The results of the CIHR Fall 2024 Project Grant Competition have just been announced. Advancing Health researchers are leading three of the projects funded in this round. An additional seventeen projects are being supported by Advancing Health Scientists as co-investigators, with three of those being Priority Announcement competitions.
Understanding the burden of severe mental disorders among Canadian youth is vital for shaping public health strategies and clinical interventions. Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Anne Gadermann is co-leading a team examining the long-term effects of severe mental disorders that emerge before age 25, impacting health, employment, and life expectancy. Using data from over 1.3 million youth across four Canadian provinces, this project will analyze how these disorders influence adult health care use, premature death risks (including suicide), and societal costs. By comparing affected youth to those without mental disorders, the study aims to inform clinicians, service providers, and policy-makers, providing evidence for better mental health strategies and economic evaluations. Learn more about this project here.
Emergency departments are critical access points for people who use drugs, yet the care provided to these individuals is often variable and lacks evidence-based standards. Advancing Health Scientists Drs. Brian Grunau and Andrew Kestler, with Dr. Frank Scheuermeyer as a co-investigator, are co-leading a project to create a national registry of opioid poisoning cases, standardize data collection, analyze patient and treatment variations, and develop a clinical tool to predict 60-day mortality risk. Led by experts in medicine, biostatistics, and knowledge mobilization, with input from individuals with lived experience, the project seeks to improve health care delivery, patient outcomes, and system sustainability. Learn more about this project here.
In British Columbia (BC), perinatal substance use doubled from 2001 to 2020, making pregnancy and the postpartum period crucial opportunities for health promotion, treatment, and community support; however, specialized services are very limited. Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Bohdan Nosyk is co-leading a study evaluating specialized perinatal substance use programs in BC, using a Two-Eyed Seeing approach that blends implementation science with Indigenous teachings. Researchers will seek ways to replicate and adapt successful elements from already available programs, assessing their effectiveness, clinical processes, and cultural safety to map patient experiences and their transition to community care. Findings will guide the expansion of perinatal substance use services across BC and support funding efforts to improve maternal and child health outcomes. Learn more about this project here.
Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Skye Barbic is a co-investigator on three studies, including one within the Patient-Oriented Research Priority Announcement. The first project will evaluate if the digital mental health screening tool, MyHEARTSMAP, can be used as a culturally relevant and inclusive way to assess mental health among Chinese families with children aged 10–17. Learn more about this project here. The second project is a multi-site qualitative study to investigate how psilocybin features in the lives and mental health-related experiences of youth aged 15–24. Learn more about this project here. The third project, which falls within the Patient-Oriented Research Priority Announcement, aims to develop and test a new measure of the impacts engaging in the co-production of mental health/substance use services, programming, or research with people with lived experiences. Learn more about this project here.
Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Alana Flexman is a co-investigator on a study looking at the impact of sedation medication, dexmedetomidine, with the aim to prevent long-term cognitive dysfunction after heart surgery. Learn more about this project here.
Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Troy Grennan is a co-investigator on two projects studying sexual health. The first will develop a self-collection program for sexually transmitted infections testing in BC, as recommended by the World Health Organization, to make it easier for people to get tested. Learn more about the project here. The second will identify policy, care, and education strategies to minimize harms among GBT2Q men who use poppers, which are alkyl nitrite compounds that relax smooth muscle and can prevent spasm and injury during receptive anal intercourse. Learn more about the project here.
Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Linda Li is co-investigator on two projects focusing on people living with chronic conditions. The first project, supported by Advancing Health Research Associate Alison Hoens, will use a virtual program called Stop OsteoARthritis (SOAR) to teach people about their knee health and how to use exercise to prevent the downward spiral that can be seen after a knee injury. Learn more about this project here. The second project, which falls within the Patient-Oriented Research – Implementation Science Priority Announcement, shall evaluate how successful the three health authorities throughout Quebec have been at improving outcomes regarding personalized care for rehabilitation from hospital to community. Learn more about this project here.
Advancing Health Scientists Drs. Larry Lynd and Colin Ross are co-investigators on a commercialization-focused project using lipid nanoparticle-messenger RNA technology to help treat brain diseases by instructing brain cells to make and release missing proteins. Learn more about this project here.
Advancing Health Program Head of Emergency Medicine Dr. Frank Scheuermeyer is co-investigator on a project researching if it is possible to get reliable symptom networks for individuals with concussion, which would show what symptoms are most inter-connected with other symptoms. Learn more about this project here.
Advancing Health Scientists Drs. Tara Sedlak and Ricky Turgeon are co-investigators on a project investigating the hypothesis that treating patients suffering from a heart attack with only one strong blood thinner can effectively prevent other heart attacks, while significantly reducing the risk of bleeding compared with two blood thinners. Learn more about this project here.
Advancing Health Program Head of Health Services and Outcomes Dr. Jason Sutherland is co-investigator on two projects, including one within the Priority Announcement: Breast Cancer Survivorship. The first project will evaluate the effectiveness, cost-efficiency, and impact of free-standing surgical centres in Ontario by comparing patient outcomes, identifying optimal locations, and assessing their effects on health care delivery, population health, and equity. Learn more about this project here. The second project aims to analyze clinical and health-related quality of life outcomes among breast cancer surgery patients in BC to understand rising mastectomy rates, inform preoperative counselling, and guide policy on breast cancer treatment pathways. Learn more about this project here.
Advancing Health Scientist Dr. Karen Tran is a co-investigator on a project to identify the difference between urine proteins in healthy pregnancies and pregnancies affected by preeclampsia. The research team will then use artificial intelligence to identify proteins that could predict who will develop preeclampsia. Learn more about this project here.
