Funding Round Up- March 2018

Here is a short list of funding opportunities that have deadlines in March. Every month known funding opportunities are rounded up and posted on our online news.

Please note: This is not a comprehensive list. For more information about specific opportunities, check out our funding calendar. 

If you have an opportunity you'd like to add, please contact: 
Amy Wilson, Publications Coordinator, NSHA Research Services

March 2018 
 
6-Mar: CIHR Operating Grant 
 
6-Mar: CIHR Team Grant- Human Immunology Initiative 
 
6-Mar: CIHR Team Grant- Research Network on Lyme Disease
 
6-Mar: CIHR Project Grant- Final Application Deadline (Stage 3 of 3)
 
8-Mar: Weston Brain Institute- Information Session only   
 
9-Mar: CFI- JELF#1- Dalhousie Submission Deadline (Stage 2 of 3) 
 
15-Mar: NSHA Research Fund 
 
22-Mar: NSHRF Establishment Grant
 
22-Mar: NSHRF Development Grant 
 
25-Mar: Canadian Cancer Society- Innovation Grant Final Deadline (Stage 2 of 2) 
 
30-Mar: Brain Canada Parkinson Canada Platform Grant
 
31-Mar: Canadian Liver Foundation Research Grant

1-April: Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute Seed Funding Rolling Competition- $10,000- Cancer Research

No Deadline: Canadian Arrhythmia Network of Canada- Ignite Grant- $25,000- The Ignite Grant aims to foster collaborative relationships between Canadian-based companies and network investigators. An Ignite project must focus on creating an innovative solution for a company-specific problem through the generation of new knowledge or the application of existing knowledge.


 

Researcher Profile: Dr. Noreen Walsh

What is your current research project?

Dr. Noreen Walsh

As a Dermatopathologist involved in patient care my research broadly involves diseases of the skin. My particular focus has been the study of a rare but lethal skin tumor called Merkel cell carcinoma, one with a much higher mortality rate than malignant melanoma.  

Affecting elderly and immunosuppressed individuals, this rapidly growing cancer occurs mainly on the head or neck. Although some patients are cured by surgery and irradiation, the tendency of the lesion to spread quickly to other organs, and the absence of effective therapy for disseminated disease, often lead to a fatal outcome. In a high proportion of cases a virus (Merkel cell polyoma virus) is thought to cause the cancer while sun-damage is responsible for the remainder.  My research has focused on defining different subsets of this disease based on microscopic appearances, viral status, protein expression by tumor cells and their genetic profiles.  In fine-tuning the characteristics of any disease the goal is to foster prognostic accuracy and to facilitate development of novel and effective treatments.

How did you become interested in your research topic?

Serendipity sparked my interest in Merkel cell carcinoma. Almost 20 years ago, in the course of examining cases for diagnostic purposes I made the little-known observation that Merkel cell carcinomas could have different appearances under the microscope.  In essence, some had a pure (homogenous) pattern and others a combined (mixed) pattern.  In time, this core observation led to recognition of the diversity of the tumor with respect to its inherent pathological characteristics, its underlying causes, its biological implications and its susceptibility to innovative targeted therapies. I have fortunately been able to make several contributions to this unfolding story since the original “Eureka moment.” 

On this journey I have been supported by colleagues and students within and outside of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine (DPLM) and by funding from the Nova Scotia Health Authority Research Fund and the DPLM Fund for Molecular Pathology housed at the QE II Foundation.

What has been unexpected about your findings so far?

In embarking on this research I was unaware that the cohort of cases of Merkel cell carcinoma in the Maritime Provinces of Canada would be different from those in other geographic zones, nationally and internationally. The relatively high proportion of cases of “combined Merkel call carcinoma” in this region afforded me an unexpected opportunity to study this otherwise rare variant of the tumor and compare it with the more common “pure Merkel cell carcinoma”.

What’s innovative about your research?

Merkel cell carcinoma, first described in 1972, was historically considered to be one tumor.  The innovative aspect of my research has been in disclosing the diversity of this type of cancer. Following an initial morphological observation I engaged in sequential scientific studies which corroborated and expanded upon the seminal findings.   Recognition of different subsets of the tumor is now an important component of ongoing research in the area. 

One word that best describes how you work: Thoughtfully!

What technology can’t you live without?

The microscope.  In the words of the American scholar Theodore Roszak  “Nature composes some of her loveliest poems for the microscope and the telescope.” By interpreting those poems we can be of benefit to humanity.

How do you envision your research benefiting the “public at large” ?

Medical research benefits “the public at large” by enhancing health and/or preventing or curing disease.  A key premise in this context is a comprehensive understanding of the disease in question.  By delineating different subsets of Merkel cell carcinoma different causative factors have been unveiled which could, in time, serve to diminish the incidence of the disease. Moreover, informed by the “molecular fingerprints” of different disease subsets there is the potential for accurate deployment of novel targeted therapies. These have already begun to make a positive impact on the treatment of patients worldwide with Merkel cell carcinoma.

NSHA Research Fund Awards- September 2017

We are pleased to announce the results from the September 2017 Research Fund competition. 

