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ISBN 0-662-66887-1
These are truly revolutionary times for health research in Canada! These past 15 months of operation for the newly established Canadian Institutes of Health Research have seen the development of important new tools and partnerships for the delivery of health research funding programs across a wide range of strategic and thematic areas.
In CIHR's Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes we focused on the development and delivery of two major programs (New Emerging Teams and Training Grants) with a particular emphasis on building capacity for excellent research in all areas relevant to the INMD's mandate. Within the context of these and other programs we were able to build a unique partnership with three major Canadian health charities focused on different but related chronic diseases, we continued a long-standing collaborative relationship with an international health charity and we developed a number of new relationships with other government partners including Health Canada and many of the other CIHR Institutes.
Another major task during this inaugural year for INMD was to determine our strategic research priorities for the coming years. We undertook an environmental scan of partners and stakeholders. This process provided considerable data on which INMD's Institute Advisory Board was able to base our decision to focus on the growing problem of obesity and the maintenance of healthy body weight. Clearly the epidemic of obesity in this country is a serious public and personal health care issue that cuts across all areas of the INMD's mandate and all of the research themes embraced by CIHR from basic science to health services research. The other major challenge for our first year was the establishment of the Institute offices and staff. This was a greater challenge than anticipated, but the limitations of space on our University campuses, the limited number of highly qualified personnel available for complex and demanding jobs in health research administration, and the transformation of CIHR from a single site operation to one with fourteen different locations all conspired to make the establishment of the Institutes a unique challenge. I am pleased to say that we now have an outstanding staff with a place to work and connections established that will allow us to serve and respond to the needs of our partners and stakeholders.
For those of you who have had the opportunity to interact with INMD during its infancy we hope that it has been a positive and helpful experience. During our adolescence, we will improve upon our delivery of programs and services that will make Canada an outstanding environment for the conduct of health research.
Sincerely,
Dr. Diane Finegood, PhD
As health research funding in Canada turns a corner, we must first rebuild our capacity to undertake excellent, collaborative health research within and across CIHR's 4 research themes (basic, clinical, health services and policy, and social, cultural and environmental determinants of health).
To enable the building of capacity, the INMD collaborated in driving the creation of a novel program tool, the New Emerging Team (NET) grants program. The NET grants program was designed to support the creation and development of new collaborative research teams undertaking multidisciplinary and cross-theme research. Through the provision of both infrastructure support and operating funds, including funds for training and establishment of new investigators we hoped to help build capacity and initiate the undertaking of novel and outstanding multidisciplinary health research.
Chronic Disease
Chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and kidney disease result in a staggering number of deaths and disabilities to Canadians each year. Within this constellation of chronic diseases, there are commonalities in the underlying mechanisms, predisposing risk factors, treatment and prevention strategies, and impact on health services and systems.
In recognition of the potential benefit of research programs which focus on common aspects of these chronic diseases, the Canadian Diabetes Association, The Kidney Foundation of Canada and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada formed a partnership with INMD and the CIHR Institutes of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and Gender and Health to fund six highly rated NET applications for interdisciplinary research focused on common and related aspects of kidney disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
These six New Emerging Team grants will provide $7.0 M over 5 years and engage dozens of researchers in a range of studies on common aspects of chronic disease.
