Mac gets $12.5M funding boost from federal government
Cash part of Canada-wide initiative, will go to several health research projects
MCMASTER UNIVERSITY got just over $12.5 million worth of grants from the federal government to fund 18 health research projects.
The Hamilton studies were among 405 projects across the country awarded $378 million announced by the federal health minister Aug. 13.
Breast cancer treatment
AWARDED: $937,740 over five years
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Ali Ashkar PROJECT: Developing immunotherapy for breast cancer patients who do not respond well to available treatment. Immunotherapy uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer with what is called natural killer cells.
Head injury in seniors
AWARDED: $857,756 over three years PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Kerstin de Wit
PROJECT: Creating a new test to tell emergency department doctors whether a head computed tomography (CT) scan is needed after seniors have falls. The aim is to make sure patients with brain bleeds get the care they need faster, while those without a serious head injury aren’t subjected to long, unnecessary stays in the ED.
Understanding Alzheimer’s disease
AWARDED: $902,700 over five years PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Margaret Fahnestock
PROJECT: Closing gaps in knowledge about the basic biology of Alzheimer’s disease. The ultimate goal is to provide new understanding that could lead to treatments or even restoring degenerating neurons and their connections.
Healthy Aging
AWARDED: $317,475 over four years LOCAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Michel Grignon
PROJECT: Does education slow down the aging process? The study looks at how social position influences healthy aging and whether that status gets stronger or weaker depending on time and place.
Health effects of oilsands
AWARDED: Nearly $1.6 million over five years PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Alison Holloway
PROJECT: Determining the impact of chemicals from oilsands on reproduction in mink, which is a culturally and economically significant species to Indigenous communities. The results will also give insight into the effects on human reproductive health.
End of life care
AWARDED: $284,006 over three years LOCAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Michelle Howard
PROJECT: Examine how physicians provided care in the last months of patients’ lives to determine what helps the most. The information will aid in addressing inequities in palliative care across Canada and ensure patients get the services found to be best.
Fighting sepsis
AWARDED: $546,976 over five years
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Patricia Liaw PROJECT: A lack of fundamental knowledge on why sepsis kills means 30 per cent to 50 per cent of patients die from the complication, and new drugs often fail. The study will fill in gaps to identify new ways to prevent and treat sepsis.
Heart attack risk
AWARDED: $619,651 over four years PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Guillaume Paré
PROJECT: Identifying new blood biomarkers that contribute to the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes. The biomarkers can be used to identify at-risk patients and develop treatments.
High-protein diet
AWARDED: $749,700 over five years LOCAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Stuart Phillips
PROJECT: Determining how much protein older men and women need to maintain their muscles as they age to prevent disability. It’s significant because seniors are often advised to consume less protein when actually they need 50 per cent or more than younger people.
Preventing frailty
AWARDED: $696,152 over four years PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Alexandra Papaioannou
PROJECT: Testing the impact of frailty rehabilitation programs on healthy aging as researchers look for the best ways to keep seniors independent and active. It’s important because there is an urgent need to develop community programs to prevent or delay frailty that contributes to falls, hospitalization, institutionalization or even death.
Youth healthy living app
AWARDED: $948,600 over five years LOCAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Dr. Zubin Punthakee, Dr. Sonia Anand and Dr. Katherine Morrison
PROJECT: Can a smartphone app improve health? The Living Green and Healthy for Teens app will be evaluated to see if it improves healthy eating and activity habits as well as weight, fitness and quality of life among those aged 10 to 15 and their parents.
Parent well-being
AWARDED: $378,676 over three years LOCAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Peter Rosenbaum
PROJECT: Evaluating a set of weekly workshops for parents of children with longterm disabilities to provide evidence for a large-scale randomized trial. If the program is proven to work, it could be further developed and made available worldwide to these parents because having a child with developmental disabilities is known to take a toll on physical health, mental health and well-being.
Patient preferences
AWARDED: $156,825 over two years
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Dr. Holger Schünemann and Dr. Jan Brozek
PROJECT: Developing methods to properly assess information about patient preferences and values which are critical for health-decision making. The results will help ensure patient values and preferences are given proper consideration in the development of health guidelines and research studies.
Pediatric brain tumours
AWARDED: $860,626 over five years
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Sheila Singh PROJECT: Examining a potential new therapeutic strategy for pediatric brain tumours. It’s significant because brain tumours represent the leading cause of childhood cancer death because they are often highly aggressive and incurable.
Harmful effects of smoking
AWARDED: $967,726 over five years PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS: Martin Stämpfli and Dr. Parameswaran Nair PROJECT: Investigate how smoking damages the immune system to learn how to rebuild the body’s ability to fight bacterial infections. The information will help create drugs to restore immune function to patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by cigarettes and exposure to second-hand smoke.
Pregnancy nutrition
AWARDED: $455,176 over five years PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout
PROJECT: Can a healthier diet and exercise during pregnancy improve the emotional and behavioural functioning of children? The study will provide expectant moms with an individualized nutrition plan, education sessions with a dietician and a structured and monitored walking program to see if it makes a difference for their children.
Heart valve replacement
AWARDED: $336,600 over three years LOCAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Dr. Richard Whitlock
PROJECT: Taking the first steps toward testing a heart procedure that uses the patient’s own pulmonary valve to replace a diseased aortic valve instead of the standard mechanical valve or animal tissue. It’s important to find new ways to do heart valve replacements because standard treatments cut life expectancy by as much as half.
DNA repair
AWARDED: $902,700 over five years LOCAL PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: XuDong Zhu
PROJECT: DNA is under constant assault by chemicals and radiation found in food and the environment so the body has a number of mechanisms to repair the damage. The study will aim to better understand how DNA is repaired when the break occurs in both strands which can lead to the loss of genes that help prevent cancer.