Principal Applicant	Department/Division	Amount Approved	Study Title
Laura Dixon	Psychiatry	$4,971	Binge Focused Therapy: Examining an accessible, cost-effective, guided self-help, group-based approach for the treatment of Binge Eating Disorder
Judith Godin	Geriatric Medicine	$25,000	Social and occupational factors throughout the life course: What matters for health at older ages
Todd Hatchette	Pathology and Lab Medicine	$21,876	Two EIA algorithm for the serological diagnosis of Lyme Disease
Aaron Keshen	Psychiatry	$49,989	A Feasibility Study to Evaluate Lisdexamfetamine Dimesylate (Vyvanse) in Adults with Bulimia Nervosa
Sarah Kraeutner	Psychology	$5,000	Exploring the evolution of motor imagery-based learning to leverage its effects in rehabilitation post-stroke: a pilot study
Logan Lawrence	PhD Health	$5,000	Health Policy Capacity in Nova Scotia: Framework Adaptation and Testing
Philip Moss	Pathology	$5,000	Determination of optimal immunohistochemical panel to distinguish Merkel cell carcinoma from extracutaneous small cell neuroendocrine carcinoma
Vishal Uppal	Anesthesiology	$25,000	Preventing Rebound Pain after Arthroscopic Rotator Cuff Repair under General Anesthesia and Intrascalene Block: An RC Trial of Pre-Emptive Opioid Treatment Compared to Placebo
Tallal Younis	Medical Oncology	$24,940	Endocrine Strategies for Breast Cancer Prevention in Postmenopausal Women

 

Thank You Patrick McGrath

Dr. Patrick McGrath and NSHA CEO Janet Knox

On November 23rd a luncheon was held in honour of Dr. Patrick McGrath, former Vice President of Research, Innovation and Knowledge Translation at NSHA. 

The Patrick McGrath Research & Innovation Student Award was created to recognize Dr. McGrath’s significant contributions to the Nova Scotia Health Authority. The $5000 award will be presented to the trainee with the highest ranked application from the 2018 NSHA Research Fund competition.

Dr. Patrick McGrath was the Vice President of Research, Innovation & Knowledge Translation at NSHA from 2012 until 2017. He is the recipient of the Governor General’s Award for Innovation, HealthCareCan’s Legacy of Leadership Award, the Ernest C. Manning Foundation Principle Award, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and is an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Although retired from his Vice President position at NSHA, Dr. McGrath continues to do research and we wish him the very best.

NEW: Funding Calendar

We are pleased to announce that we now have a google calendar that outlines available research funding opportunities. The calendar is a user-friendly repository for funding opportunities available to our community but this is not an exhaustive list. 


The calendar can be accessed here. 

Items on the calendar can be viewed by day, week, month or in a list. 

The calendar is also searchable: 

We also have an event calendar. 


If you know of any funding opportunities that could be added, please contact Jennifer Thurlow.

Researcher Profile: Christiana MacDougall Fleming

Christiana MacDougall Fleming

Christiana MacDougall Fleming is a Registered Social Worker currently practicing in Amherst, Nova Scotia at Cumberland Mental Health Services (NSHA) as Adult Team Coordinator & Clinical Therapist. She received funding from the NSHA Research Fund in 2016. 

What is your current research project?: 
“A Social Work Exploration of Distress in Childbirth” I am researching birth stories using a feminist narrative approach. I believe that this qualitative approach is underrepresented and I am happy that NSHA is adding another type of information to inform decision making. I am exploring how informed consent decisions happen (in the heat of the moment), ideas of “goodness” and how birth experiences are connected to those general ideas, how language changes our childbirth experiences and what system barriers create distress.

How did you become interested in your research topic? 
I have always been interested in women’s mental health and how normal life events become pathologolized; events get attached to ideas of illness. I’ve had children myself and anecdotally heard of times where childbirth has been attached to illness. I started to explore the area and realized there was a gap in literature.

What has been unexpected about your findings so far?  
Breastfeeding. I thought that delivery/labour would be the central point but it turns out breastfeeding is dominating the conversation not only in a physical sense but also in terms of the ideas of “goodness”.

What’s innovative about your research?  I am the first social worker looking at this topic from a social work perspective, and also using the feminist narrative approach is relatively uncommon.

What unique tools/methods do you use to do your research? I started with ‘What are women’s adverse affects with childbirth?’, gathered stories and built from there. I am using feminist narrative inquiry and analysis, a narrative approach through a feminist lens. Interviews are recorded and then transcribed.  I do a short analysis that I send back to the participants outlining their stories, my ideas and some of the common themes from the project.

One word that best describes how you work:  Collaboratively

What technology can’t you live without?:  
iPhone 5S, Macbook Pro, iPAD. My kids often joke that I have more spreadsheets (I use Excel) than anything else. I am also a big list maker.  I love Wunderlist and I use Twitter to stay current, follow feminist blogs and keep my literature review current.

How do you envision your research benefiting the “public at large”? 
I have aspirations that my research would help develop a more comprehensive approach to childbirth where we consider the mental health needs of women in concert with physical needs. I’d like to run a pilot project to have mental health professionals follow up after child birth the same way that doctors/nurses follow up post-surgery. I would ask: “Would this have any impact on post-partum suffering/depression?” We could also make some system changes with a goal to prevent adverse affects. 

Note: This profile appeared in the October 2016 print edition of Research in Progress