Table 1: New Emerging Team Grants: Chronic Disease
| Partners: Canadian Diabetes Association Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada The Kidney Foundation of Canada CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (INMD) CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH) CIHR Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) |
| Principal Investigator | Research Institute | Title | Average Annual Operating Amount |
| JOHNSON, Jeffrey A | University of Alberta | Establishment of the alliance for Canadian health outcomes research in diabetes (ACHORD) group | 181,720 |
| SCHOLEY, James W | University of Toronto | Gender / genes and glomerular-based diseases research group | 239,690 |
| LEBEL, Marcel | Université Laval | Cardiovascular health in chronic renal failure | 250,000 |
| NICHOL, Graham | University of Ottawa | Cardiovascular outcomes related to economics (CORE) group | 228,322 |
| PARFREY, Patrick S | Memorial University of Newfoundland | Canadian collaborative group for the prevention of illness in kidney disease. The Canadian Prevention of Renal and Cardiovascular Endpoints Trial (CANPREVENT) | 250,000 |
| ROCHON, Paula A | Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences-Toronto | Pharmacological management of chronic disease in older adults | 247,015 |
Type 1 Diabetes and its Complications
The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) is an international health charity with a long-standing history of partnership with CIHR and its predecessor the Medical Research Council of Canada. The JDRF's goal to find a cure for type 1 diabetes is realized through funding of research focused on the prevention of type 1 diabetes and its recurrence, restoration of normal metabolism, and avoidance and reversal of complications. Continuing the tradition of productive partnership through the funding of research teams, in 2001 the JDRF partnered with CIHR's Institutes of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, Infection and Immunity, and Human Development, Child and Youth Health to fund two New Emerging Teams in the area of type 1 diabetes and its complications.
Table 2: New Emerging Teams Grants: Type 1 Diabetes and its Complications
| Partners: Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation CIHR Institutes of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (INMD) Human Development, Child and Youth Health (IHDCYH) and Infection and Immunity (III) |
| Principal Investigator | Research Institute | Title | Average Annual Operating Amount |
| FANTUS, Ivan G | Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute (Toronto) | Glucose toxicity: Prevention of diabetes complications and preservation of pancreatic beta-cell function | 232,750 |
| HILL, David J | Lawson Research Institute (London, Ontario) | Pancreatic islet generation from human stem cells | 246,526 |
Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes
INMD has a broad mandate including research to enhance health in relation to diet, digestion, excretion, and metabolism; and to address causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range conditions and problems associated with hormone, digestive system, kidney, and liver function. During the Fall 2001 NET competition, INMD invited applications for NET programs in any area within its mandate. One NET application in this category was identified to be of sufficient merit to warrant funding.
Table 3: New Emerging Team Grant: Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes
| Principal Investigator | Research Institute | Title | Average Annual Operating Amount |
| LAFOND, Julie | Université du Québec à Montréal | Grossesse, profil lipidique et influence des échanges materno-foetaux sur le développement néonatal | 249,225 |
In recognition of the rapidly growing need for new health researchers and scientists, the 13 CIHR Institutes together with numerous partners launched the Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research "Health Researchers for the 21st Century" in July 2001.
There is a revolution in health research underway, characterized by the convergence of mathematics, the physical sciences, social sciences and humanities, together with biological, behavioural and clinical approaches to answer important questions in health and disease. Accordingly, there is a growing demand for highly skilled and adaptable individuals who can embrace a diversity of approaches in solving complex problems and in applying solutions. To address this important need, CIHR developed the training program grant to support groups of excellent mentors/educators, accomplished in health research, who work collaboratively to offer a research training program of defined format and content to a group of trainees.
Together with numerous partners, the INMD is pleased to provide full or partial support to 9 training programs relevant to the INMD's mandate. Together with our partners, these 9 programs will provide more than $15 M for the support of training programs and their trainees.
