant is valued at $1 million. The program was made possible, in part, by the Alberta government's decision to add $500 million to the AHFMR endowment. That injection of cash allowed AHFMR to increase its basic support for health research while also initiating pioneering programs such as the Interdisciplinary Team Grants. Alberta Health and Wellness is also contributing more than $15 million over the next five years in support of the program.
The successful teams in the first AHFMR Interdisciplinary Team Grants competition are listed below.
For more information on AHFMR's Interdisciplinary Team Grants program go to www.ahfmr.ab.ca
Impact of Maternal Nutrient Status During Pregnancy on Maternal Mental Health and Child Development
Team leaders
Dr. Deborah Dewey
Professor, Paediatrics, Community Health
Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
Dr. Catherine Field
Professor, Nutrition and Metabolism
Faculty of Agriculture, Life and
Environmental Sciences
University of Alberta
Dr. Bonnie Kaplan
Professor, Paediatrics, Community Health
Sciences
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
Team members
University of Alberta:
Dr. Rhonda Bell
Dr. Anna Farmer
Dr. Laki Goonewardene
Dr. Donna Manca
Dr. Linda McCargarHRF
University of Calgary:
Dr. François Bernier
Dr. Marja Cantell
Dr. Michael Eliasziw†††
Dr. Libbe Kooistra
Dr. Maeve O'BeirneHRF
Dr. Steven Simpson
Dr. Nalini Singhal
Tilburg University (the Netherlands):
Dr. Victor Pop
Preterm Birth and Healthy Outcomes
Team leaders
Dr. David Olson
Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Physiology,
Pediatrics
University of Alberta
Dr. Suzanne Tough†
Associate Professor, Paediatrics, Community
Health Sciences
University of Calgary, Alberta Children's Hospital,
Calgary Health Region
Team members
University of Alberta:
Dr. Larry Guilbert
Dr. Shoo Lee†††
Dr. Joyce Magill-Evans
Dr. B. F. Mitchell
Dr. Christine Newburn-Cook
Dr. Martin Somerville
University of Calgary:
Dr. Karen Benzies
Dr. Donna Slater**
Dr. Stephen Wood
Dr. Wendy Yee
University of Lethbridge:
Dr. Gerlinde Metz***
Calgary Health Region:
Dr. Shirley Leew
Debbie McNeil
Calgary Laboratory Services:
Dr. Andrew Lyon
Institute of Health Economics, Edmonton:
Dr. Donald Schopflocher
University of Toronto:
Dr. Alan Bocking
Dr. Stephen Lye
Universities of Western Australia and Toronto:
Dr. Craig Pennell
Improving Healthcare Access and Sustainability With Microfluidic Platforms
Team leaders
Dr. Linda Pilarski
Professor, Oncology
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Alberta
Team members
University of Alberta:
Dr. Jason Acker
Dr. Christopher Backhouse
Dr. Andrew Belch
Dr. John Mackey
Dr. Michael Mehta
Dr. Jutta Preiksaitis
Dr. Tony Reiman*
University of Calgary:
Dr. Nizar Bahlis
Dr. Edna Einsiedel
Canadian Blood Services, Edmonton:
Dr. Gregory Denomme
National Institute of Nanotechnology, Edmonton:
Lorraine Sheremeta
Vaccine Design and Implementation
Team leaders
Dr. Lorne Babiuk
Vice-President (Research)
University of Alberta
Dr. James Kellner
Associate professor, Paediatrics,
Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
Dr. Anthony Schryvers
Professor, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases,
Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
Team members
University of Alberta:
Dr. Phillip Jacobs
Dr. Joanne Lemieux
University of Calgary:
Dr. Christian Jacob
Dr. Derrick Rancourt***
Dr. Margaret Russell
Dr. David Schriemer**
University of Saskatchewan:
Dr. Andrew Potter
University of Toronto:
Dr. Scott Gray-Owen
Creating Bone and Joint Health From the Bedside to the Bench and Back Again Designer Therapies to Reduce the Burden of Osteoarthritis From Mechanisms to Prevention
Team leaders
Dr. Cy Frank****
Professor, Surgery, Kinesiology
Faculty of Medicine
University of Calgary
Dr. Walter Herzog
Professor, Kinesiology, Medicine, Engineering
University of Calgary
Dr. Shoo Lee†††
Associate professor, Pediatrics
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry
University of Alberta
Team Members
University of Alberta:
Dr. Lauren Beaupre
Dr. Michael Doschak
Dr. D. William Johnston
Dr. Allyson Jones†
Dr. Robert Lambert
Dr. Walter Maksymowych****
Dr. Candace Nykiforuk
Dr. Ron Plotnikoff††
Dr. Bruce Ritchie
Dr. Mavanur Suresh
Dr. Hasan Uludag
University of Calgary:
Dr. Howard Ceri
Dr. Jeff Dunn
Dr. Carolyn Emery†
Dr. Reed Ferber†
Dr. Marvin Fritzler
Dr. Wayne Giles****
Dr. David Hanley
Dr. David Hart
Dr. Carol Hutchison
Dr. John Matyas
Dr. Willem Meeuwisse
Dr. Benno Nigg
Dr. Tom Noseworthy
Dr. Derrick Rancourt***
Dr. Janet Ronsky
Dr. Nigel Shrive
Dr. Hans Vogel****
Dr. Vinzenz von Tscharner
Dr. J. Preston Wiley
Dr. Ron Zernicke
McMaster University, Hamilton:
Dr. Deborah Marshall
AHFMR awards held:
* Clinical Investigator
** Scholar
*** Senior Scholar
**** Scientist
† Population Health Investigator
†† Health Scholar
††† Health Senior Scholar