Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis (IMHA)
Quality of Life Awards
Outstanding research and excellent researchers are two of the five outcome categories that
CIHR has identified as being critical to its success. To recognize investigators-initiated research efforts with a focus on diseases and conditions of the musculoskeletal system,
IMHA created the annual "Quality of Life Awards".
2005-2006 Award Winners
2004-2005 Award Winners
2003-2004 Award Winners
Awards Criteria
To be eligible for a Quality of Life Research Award, individuals must meet the following criteria:
Has received funding for a grant from the investigator-initiated competitions including Clinical Trials, but not including RX & D and Research Capacity Development within the given fiscal year (e.g. April 1, 2004 - March 31, 2005)
- Identified IMHA as the primary Institute affiliated with their research.
- Research addresses one or more of IMHA's six focus areas and relates to one or more of its three Strategic Research Priorities.
- Awardees are not eligible to win the same award more than one in a three-year period.
Award Winners
- A total of six awards will be presented including one overall winner.
- The overall winner will receive a cash award of $1,000
- Each of the five other winners will receive a cash award of $500
- Each winner will receive a plaque from the Institute recognizing their achievement.
- The award winner's research will be profiled in various promotional materials including the Institute's web site and newsletter.
2005 -2006 Award Winners
- Dr. Andrew Leask (overall award winner) of the University of Western Ontario will be investigating CTGF as a potential mediator of fibrosis, which is caused by excessive scarring and can lead to organ failure. CTGF is over expressed in fibrotic tissues, and Dr. Leask aims to discover the role of CTGF and if it can provide a framework for developing therapies to treat fibrosis. This research may eventually help reduce healthcare costs, as fibrotic disease represents over one-quarter of Canada's economic burden of illness.
- Dr. Aileen Davis and her colleagues at the Toronto Western Research Institute is evaluating how various factors - such as pre-surgery disability, general health and demographic variables - can affect physical disability following total knee replacement surgery. She hopes to identify ways of improving outcomes and optimizing care for patients with arthritis. As total knee replacement surgeries continue to rise, along with revision surgeries to replace the prosthesis, Dr. Davis' work addresses an important healthcare issue.
- The Arthritis Research Centre of Canada's Dr. Diane Lacaille has discovered that many of British Columbia's rheumatoid arthritis patients were receiving inadequate care and were not being followed by rheumatologists. Her current study will identify reasons for these gaps in care and identify strategies to address them.
- Neutrophils defend the body against invading microorganisms and are a core element of immunity. However, interfering with their recruitment to sites of inflammation may help inflammatory diseases including sepsis, periodontitis and arthritis. Dr. Michael Glogauer, a University of Toronto researcher, is working to extend our understanding of the role of cell signaling proteins in regulating neutrophil chemotaxis and recruitment to sites of infection. He will then determine if one of these cell signaling proteins or a downstream mediator is a promising anti-inflammatory drug target.
- Dr. Sophie Jamal, along with co-investigators at St. Michael's Hospital, is investigating if nitrates - a class of widely available inexpensive drugs used to treat angina - can also prevent osteoporosis, which affects 1 in four Canadian women and 1 in 8 Canadian men. This work promises to improve quality of life for Canadians by reducing osteoporosis and by eliminating the need for other drugs (for example, hormone replacement therapy) that can prevent osteoporosis but have serious side effects.
- The University of Calgary's Dr. Ian Lo, along with his colleagues, is working to achieve greater understanding of rotator cuff disease and to devise new treatments. This work promises to be widely beneficial to Canadians, as disease and tears of the rotator cuff are one of the most common causes of pain in the adult shoulder.
2004-2005 Award Winners
- Dr. Barry Sessle, (overall award winner) from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Dentistry, is working to help clarify the role of the sensorimotor area of the cerebral cortex in adaptive mechanisms associated with an altered oral environment. His efforts will hopefully lead to new and improved clinical rehabilitative approaches for individuals suffering from orofacial sensorimotor deficits.