Table 4: CIHR Strategic Training Program Grant
| Principal Inves- tigator |
Research Institute | Title | Partners | Average Annual Operating Amount |
| CHUNG, Stephen W | University of British Columbia | CIHR health research training program in trans- plan- tation | Heart and stroke Foun- dation of Canada Michael Smith Foun- dation for Health Research Insti- tute of Circu- latory and Respi- ratory Health Insti- tute of Health Services and Policy Research Institute of Infection and Immunity |
300,000 |
| ELLEN, Richard P | University of Toronto | Health appli- cations of cell signal- ing in mucosal inflam- mation and pain | Michael Smith Foun- dation for Health Research The Arthritis society Insti- tute of Circu- latory and Respi- ratory Health Insti- tute of Health Services and Policy Research Insti- tute of Infection and Immunity Insti- tute of Mus- culoske- letal Health and Arthritis Canadian Insti- tutes of Health Research |
297,376 |
| KUBES, Paul | University of Calgary | CIHR strategic training initiative in health research: A trans- discpli- nary training program in diseases of immuno- patho- genesis and inflam- mation | Alberta Heritage Foun- dation for Medical Research Insti- tute of Circu- latory and Respi- ratory Health Insti- tute of Infection and Immunity Insti- tute of Health and Arthritis |
260,417 |
| LABRIE, Fernand | Université Laval | Génomi- que fonction- nelle et maladies endo- crinien- nes | Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec Institut du cancer Institut de dévelop- pement de la santé des enfants et des adoles- cents Institut de géné- tiques |
295,833 |
| LEVY, Gary A | Toronto General Hospital | Training program in regene- rative medicine | Institute of Circu- latory and Respi- ratory Health Insti- tute of Infection and Immunity |
297,200 |
| PATERSON, William G | Queen's University | Multi- discipli- nary research training program in digestive sciences | 300,000 | |
| PENCHARZ, Paul B | Hospital for Sick Children | Training program in clinical nutrition | Insti- tute of Human De- velop- ment, Child and Youth Health | 265,000 |
| REITHMEIER, Reinhart A | University of Toronto | Training program in structural biology of membrane proteins linked to disease | Insti- tute of Circu- latory and Respi- ratory Health Insti- tute of Genetics Insti- tute of Infection and Immunity Insti- tute of Neuro- sciences, Mental Health and Ad- dictions |
300,000 |
| STEWART, Moira A | University of Western Ontario | Inter- discipli- nary research training in primary health care research | Institute of Aging Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health Institute of Gender and Health Institute of Health Services and Policy Research Institute of Popu- lation and Public Health |
290,957 |
In a unique partnership developed to build research on the backbone of diabetes surveillance undertaken by Health Canada and it's partners including all of the Provinces and Territories, non-governmental and national aboriginal organizations, the INMD and the National Diabetes Surveillance System (NDSS) have offered a program to fund health services and population health research on diabetes, utilizing data collected through the NDSS.
The objectives of this collaboration are to:
The request for applications for the Diabetes Surveillance System (DSS) grant was launched in March 2002, with applications due July 1, 2002. A total of $500,000 is available for funding applications to this program.
Type II Diabetes Mellitus affects the Aboriginal population at a rate 3-5 times higher then the general Canadian population, and it has been demonstrated that Aboriginal Canadians are experiencing prevalence rates of this condition that are among the highest in the world.
In an effort to address this serious health problem, the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (IAPH) and the INMD have partnered to promote original and innovative research approaches to primary prevention, that explores novel correlations and causations between the social climate and the prevalence of diabetes among the Aboriginal Population, or that investigates the relationship between atherosclerosis and diabetes. It is expected that Aboriginal communities and organizations will participate in the development of the research projects and that successful proposals will lead to the rapid uptake of research results through appropriate communication, dissemination and transfer of knowledge strategies.
This request for applications was launched in March 2002, with applications due July 1, 2002. The INMD and IAPH anticipate funding at least two projects for up to three years each.
In December of 2001 the INMD, in partnership with Obesity Canada, Health Canada, and most of CIHR's Institutes, hosted a National Dialogue on Healthy Body Weight. The objectives of this conference were to develop among the attending scientists, health professionals and other interested individuals, a common understanding of the current knowledge and to identify research gaps. A second objective was to establish partnerships through which long-term national strategies for research and interventions to achieve healthy body weights could be developed. The Summary of Proceedings from this conference can be found on the INMD site.
