Nearly $1M awarded in inaugural academic research grants

Ottawa, ON – The Health Research Foundation (HRF) – a health research funding body associated with Canada’s Research-Based Pharmaceutical Companies (Rx&D) – has announced the inaugural recipients of its Academic Interdisciplinary Health Research Program.

“For over 50 years, the HRF has supported life-changing and life-saving research from Canada’s best and brightest scientific minds,” said Mel Cappe, chair of Rx&D. “We’re proud to continue that tradition this year by funding and bringing together teams and individuals from multiple health disciplines to solve challenging healthcare problems facing Canada.”

In 2015, five teams have won the Interdisciplinary Health Research Team Grant, worth $820,000 total:

• Dr. Lori B. Tucker, of University of British Columbia, and Dr. Jennifer Stinson, of SickKids Hospital; RACER (Readiness for Adult Care in Rheumatology) Questionnaire: Reliability and Validity Testing in Youth with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis;
• Dr. Julie Richardson and Dr. David Chan of McMaster University; Integrating Rehabilitation Principles into Interdisciplinary Self-Management – A Health Strategy for Chronic Disease and Aging;
• Dr. Heidi Cramm and Dr. Sarosh Khalid-Khan of Queen’s University; Targeting the Mental Health of Canadian Children Growing up in Military Families;
• Dr. Dave Blackburn and Dr. Sharyle Fowler of University of Saskatchewan; Development and Evaluation of an Experiential Training Program for Pharmacy Students and Community-Based Preceptors to Improve the Quality of Healthcare for Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in Saskatchewan; and
• Dr. Erin Davis and Dr. John Hawboldt of Memorial University; Increasing Quality of life and Reducing Pulmonary Exacerbations in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) by Providing Pharmacist-Driven Improvement in Medication.

In addition, six researchers have won the Graduate/Post Graduate Interdisciplinary Health Research Award, worth $180,000 total:

• Stacey Lovo Grona, of University of Saskatchewan; Advancing Interprofessional Primary Healthcare Services in Rural Setting for People with Chronic Low Back Disorder: Investigation of a Physical Therapist and Nurse Practitioner Intervention Delivered through Telehealth;
• Jobanpreet Singh Dhillon, of Western University; Development of Novel Injectable Delivery Strategies for Adult Stem Cell Transplantation in Severe Peripheral Artery Ischemic Disease;
• Olga Kits, of University of Toronto; The Right Treatment for the Right Patient at the Right Time: Understanding Polypharmacy Persistence in Nova Scotia’s Long-Term Care;
• Nafiseh Nafissi, of University of Waterloo; Development of Retinal Cell Lines with Long-Term Controlled Expression of Neurotrophic Factors for Neuroprotective Glaucoma Therapy;
• Nicole Tsao, of University of British Columbia; Collaborative Care Model Involving eHealth to Improve Treatment Adherence and Health Outcomes of Patients with Gout; and
• David Lessard, of McGill University; The I-Score Study: The Development and Validation of a Patient-Reported Measure of Antiretroviral Therapy’s Interference with Life.