Sunnybrook researchers receive more than $6M in funding from CIHR
Sunnybrook researchers have been awarded more than $6M in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Fall 2020 Project Grants competition.
The Project Grant program supports “ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related fundamental or applied knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes.” In total, CIHR received 2,358 grant applications for the fall competition, of which 354 were funded for an investment of approximately $274M. Twenty two per cent of SRI applications (13 projects) were funded in the competition, beating the national average.
Congratulations to the successful SRI-led projects:
Project: Functional micro-ultrasound imaging of the neurovascular response to focal ischemia
Principal investigators: Dr. Christine Démoré, scientist in Physical Sciences and the Odette Cancer Research Program, and Dr. Bojana Stefanovic, platform director of Physical Sciences and senior scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Stuart Foster, Dr. David Goertz
Funding: $757,350 over five years
Project: The Canadian severe acute respiratory infection, prospective, perpetual observational study: Informing clinical care and the public health response
Principal investigators: Dr. Rob Fowler, senior scientist and chief of the Tory Trauma Program, and Dr. Srinivas Murthy (BC Children's Hospital)
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Kevin Katz, Dr. Ruxandra Pinto
Funding: $455,175 over three years
Project: Neuromodulation approaches to mitigate and treat cognitive deficits and neuropathology in a rodent model of traumatic brain injury
Principal investigator: Dr. Clement Hamani, senior scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Kullervo Hynynen and Dr. Bojana Stefanovic
Funding: $791,775 over five years
Project: MR-Linac guided adaptive radiotherapy in glioblastoma multiforme
Principal investigator: Dr. Angus Lau, scientist in Physical Sciences and the Odette Cancer Research Program
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Sten Myrehaug, Dr. Mark Ruschin, Dr. Arjun Sahgal, Dr. Greg Stanisz
Funding: $558,450 over five years
Project: A trial to evaluate the safety and feasibility of blood-brain brain opening using MRI-guided focused ultrasound in the treatment of Her2-positive breast cancer brain metastases
Principal investigator: Dr. Nir Lipsman, scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program and director of the Harquail Centre for Neuromodulation
SRI Co-investigators: Dr. Kullervo Hynynen, Dr. Ying Meng, Dr. Rossanna Pezo, Dr. Arjun Sahgal, Dr. Amit Singnurkar, Dr. Maureen Trudeau
Funding: $100,000
Project: Genetic frontotemporal dementia initiative (GENFI) in Canada: Combined investigation of clinical, MRI, genomic, and epigenomic biomarkers
Principal investigator: Dr. Mario Masellis, scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Dr. Elizabeth Finger (Lawson Health Research Institute)
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Brad MacIntosh, Dr. Sandra Black, Dr. Saira Mirza, Dr. Sara Mitchell
Funding: $1,128,375 over five years
Dr. Masellis was also awarded a Mid-career Investigator Prize in Research in Aging ($50,000)
Project: SARS-CoV-2 genotype-dependent pathogenesis and transmission
Principal investigators: Dr. Samira Mubareka, scientist in Biological Sciences and the Integrated Community Research Program, Dr. Andrew McArthur (McMaster University)
Funding: $612,765 over three years
Project: Mindfulness-based interventions for OCD: Efficacy, mechanisms, and biological predictors of outcome
Principal investigator: Dr. Neil Rector, senior scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Program, Dr. Randi McCabe (McMaster University)
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Steven Selchen, Dr. Andrew Dimitrijevic, Dr. Margaret Anne Richter
Funding: $722,924 over four years
Project: High-flow nasal oxygen with or without helmet non-invasive ventilation for oxygenation support in acute respiratory failure (HONOUR) pilot RCT
Principal investigators: Dr. Damon Scales, scientist in the Tory Trauma Research Program, and Dr. Niall Ferguson (University Health Network)
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Neill Adhikari, Dr. Dominique Piquette
Funding: $531,676 over two years
Project: Intergenerational impacts of diabetes among First Nations mothers and their children
Investigator: Dr. Baiju Shah, scientist in the Integrated Community Research Program
Funding: $100,000
Project: Cardiac DOC: The predictive validity of a simple screen for depression, obstructive sleep apnea and cognitive impairment (DOC) to identify heart failure patients at risk of adverse outcomes in a prospective, multicenter cohort
Principal investigators: Dr. Richard Swartz, scientist in the Hurvitz Brain Sciences Research Program, Dr. Heather Ross (University Health Network), Dr. Jodi Edwards (University of Ottawa Heart Institute)
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Krista Lanctôt, Dr. Mark Boulos, Dr. Mina Madan, Dr. Stephanie Poon, Dr. Peter Austin
Funding: $100,000
Project: Co-designing a cross-continuum peer support program for trauma patients
Principal investigator: Dr. Marina Wasilewski, scientist in the St. John’s Rehab Research Program
SRI co-investigators: Dr. Sander Hitzig, Dr. Robert Simpson, Dr. Amanda Mayo, Dr. Rob Fowler, Dr. Barbara Haas, Dr. Lesley Gotlib Conn, David Guo, Monica Cassin, Dr. Larry Robinson
Funding: $100,000
Project: REdefining the SignificancE and Treatment threshold for Patent Ductus Arteriosus in preterm infants (RESET-PDA)
Principal Investigator: Dr. Dany Weisz, affiliate scientist in the Dan Women & Babies Research Program, Dr. Luc Mertens (SickKids), Dr. Ami Jain (Mount Sinai Hospital)
Funding: $566,100 over four years
