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October 15, 2003
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September 26, 2003
September 25, 2003
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September 16, 2003
Warfarin fares better at higher doses
Dr. Clive Kearon, a CIHR-funded researcher from McMaster University, has discovered that a blood thinner called warfarin is more effective in treating blood clot patients at high, rather than low, doses. (The Hamilton Spectator, August 21, 2003, p. A14)
Surgery right after heart attack best option
New research conducted by Dr. David Alter, a CIHR-funded scientist with Toronto's Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences, shows that surgery immediately following a heart attack is better for patient recovery. (The Globe and Mail, August 7, 2003, p.A8)
Penicillin takes away pressure of strokes
Research conducted by CIHR-funded researcher Dr. Paul Brassard has shown that people over 65 who take penicillin, and who suffer from high blood pressure, will see their risk of stroke cut in half. (Globe and Mail, August 8, 2003, p. A2)
Hunting Hamburger Disease
CIHR-funded Dr. Paul Gooyer is currently conducting a clinical trial involving a naturally occurring antibody present in most adults in the hopes of eradicating E.coli 0157:H7, the bacterial strain that causes the potentially fatal "hamburger disease." (Windsor Star, July 30, 2003, p.A8)
Hormone cuts hunger
Dr. Rémi Quirion, Scientific Director for CIHR's Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (INMHA), has discovered that a naturally occurring hormone can dramatically reduce a person's urge to eat. (Globe and Mail, September 4, 2003, p.A4)
Quirion receives National Mental Health Champion award
In honour of his tireless efforts to develop the capacity of national non-governmental organizations to effectively partner with CIHR's Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addicition (INMHA) to achieve their respective mandates, CIHR's Scientific Director for INMHA, Dr. Rémi Quirion, will receive the first annual National Mental Health Champion award in the category of research from the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health (CAMIIMH).
Epilepsy gene identified
An international research team led by CIHR-funded researchers Drs. Berge Minassian and Stephen Scherer from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children has identified a gene responsible for Lafora disease, the most severe form of teenage-onset epilepsy.
DTCA increases drug prescriptions
Dr. Barbara Mintzes, a CIHR-funded researcher at the Centre for Health Services and Policy Research, has discovered that there is a strong link between direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) and the prescription of drugs in Canada - a process which has been banned in Canada.
Munroe-Blum and Piper awarded Order of Canada
Dr. Heather Munroe-Blum, Vice-Chancellor and Principal at McGill University, along with Dr. Martha Piper, president of the University of British Columbia, who were both instrumental in the creation of CIHR, have been named Officers of the Order of Canada.
SARS test may be effective in live patients
Dr. Kevin Kain, a CIHR-funded researcher at Toronto General Hospital, has developed a test for detecting SARS during autopsies that is 100 per cent effective, rapid and commercially available. Dr. Kain hopes to develop a test that is equally rapid for living SARS patients. (Canadian Press Wire, August 21, 2003.)
Collaborative discovery in chronic pain
In an international study involving researchers from Japan's National Institute of Health Science, CIHR-funded Dr. Michael Salter, from Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, has co-discovered a molecule that causes sharp and chronic pain associated with nerve injury and diseases involving the central nervous system. This work may lead to new ways of treating chronic pain.
August 29, 2003
NSERC-CIHR Collaborative Health Research Projects Program
CIHR and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) have agreed to jointly fund the Collaborative Health Research Projects (CHRP) program. The new agreement will strongly promote new collaborations between the CIHR and NSERC research communities. The CHRP program supports focused collaborative research projects involving researchers in any field of the natural sciences or engineering, and the health sciences
Brain patterns don't change, study shows
Thanks to CIHR-funding, Dr. Randy Flanagan from Queen's University has discovered that brain patterns remain similar if people are actually doing things or if they are watching other people doing the same things. The study could have implications for the diagnosis and assessment of people who suffer from impaired movement control.
Timeless laughter
Thanks to CIHR funding, Dr. Prathiba Shammi, from Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care, has discovered that emotional responsiveness to humor doesn't change with age. However, the study's findings do suggest that older adults will not be able to comprehend complex forms of humor.
Reading in MacLean's
In the August 5 edition of MacLean's magazine, Dr. Jeff Reading, Scientific Director of the Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health, talks extensively about misconceptions some people may have about Canada's Aboriginal communities at large.
August 5, 2003
Dr. Jeff Reading, Scientific Director of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research - Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health (CIHR-IAPH) has accepted a position as full professor at the University of Victoria, effective September 1, 2003. Jeff will continue his duties as Scientific Director of the CIHR-IAPH which will remain situated at the University of Toronto.
In the July 11, 2003 edition of Science Next Wave, Ms. Siobhan Minty, currently a CIHR Undergraduate Science Writer Scholar, published an article on the pride she felt in initially winning the scholarship and the experiences she is having as an intern with CIHR's Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health.
On July 10, Dr. Robert Korneluk, CIHR Senior Scientist and Professor of Paediatrics and of Biochemistry, Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Ottawa, received the McLaughlin Medal from the Royal Society of Canada for his contributions to human molecular genetics.
