Newsroom

The Ottawa Hospital awarded $27 million from Canadian Institutes of Health Research for 13 research projects


August 19, 2016


Thirteen teams at The Ottawa Hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, have been awarded more than $27 million in the latest round of research grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Four of The Ottawa Hospital’s grants were awarded through CIHR’s Foundation competition, which aims to provide the country’s top health researchers with stable, long-term support. The Ottawa Hospital’s success rate in this competition was 33 percent, compared to a national average of 13 percent. These grants are in the areas of:

• Viral therapy for cancer (Dr. John Bell - $3.7 million)

• Managing vascular emergencies (Dr. Jeffrey Perry - $3.6 million)

• Stem cells and muscle regeneration (Dr. Michael Rudnicki - $4.9 million)

• Pregnancy and newborn health (Drs. Shi Wu Wen and Mark Walker - $9.8 million; this last grant is one of the largest awarded in this competition and is profiled in more detail here.

The Ottawa Hospital was also awarded nine grants through CIHR’s Project competition, representing a 19 percent success rate compared to a national average of 16 percent. Dr. Marc Rodger’s clinical trial of statins to prevent recurrent vein blood clots had the highest rank possible in this competition.

Other funded projects focus on:

• Diabetes and the role of microparticles in the blood (Dr. Dylan Burger)

• Options for hysterectomy (Drs. Innie Chen, Kednapa Thavorn and Jocelynn Cook)

• Evaluating a new surgical treatment for patients with nasal polyps (Drs. Shaun Kilty and Dean Fergusson)

• Heart muscle regeneration and remodelling (Dr. Lynn Megeney)

• Using a simple rule and blood test to rule out leg vein blood clots during pregnancy (Dr. Marc Rodger)

• Role of Parkinson’s-linked genes in infections (Dr. Michael Schlossmacher)

• Brain cell signalling (Drs. Mario Tiberi and Jean-Claude Béïque)

• Repeating systematic reviews (Drs. Peter Tugwell and Vivian Welch)

Grant summaries are available through CIHR’s Funded Research Database.

“I would like to thank the individuals and organizations who have supported our Tender Loving Research campaign,” said Dr. Duncan Stewart, Executive-vice President of Research and senior scientist at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa. “Every dollar donated by the community allows us to bring in 10 more dollars in external funding, so our success in this grant competition is just as much due to the generosity of our community as it is to the calibre of our researchers.”

The Ottawa Hospital: Inspired by research. Driven by compassion
The Ottawa Hospital is one of Canada’s largest learning and research hospitals with over 1,100 beds, approximately 12,000 staff and an annual budget of over $1.2 billion. Our focus on research and learning helps us develop new and innovative ways to treat patients and improve care. As a multi-campus hospital, affiliated with the University of Ottawa, we deliver specialized care to the Eastern Ontario region, but our techniques and research discoveries are adopted around the world. We engage the community at all levels to support our vision for better patient care. See www.ohri.ca for more information about research at The Ottawa Hospital.

University of Ottawa
The University of Ottawa is home to over 50,000 students, faculty and staff, who live, work and study in both French and English. Our campus is a crossroads of cultures and ideas, where bold minds come together to inspire game-changing ideas. We are one of Canada’s top 10 research universities—our professors and researchers explore new approaches to today’s challenges. One of a handful of Canadian universities ranked among the top 200 in the world, we attract exceptional thinkers and welcome diverse perspectives from across the globe.www.uottawa.ca

Media Contact
Amelia Buchanan, Senior Communications Specialist, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

ambuchanan@ohri.ca

Office: 613-798-5555 x 73687

Cell: 613-297-8315