Update from the Scientific Director – What's New at CIHR-III

Dear colleagues,

I hope everyone had a restful summer and is enjoying the excitement of another academic year. As we move into Fall, I wanted to share some important updates and initiatives currently underway at CIHR-III. Our team is excited to implement a dynamic work plan for the upcoming year, which we discussed in detail together over a couple of days in September.

As you know, in 2023, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) presented the first round of the CIHR Research Excellence, Diversity, and Independence (REDI) awards to 43 Black and racialized female researchers. This funding opportunity was led by CIHR-III in partnership with 18 internal and external partners, resulting in a substantial investment of over $28 million over six years. We are thrilled to share that ten of these awardees have already transitioned or are preparing to move into faculty positions in Canada before the end of the second year of their awards. We could not be more delighted with these early success indicators, which serve as compelling evidence of how much these programs are needed! We are now working hard on REDI 2.0, set to launch in 2025, which will introduce an Indigenous researchers stream in addition to the existing support for Black people and racialized women. We are excited to announce that Dr. Chelsea Gabel, the new Scientific Director of the Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health (IIPH), will co-lead the Indigenous stream with her team. As part of our strategic plan to build strong, reciprocal, and trusting relationships with Indigenous researchers and communities, CIHR-III is making significant efforts to gather feedback on the design of the REDI program to ensure its success for Indigenous awardees. We are furthering our efforts to engage with Indigenous communities and researchers through various activities across the country, with the aim of truly listening and understanding the health and well-being priorities as determined by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities.

We are also pleased to welcome the members of our inaugural III community advisory committee, established this year to engage with and listen to the perspectives of individuals with lived and living experiences, as well as their communities. Our inaugural committee consists of seven members with diverse experiences, including asthma, sepsis, post-COVID-19 condition, cystic fibrosis, hepatitis C, HIV, acute promyelocytic leukemia, multiple sclerosis, and organ transplantation and will work closely with our CIHR-III Institute Advisory Board (IAB) and team to provide invaluable insights to incorporate into relevant III activities and funding initiatives.

In line with the commitments outlined in the Pan-Canadian Action Plan (PCAP) on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), CIHR – with strategic and scientific guidance from CIHR-III – and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) are spearheading the development of a National One Health Antimicrobial Resistance Research Strategy. This initiative is in partnership with the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC). The strategy will aim to establish research priorities for AMR, adopting a One Health approach that considers the interactions between humans, animals, crops, and their shared environment. The objective is to create a framework that expands scientific knowledge and guides decision-making for effective interventions to optimize antimicrobial use and combat AMR. We invite Canada’s AMR research community to contribute to the development of this strategy by completing a short, 15-minute survey created by Shift Health that is expected to launch in mid-November. Once launched, we will share the survey link through the CIHR-III e-bulletin, LinkedIn, and X channels, as listed below. Additionally, if you are organizing or participating in upcoming AMR meetings, please reach out to us; we are always looking for ways to engage the AMR community and gather insights.

CIHR recently announced the recipient of the HIV/AIDS & STBBI Clinical Trials Research Network funding opportunity, which aims to build on the contributions of the previously funded clinical trial network team and establish research infrastructure to advance innovative, community-centered clinical trials focused on strengthening Canada’s capacity to address HIV and STBBI from prevention to cure. With assistance from the CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Advisory Committee (CHASRAC), this opportunity was redesigned and aligned with CIHR’s efforts to strengthen the clinical trials ecosystem. The successful team, led by Dr. Marina Klein from the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, will head a diverse network comprising of five regional teams, four specialized think tanks, and a community-centered knowledge mobilization hub.

Finally, CIHR recently released a series of policy frameworks and announcements. Some of these major initiatives include:

To learn more about CIHR-III’s funding initiatives and other activities, please visit the CIHR-III website and subscribe to our biweekly e-bulletin. You can also stay connected with the III community through X (@CIHR_III, @CKaushic) and join our community on LinkedIn. As always, we are eager to hear about any recent events, funding opportunity announcements, or upcoming initiatives that you would like to share. Please feel free to reach out to us directly at III-IMII@cihr-irsc.gc.ca, and we will be happy to connect with you.

Sincerely,

Charu Kaushic
Scientific Director,
CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity

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