While CIHR may be leading the revolution of the health research environment in Canada, our capacity to undertake collaborative, multidisciplinary and strategic research needs to be encouraged and developed. In an effort to engage the grass roots involved in health research, INMD in collaboration with other Institutes and partners supported a number of strategic planning and research development workshops in a variety of areas relevant to INMD's mandate. Also during this first year, INMD developed application guidelines, a standardized application form and an application review process under the auspices of the Institute Advisory Board.
| Table 5: Workshop/Conference | Date |
| ImmuNet Graduate Student Retreat | June 2001 |
| Establishment of a Canadian Wound Healing Research Group | July 2001 |
| Proteomics in Health Disease | August 2001 |
| 8th International Workshop of Developmental Nephrology | August 2001 |
| Nutrition Support in the Adult Critical Care Setting | October 2001 |
| Healthy Aging: From Cell to Society | November 2001 |
| A National Dialogue on Healthy Body Weights | December 2001 |
| Complementary/Alternative Health Care (CAHC) and Natural Health Products | February 2002 |
Given the broad mandate of the INMD, which encompasses, not only nutrition, metabolism and diabetes, but also research to address causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range conditions and problems associated with hormone, digestive system, kidney, and liver function, it was necessary to undertake a detailed environmental scan of our partners and stakeholders in order to set research strategic priorities.
The environmental scan undertaken in the Fall of 2001, included telephone interviews with researchers and policy makers, a letter accompanied by a survey to non-governmental, academic and clinical organizations, and a widely disseminated email linked to a web-based survey asking for input from the research community. A summary report of this process is available on the INMD site.
Information brought forward from this scan was used to establish the Institute's strategic research priorities for the following year and to develop the INMD's Strategic Plan.
With input from our environmental scan, INMD's Institute Advisory Board identified Obesity Research: Towards Healthy Body Weight for Canadians as the strategic priority for the INMD. We identified three strategic goals each with a series of strategies, actions and outcomes. The full Strategic Plan for the INMD was published in the Spring of 2002.
Table 6: Goals of the INMD Strategic Plan
| Goal 1: Increase understanding of the measures, causes, prevention, treatment, and consequences of obesity and the maintenance of healthy body weights, through the application of innovative approaches. Goal 2: Increase the understanding of obesity/healthy body weights in Canada through surveillance of: prevalence, risk factors (including environment and policy), co-morbidities, program/service utilization and efficacy, and direct and indirect costs. Goal 3: Identify and promote utilization of health service and environment policies for preventing obesity and promoting healthy eating, active living and other factors affecting healthy body weights. |
The inaugural Institute Advisory Board for INMD brings to the table a diverse range of experience including research across INMD's mandate; work in government and non-governmental organizations, and both national and international experience.
The IAB has also brought to the table an incredible enthusiasm for building a strong and vibrant INMD. The IAB envisions the Institute serving investigators, practitioners, policy makers and the Canadian public through strategies that build capacity and foster excellence in health research. Our goal is to increase inter- and multi-disciplinary research in keeping with our vision and mandate to improve strategies for health promotion, disease prevention and care.