CIHR-funded researchers, Dr. Brian Rowe and Mrs. Cindy O'Hara, are tackling a rich vein of Statistics Canada surveys in order to determine if there is a higher incidence of asthma among aboriginal children as opposed to non-aboriginal children. Edmonton Journal, June 28, 2003, p.B6.
In its first three years, CIHR has taken the first steps needed to build an energized and innovative health research enterprise for the 21st century. Now, this Blueprint articulates CIHR's vision, mandate, and strategies to achieve our goals in the coming years. Web Survey now available.
There is more to losing weight than diet and exercise, according to investigators at the Research Institute at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC). Their study is the first to identify a new receptor protein present on fat cells that may play a role in fat metabolism.
Dr. David Juurlink, a CIHR-funded researcher from the Institute for Clinical and Evaluative Sciences, has discovered that children tend to suffer from accidental iron poisoning around the birth-time of their siblings. The Record (Waterloo Region), July 17, 2003, p. C2
In his July 23 commentary, Ottawa Sun columnist and Canadian Taxpayers Federation Director Walter Robinson praises CIHR for being one the federal government's greatest successes. The Ottawa Sun, July 23, 2003, p. 15.
July 14, 2003
July 7, 2003
CIHR-funded Drs. Gregg Adams and Roger Pierson, along with Angela Baerwald from the University of Saskatchewan, have uncovered evidence which suggests that the common accepted model of the human menstrual cycle is wrong.
July 4, 2003
Dr. Josef Penninger, a CIHR-funded researcher from the University of Toronto, has stumbled across a gene which, when removed, prevents the production of sperm cells in mice. The discovery could lead to the development of the first male birth control pill, and could offer insights into spontaneous miscarriages and Down's Syndrome. National Post, May 23, 2003, p.A17
With the help of 500 human subjects, Dr. Robert Ross, a CIHR-funded researcher based at Queen's University, will launch the first five-year study in North America that suggests that obesity can be beaten better with exercise as opposed to diet. The Ottawa Citizen, May 20, 2003, p.A14
Five years ago, Dr. David Park, a multiple award-winning neuroscientist, was recruited to the University of Ottawa from Columbia University thanks to his leading-edge research into the chemistry of brain cell death. Now, Dr. Park's research, funded by CIHR, could inspire treatments that would reverse some brain diseases or injury. The Ottawa Citizen, June 2, 2003, p.D7.
July 2, 2003
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Thanks in part to funding by CIHR, Dr. Christopher Hogue from Toronto's Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute will develop the Biomolecular Interaction Network Database (BIND). The database will be used to better understand molecular interactions and reactions in humans and other organisms.
June 24, 2003
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June 2, 2003
Researchers at the University of Alberta have discovered a genetic flaw in a family suffering with schizophrenia. Under the supervision of Dr. Diane Cox, the CIHR-funded research was conducted by PhD graduate student Deepak Kamnasaran and is published in the May issue of the Journal of Medical Genetics.
May 30, 2003
CIHR-funded researcher Dr. Gilles Paradis, who works with Montreal's public health department and teaches epidemiology and community medicine at McGill University, has identified through a Quebec-wide study that a substantial amount of children and adolescents boys and girls have elevated blood pressure and that this is related to the increased prevalence of overweight in youth. Substantial proportions of Quebec children presented metabolic abnormalities defining the insulin resistance syndrome and appear at risk of later developing hypertension and diabetes.
CIHR researchers Keith Humphries and Guy Sauvageau discover a stem cell technique that may one day lead to new treatments for leukemia and other blood diseases and eliminate the need for bone marrow transplants. National Post, April 2, 2003
May 22, 2003
Dr. Tak Mak, a CIHR-funded researcher at the University of Toronto, has garnered one of five Killam prizes awarded annually to eminent Canadian scholars and scientists engaged in research involving industry, government agencies or universities.
May 21, 2003
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May 8, 2003
Dr. Patrick Lee, a ground-breaking CIHR-funded researcher from the University of Calgary who discovered that an organism called reovirus can infect and kill cancer cells and leave healthy cells alone, was named the first chair of a $12 million program dedicated to fighting cancer at Dalhousie University in Halifax. Edmonton Journal, April 26, 2003, p. B12
May 7, 2003
Thanks to funding from both the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), an internationally-renowned cryobiology research group based at the University of Alberta is currently freezing cells and small tissues with the hope of preserving corneas, cartilage, and bio-artificial tissues in the future.
Drs. Brett Finlay and Tony Pawson, CIHR Distinguished Investigators, have had their research published recently in Nature and Science respectively. Dr. Finlay's article details how disease-producing microorganisms infiltrate cells, while Dr. Pawson's piece investigates the burgeoning science of proteomics.
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February 28, 2003
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Of the more than 1,100 entries submitted across North America, r:evolution, a publication produced about CIHR's health research agenda, was the winning entry in the Health and Medicine category of the inaugural Context1 International Design show.
February 17, 2003
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