| Your Health Research Dollars at Work 2006-2007 |
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Regional Profiles
Research Successes
Knowledge Translation
| Health Research Results Updates |
Health researchers in Quebec universities and hospitals are among the world's best. CIHR awarded approximately $197 million for health research in Quebec in 2006-07, an increase of about 86% from 2000-01. This funding supports more than 2,320 projects by principal investigators in 25 funded institutions.
Figures include the Canada Research Chairs and the Networks of Centres of Excellence.
Figures are rounded to the nearest million.
Universities in Quebec are known for their expertise and research achievements in a variety of areas. Here are some examples of research in progress:
Rebuilding damaged hearts
Dr. Maryam Tabrizian, McGill University
Researchers at McGill University want to defeat heart disease - at the sub-microscopic level. Heart disease is a devastating and costly illness, claiming a life every 30 seconds. Dr. Maryam Tabrizian is leading a CIHR-funded team of nanoscientists in the development of "functional nanostructures" that can be injected into the body to release medications and promote the regeneration of healthy heart tissue. If successful, they could revolutionize cardiovascular medicine.
Is your environment harming your brain?
Dr. Danielle Laurin, Laval University
Could environmental contaminants be linked to dementia in the elderly? A CIHR-funded group of researchers headed by Dr. Danielle Laurin of Laval University will be analyzing blood samples from senior citizens to determine whether high levels of PCBs or organochlorines are related to the development of cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's disease. If the researchers find that these chemicals are linked to dementia, their results could lead to the development of public policy and new regulations related to toxic substances in the environment.
Can your family make you sick?
Dr. Alex Schwartzman, Concordia University
When an illness is said to "run in families", we usually mean that it is passed down genetically from one generation to the next. But influences in one's family environment also play an important role in the onset of a wide range of mental and physical health problems. CIHR-funded researcher Dr. Alex Schwartzman of Concordia University is studying whether stress from parenting challenges, such as financial hardship or single parenthood, increases the likelihood of ill-health in parents, their children, and their children's children. The study will look at injuries, respiratory infection, and psychiatric disorder as the markers of ill-health across the three generations. This unique study will give us a greater understanding of the factors that cause illness.
Helping the youngest hearts
Dr. Gregor Andelfinger, Sainte-Justine Hospital, University of Montreal
About one in 100 babies is born with a congenital heart malformation, a defect in the heart or major blood vessels that disrupts normal blood flow. Dr. Gregor Andelfinger, a CIHR-funded researcher at the University of Montreal, is looking for the genes that cause these inherited defects. This research could reveal possible new treatments or ways of preventing this widespread problem.
Dr. Jacques Corbeil is a Professor of Medicine at Laval University and holds the Canadian Research Chair in Medical Genomics there. Dr. Corbeil's research focuses on the pathogens that cause AIDS, tuberculosis and leishmaniasis. He also studies the role that viruses play in Kaposi's sarcoma and cervical cancer. In addition, Dr. Corbeil serves on the scientific advisory boards of a number of biotechnology companies. He is currently a member of the Advisory Board for CIHR's Institute of Cancer Research.
Dr. Arthur Porter is the Director-General and CEO of the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal. His extensive international health care background includes medical practice and business and academic leadership positions in Canada, Europe, Africa and the United States. Dr. Porter currently serves on numerous boards and task forces, both in government and industry. He also served as a consultant to the World Health Organization and has worked to establish international medical research and treatment programs. In spring of 2007, Dr. Porter became a member of CIHR's Governing Council.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the Government of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission is to create new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into improved health, more effective health services and products, and a strengthened Canadian health-care system. Composed of 13 Institutes, CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 11,000 health researchers and trainees across Canada.
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
160 Elgin St., 9th Floor, Ottawa ON K1A 0W9
http://www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca/