Table 7: Institute Advisory Board Members
| Member | Title | Affiliation |
| Heather Beanlands,RN, PHD | Assistant Professor, School of Nursing | Ryerson Polytechnic University |
| John T. Brosnan, DPhil, (Chair) | University Research Professor and Head, Department of Biochemistry | Memorial University of Newfoundland |
| Patricia Brubaker, PhD | Professor and Canada Research Chair, Departments of Physiology and Medicine | University of Toronto |
| Nancy Cook, BA, Bed | Lay Representative | St. John's, Newfoundland |
| William Dietz, MD, PhD | Director, Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion | U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention |
| Karen Dodds, PhD | Director General, Food Directorate, Health Products and Food Branch | Health Canada |
| Paul R. Goodyer,MD | Professor of Paediatrics and Human Genetics Director, Division of Pediatric Nephrology |
McGill University Health Center Montreal Children's Hospital |
| Glenville Jones, PhD | Craine Professor of Biochemistry and Head Professor of Medicine | Queen's University |
| Anne Kennedy, MHSc, RD | President, NIN | National Institute of Nutrition |
| Michael I. McBurney, PhD, FACN | Director of Nutrition Science | Kellogg Company |
| Jonathan Meddings, MD | Head, Division of Gastroenterology, Professor of Medicine | University of Calgary |
| Dougals Philp | Lay Representative | Calgary, Alberta |
| Kim Raine, PhD, RD | Director and Associate Professor, Centre for Health Promotion Studies | University of Alberta |
| Raymond V. Rajotte, PhD, PEng, RT | Professor of Surgery and Medicine, Director, Surgical-Medical Research Institute |
University of Alberta |
| Robert J. Reid, MD, MPH, PhD | Research Associate, Centre for Health Services and Policy | University of British Columbia |
| Denis Richard, PhD | Chaire de recherché sur l'obesite D.B. Brown, Directeur, Centre de recherché sur le metabolisme energetique |
Université Laval |
| Bernard Zinman, MD, OM, FRCPC | Head, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism | Mount Sinai Hospital |
Over the course of the past 15 months, significant energies were dedicated to building an effective complement of staff for the Institute. This process was completed in the Spring of 2001. The resulting team includes committed professionals with a wide range of backgrounds, talents and developmental goals. This team includes:
| INMD Staff | ||
| Susan Crawford | Assistant Director | Partnerships, planning, knowledge translation, scientific liaison. |
| Diana Primavesi | Project Manager | IAB coordination and events management. |
| Judith Andrews | Research Assistant | Communications. |
| Ximena Ramos Salas (Ottawa) |
Project Manager, Planning and Policy | Project development and management, evaluation, and policy assurance. |
Building and Strengthening Relationships
The Scientific Director, members of the Institute Advisory Board, and other CIHR personnel associated with the INMD were involved in a wide range of activities aimed at building and strengthening relationships between the Institute and its constituency. These included meetings, workshops and forums with investigaors and partners; presentations at academic and research institutions across the country; discussions with Members of Parliament; and interviews with the media.
| Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes Institute Support Grant For the year ended March 31, 2002 | ||
| Available Funds | $1,382,959 | |
| Expenses | ||
| Institute Development | ||
| Conference, symposia and workshops | $52,201 | |
| Institute Advisory board | 74,857 | |
| Professional services | 205,418 | |
| Travel Expenditures | 28,888 | $361,364 |
| Institute Operations | ||
| Salaries and benefits | $207,619 | |
| Office accommodations | 6,729 | |
| Telephone and communication services | 6,570 | |
| Supplies, materials and other services | 12,706 | |
| Office furniture and fixtures | 27,410 | |
| Computer equipment and IT support | 4,663 | |
| Professional Services | 43,393 | |
| Travel Expenditures | 40,013 | |
| Translation Costs | 3,848 | |
| Other expenditures | 3,598 | $357,549 |
| Total Expenses | $718,913 | |
| Unspent Balance* | $664,046 | |
Note:
Delays in placement of staff led to surplus in this year's budget.
| Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes Investments in Strategic Initiatives For the year ended March 31, 2002 | ||||||
| Stra- tegic Ini- tiatives | Num- ber | 2001-02 | 2002-03 | 2003-04 | 2004 and beyond | Total |
| New Emer- ging Team Grant Pro- gram (NET Pro- gram) | 8 | $63,207 | $1,056,180 | $1,054,232 | $3,900,875 | $6,073,494 |
| Stra- tegic Train- ing Ini- tiative in Health Re- search | 6 | 71,208 | 771,083 | 777,500 | 2,706,668 | 4,326,459 |
| 14 | $134,415 | $1,826,263 | $1,831,732 | $6,607,543 | $10,399,653 | |
Note:
Grants and awards in respect to these programs are approved for 1 to 6 years. Figures displayed represent CIHR financial commitments for those programs in 2001-02 and subsequent years. Availability of these funds in future years are subject to funding appropriations by Parliament. For some initiatives, partners also contributed to the funding of the grants and awards.
