Canadian Health Network

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ealth care is more than just doctors, nurses and patients. It also involves researchers and policy makers. As Canada's premier federal funding agency for health research, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) brings together researchers from a variety disciplines to generate new knowledge and then translate that knowledge into more effective health services and products which strengthen the Canadian health care system. Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of CIHR and a world renowned geneticist, along with 19 Governing Council members, guide this vision and help make it possible through CIHR's 13 "virtual" Institutes. Each of these Institutes is dedicated to specific areas of research in a coordinated effort to foster health research under four main pillars. These pillars, which are dictated by CIHR's mandate, include: biomedical research, clinical research, health systems and services, and environmental, social and cultural determinants of health.

Biomedical studies apply the principles of the natural sciences, especially biology and physiology, to clinical medicine. For example, Dr. B. Brett Finlay, one of CIHR's Distinguished Investigators, has developed a vaccine to protect cows against E. coli bacteria. E. coli, responsible for "hamburger disease", causes illness in thousands and kills 500 people each year. As a result, federal government inspectors ordered zero tolerance toward beef cattle that carry a particular strain of E. coli, (and cost meat producers $5 billion per year). By attacking the direct cause in cows, Dr. Finlay hopes to reduce the dramatic economic and health costs associated with E. coli.

At CIHR, biomedical studies range from clinical medicine to policies that concern research. This includes controversial areas such as stem cell research. While stem cells have the potential to treat a variety of diseases such as Parkinson's, diabetes, Alzheimer's and heart disease, source derivation (embryonic versus adult stem cells) raises many legal, social and ethical issues. Because there is currently no legislation in Canada governing stem cell research, CIHR introduced Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Research: Guidelines for CIHR-funded Research. These guidelines, among many things, assure Canadians that all federally-funded research projects will adhere to an ethical and legal framework that does not allow human embryonic stem cells to be used for cloning or commercial purposes.

			13 "virtual" Institutes
			Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health, Institute of Aging, Institute of Cancer Research, Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Institute of Gender and Health, Institute of Genetics, Institute of Health Services and Policy Research, Institute of Human Development, Child, and Youth Health, Institute of Infection and Immunity, Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction, Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, Institute of Population and Public Health

Clinical trials bring theory into practice. In July 2002, CIHR and the federal government announced funding to the first marijuana research study conducted in Canada. Led by five scientists from different fields at McGill University, the study will examine the prospective therapeutic uses of cannabis, the plant which produces marijuana. The study will also be the world's first peer-reviewed clinical trial examining the effects of smoked cannabis in a non-HIV or Multiple Sclerosis population. The trial results will determine the safety and efficacy of managing symptoms in patients who don't respond to usual treatment - and eventually contribute to the development of policies to address the medical use of marijuana and cannabinoids.

Health systems and services can always be improved to address the needs of Canadians. CIHR's Institute of Aboriginal Peoples' Health created the Aboriginal Capacity and Developmental Research Environments (ACADRE), a program to facilitate health research by and for the Aboriginal community across Canada. Given the unique health challenges faced by Aboriginal people, the program has centers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario to foster the growth of Aboriginal capacity in health research.

The last area of research is population health, the environmental, social and cultural factors affecting the health Canadians. CIHR can respond to timely matters such as bioterrorism. In light of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and subsequent anthrax scares, CIHR's Institute of Infection and Immunity and Health Canada co-sponsored an international conference in Jan. 2002 entitled Biological Terrorism: Canadian Research Agenda. The conference was focused on three areas: what research contributions could Canadian scientists make, how Canada could interact with international research efforts, and what specific research initiatives could be recommended. Scientists, policy makers, academics, public health organizers and military and industry personnel from all across Canada attended the conference to set Canada's research agenda in the face of bioterrorism.

In June 2002, Health Minister Anne McLellan and Dr. Bernstein announced $88 million in funding for the Strategic Training Initiative in Health Research . This funds 51 innovative transdisciplinary research projects to train and support research talent (such as undergraduates, post-graduate, post-doctoral and students in health professions such as nursing and medicine).

It has been predicted that the 21st century will be the century of health research. CIHR is a bold and innovative approach which will ensure that Canada is a major player on the international stage. Based on CIHR's four mandated pillars of research excellence, CIHR will produce the greatest possible health outcomes for all Canadians.