- Dr. Lucie Germain, Canada Research Chair in Stem Cells and Tissue Engineering at the Université Laval, has initiated a study that will examine regeneration of human skin and the mechanisms of post-natal stem cell differentiation. A long-term objective of the study will be to understand how stem cells can be used to effectively facilitate gene therapy, and may ultimately lead to new approaches to treat hereditary diseases
- Dr. Jeff Dixon and his team from the University of Western Ontario will examine the ways in which extracellular nucleotides act through P2 nucleotide receptors to regulate the activity of osteoclasts (cells that remove bone) and osteoblasts (cells that form bone). This work may result in the development of new drugs to prevent removal and promote formation of bone in osteoporosis and inflammatory bone diseases.
- Dr. Jérôme Frenette from the Université Laval is conducting a study to examine the impact of immobilization or the absence of gravity on skeletal muscles. This research will hopefully lead to a better understanding of how inflammatory cells are recruited, what role leukocytes play in muscle injury and the identification of new molecules to prevent muscle dysfunction. This research also holds out promising new avenues for the treatment of muscle atrophy and dysfunction.
- Dr. Graham King and Dr. Jim Johnson from the University of Western Ontario have established a comprehensive program to study motion and stability of the elbow and forearm. Using their upper limb testing device, they will evaluate common soft-tissue and bone disease and reconstructive procedures of the elbow not completely understood. The results of their work should contribute to an improved understanding of disorders of the upper limb leading to more effective patient treatments.
- Dr. James Wright from the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto is conducting a study that will examine how a patient's gender affects a physician's decision-making behavior. In so doing, men and women with comparable levels of arthritis will be sent to physicians to establish their recommendations for total knee arthroplasty. This study will hopefully provide the information necessary to design and test strategies to improve the delivery of total joint arthroplasty.
2003-2004 Award Winners
- Reduced bone mass associated with arthritic conditions can lead to increased risk of fractures, deformation, collapse of joint surfaces and the inability of implants to affix to bone surfaces. Dr. William Stanford and his colleagues from the University of Toronto have determined that mice lacking a protein known as Sca-1 exhibit age-related osteoporosis. The goal of his research is to study the role of this protein in bone development, and to determine how age-related skeletal defects are affected by the loss of this protein.
- Research performed by Drs. Harvey Goldberg and Graeme Hunter at the University of Western Ontario has revealed that bone sialoprotein is a potent stimulator of bone mineral formation. Their work will provide important information on the fundamental mechanisms of mineralization and possibly lead to therapeutic agents to promote the mineralization required for bone replacement, as well as the integration of dental and orthopaedic implants.
- Dr. Pierre Borgeat and his team of investigators at the Centre hospitalier universitaire de Université Laval are working to define the role of a select group of molecules called inflammatory lipids that may play a critical role in the regulation of leukocyte migration into tissues. This research will create a better understanding of inflammation, unravel the mechanisms involved in regulating leukocyte movement and potentially lead to the development of novel new approaches to treating inflammatory disease.
- Dr. Klaus Wrogemann and colleagues at the University of Manitoba have identified that the TRIM 32 gene is the causative agent leading to a form of limb girdle muscular dystrophy frequently found in Hutterites. When the causative gene is mutated, it is believed that these muscle proteins become overabundant, causing muscular dystrophy. If correct, Dr. Wrogemann's research will not only contribute to our general understanding of how mutations can result in muscular dystrophy, but will help contribute to the development of effective treatment strategies.
- Dr. Nicholas Mohtadi and his colleagues at the University of Calgary are working to develop a less invasive surgical technique involving the insertion of a heat-generating probe into the shoulder using a small operating telescope called an arthroscope. This quicker less-invasive technique only requires a small incision and patients will be in a better position to avoid the long-term risk of developing arthritis.
- Dr. Bing Siang Gan and his colleagues from the Lawson Health Research Institute propose to study the molecular and cellular mechanism of Dupuytren's contracture - a disease that affects the ability to straighten the fingers - to identify specific molecules responsible for the disease process. His research may lead to the development of alternative methods of diagnosis and treatment, as well as other closely related disorders such as desmoid tumors, hypertrophic scars and abnormal wound healing.
