Aboriginal health network established with $16M funding

Winnipeg, MB – The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has received $15.8 million over three years from the federal government to create the Network Environments for Aboriginal Health Research (NEAHR).

The program is intended to help develop the research environment between universities and First Nations, Metis and Inuit communities and organizations. It will support research that focuses on themes such as population health; health services; child health and development; and ethical issues in aboriginal health research; while training more than 200 graduate students who are working a broad range of health issues, including such as mental health and addiction, food security, nutrition, diabetes, northern health issues, tobacco control, and aboriginal youth suicide.

The principal investigator of the NEAHR grant and director of the Aboriginal Health Education Centre is Dr Catherine Cook, and co-investigators on the NEAHR project include Dr Judy Bartlett, from the Manitoba Metis Federation and Kathi Avery-Kinew from the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

“Through this investment by CIHR, we have the opportunity to build on the groundwork established through the CIHR-ACADRE grant, wherein we have achieved some significant successes in the development of research capacity in our communities,” said Dr Cook. “We anticipate that the collaborative partnerships with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs and the Manitoba Metis Federation will generate opportunities to focus on building greater capacity to meet our health challenges through the sharing of knowledge that is inherent in our First Nations and Metis communities. We will also build on opportunities to collaborate with the Inuit community in our region.”

“Canada is leading the world in fostering an environment for advanced Aboriginal health research,” said Dr Jeff Reading, scientific director for the CIHR’s Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health. “This investment will establish a national network of health researchers from across Canada to work on health priorities identified within Aboriginal communities.”

Following are the grants awarded, with host institution, project title and principal investigators:

Host Institution: University of British Columbia
Project: Network environment for aboriginal health research in BC and the western arctic (NEAHR-BCWA)
Principal Investigators:
Roderick M McCormick, University of British Columbia
Laura T Arbour, University of Victoria
Laurie H Chan, University of Northern British Columbia
Eduardo M Jovel, University of British Columbia
Christopher E Lalonde, University of Victoria
Richard Vedan, University of British Columbia

Host Institution: University of Alberta
Project: Access to health research: Participation and empowerment of aboriginal peoples in research to improve health and well-being
Principal Investigators:
Malcolm King, University of Alberta
Lorne S Clearsky, University of Calgary
Lindsay F Crowshoe, University of Calgary
Cora J Voyageur, University of Calgary
Cora K Weber-Pillwax, University of Alberta

Host Institution: University of Regina
Project: The indigenous peoples’ health research center: Network environment for aboriginal health research
Principal Investigators:
Eber L Hampton, University of Regina
Carrie A Bourassa, First Nations University of Canada
Caroline L Tait, University of Saskatchewan

Host Institution: University of Manitoba
Project: Manitoba Network Environment for Aboriginal Health Research
Principal Investigators:
John D O’Neil, University of Manitoba
Catherine L Cook, University of Manitoba

Host Institution: CIET Canada (Ottawa)
Project: Anisnwabe Kenendazone: building from the Ottawa ACADRE
Principal Investigators:
Neil Andersson, CIET Canada (Ottawa)
Ann C. Macaulay, McGill University
George Sioui, University of Ottawa

Host Institution: University of Toronto
Project: Sustaining and transforming a network for indigenous health research development in Ontario
Principal Investigators:
Kue Young, University of Toronto
Marion A Maar, Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Harriet L MacMillan, McMaster University
Dawn Martin-Hill, McMaster University
James B Minore, Lakehead University
Wayne R Warry, McMaster University
Cornelia G Wieman, University of Toronto

Host Institution: Universite Laval
Project: Nasivvik NEAHR Centre for Inuit Health and Changing Environments
Principal Investigators:
Eric Dewailly, Universite Laval
Christopher M Furgal, Trent University

Host Institution: Sir Mortimer B. Davis – Jewish General Hospital
Project: National Network for Aboriginal Mental Health Research
Principal Investigator:
Laurence J Kirmayer, McGill University

Host Institution: Dalhousie University
Project: Building the foundation for aboriginal health research in Atlantic Canada
Principal Investigators:
Frederic C Wien, Dalhousie University
Charlotte J Loppie, Dalhousie University