By Jeff Green

Innovative research that’s helping address health-care challenges and improving health outcomes for Canadians was front and centre on March 12 as the federal government celebrated a nearly $3.7-million investment for Memorial-led studies.

Seamus O’Regan, minister, Indigenous Services, was on the St. John’s campus to highlight the Project Grant: Fall 2018 competition results from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

He was joined by Nick Whalen, member of Parliament, St. John’s East, as they met with grant recipients to celebrate their achievements and to learn more about their research projects.

The federal investment will help enrich critical health-related studies led by six faculty members.

The researchers are listed below.

• Dr. Kris Aubrey-Bassler, associate professor, family medicine and director of the Primary Healthcare Research Unit, is receiving $393,976 for a project titled Short, medium, and long term effectiveness of interdisciplinary teams and other primary care reforms in Ontario;
• Dr. Graham Fraser, assistant professor of cardiovascular sciences, Division of BioMedical Sciences, is receiving $638,775 for a project titled Microvascular Blood Flow Regulation and Insulin Resistance in an Animal Model of Type 2 Diabetes;
• Dr. Matthew Parsons, assistant professor of neurosciences, Division of BioMedical Sciences, is receiving $833,850 for a project titled Preserving synaptic function following gene-silencing therapy in Huntington disease: mechanisms and specificity requirements;
• Dr. Bruno Stuyvers, professor of cardiac and renal physiology, Division of BioMedical Sciences, is receiving $589,052 for a project titled Quantitative analysis of calcium arrhythmogenicity in the Purkinje fibers of ischemic heart: a search for the molecular origins of Sudden Cardiac Death; and
• Dr. Qi Yuan, associate professor of neurosciences, Division of BioMedical Sciences, is receiving $749,700 for a project titled Locus coeruleus NE modulation in learning and Alzheimer’s disease; and
• Dr. Sheila Garland, assistant professor, psychology, Faculty of Science, who is cross-appointed to the Discipline of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, received $493,424 for a project titled A randomized controlled trial of cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia and perceived cognitive impairment in cancer survivors.

“From their research into Alzheimer’s diseases to type 2 diabetes and heart attacks, researchers at Memorial University of Newfoundland are shedding new light on health issues that have touched the lives of so many in this province, and across the country,” Minister O’Regan said in a CIHR news release.

“On behalf of the minister of Health, Ginette Petitpas-Taylor, and our entire government, I thank all the researchers for their hard work and dedication and congratulate them on receiving this new funding.”

President Gary Kachanoski acknowledged the federal government for its important investment.

“Through the innovative work led by our teams of multidisciplinary researchers, Memorial University is addressing health-care challenges directly affecting our communities and improving health outcomes for all Canadians,” he noted. “I thank our federal government for its continued commitment as Memorial builds specialized research capacity.”

CIHR is Canada’s federal funding agency for health research.

Composed of 13 institutes, it collaborates with partners and researchers to support the discoveries and innovations that improve the health of Canadians and strengthen this country’s health-care system.

“Health research has the power to help us tackle some of the most pressing challenges facing us as a society, and Canadians should be proud of the incredible work being done from coast to coast to coast,” said Michael J. Strong, president, CIHR.

“As a researcher myself, I can say that the work is rarely glamorous — but it is always worthwhile, and I am excited to watch these CIHR-funded projects unfold.”

Jeff Green is a senior communications advisor with the Office of the Vice-President (Research). He can be reached at jeffg@mun.ca.