Personalized treatment for bipolar disorder is now an international effort

Dr. Martin Alda

Bipolar disorder knows no borders and now personalized treatment for the disease is following suit. Dr. Martin Alda, Director of the Mood Disorders Program at NSHA & Killam Chair at Dalhousie University, has teamed up with colleagues in Montreal, Paris, Wurzburg and Cagliari on a project granted 834,000Euros (appx $1.25M CDN) in funding from the ERA PerMed Cofund.

The PLOT-BD project aims to shorten the time to remission by studying genetic markers in patients and tailoring treatment on an individual basis. To date, treatments are chosen by trial-and-error taking months or years to become effective. This new approach being studied in Canada, France, Germany and Italy, will look to derive a set of variables associated with treatment outcome and lead to faster recovery.

The proposed solution means shorter times to remission.

The ERAPerMed Cofund has 32 partners from 23 countries and was cofounded by the European Commission in 2018. The PLOT-BD project was announced as one of the first projects to be funded and had to demonstrate the value of interdisciplinary study and transnational collaboration.

NSHA scoops up $3.4million in CIHR project grant funds

We are very pleased to congratulate NSHA researchers and their teams who were successful in the Spring 2018 CIHR Project Grant Competition. 

The Project Grant Program "is designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related fundamental or applied knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes."

2,633 applications were submitted across Canada and 369 were funded (10 in Nova Scotia) with an average over all success rate of 14%. It is great to note that Nova Scotia had the highest province-specific success rate of 16.9%!

Applications are peer reviewed by committee and successful applicants were notified on July 10th, 2018.

Please join us in congratulating our NSHA success stories:

Opthalmology: Chauhan, Balwantray- $730,576 (5 years)- Novel Imaging Targets for Detecting Early Progression of Glaucoma

Rheumatology: Hanly, John- $979,200 (6 years)- Characterization of Brain Dysfunction with Multi-Modal Functional Neuroimaging in Patients with SLE and Cognitive Impairment. 

Cardiology: Parkash, Ratika- $1,705,952 (4 years)- Reversal of Atrial Substrate to Prevent Atrial Fibrillation

 

Local Researchers Capture CIHR Project Grant Funds

We are very pleased to congratulate NSHA researchers and their teams who were successful applicants in the Fall 2017 CIHR Project Grant Competition. 

The Project Grant Program "is designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related fundamental or applied knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes."

3,415 applications were submitted across Canada and 512 were funded (12 in Nova Scotia) with an average over all success rate of 15%. Applications are peer reviewed by committee and successful applicants were notified on January 24th 2018.

Please join us in congratulating our NSHA success stories:

Geriatrics: Rockwood, Kenneth- $466,652 (4 years)- How does frailty influence the risk and expression of dementia in Alzheimer disease?

Cardiology: Sapp, John- $979,200 (6 years)- The VANISH2 Trial: Ventricular Tachycardia Antiarrhythmics or Ablation in Structural Heart Disease 2

Psychiatry: Tibbo, Philip- $493,425 (3 years)- Cannabis effects on white matter microstructure and outcomes in early phase psychosis: a 1 year dual site longitudinal study
 

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

 

Affiliated Scientist at NSHA wins Discovery Innovation Award

Mohamed Abdolell, founder of Densitas Inc., a biostatistician, Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at Dalhousie University and Affiliated Scientist at NSHA, was recognized on November 23rd, 2017 as one of Nova Scotia's best and brightest in science and technology by the Discovery Center. 

"The Discovery Awards began in the spring of 2002, to recognize talented individuals and outstanding companies in Nova Scotia for their national and international work in the science and technology fields."

Mohamed Abdolell founded Densitas in 2011 which is "focused on machine-learning solutions in the breast imaging enterprise, and sees digital mammograms as “imaging fingerprints” that enable tailored patient care."  Their focus includes: breast density assessments, reporting guidelines, quality standards and clinical workflow guidelines. 

"The Densitas team has deep knowledge in digital imaging, data analytics, medical/health informatics and clinical research, and applies this expertise to identify the signal in the immense volume and variety of data perpetually generated in the digital mammography enterprise."

Please join us in congratulating Mohamed!

Mohamed Abdolell is also giving a presentation on December 14 as part of the Innovation Rounds series, register: elaine.strohm@nshealth.ca

 

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.

Standout in Atlantic Canada: Dr. Robin Urquhart Receives $950,000+ from CIHR Foundation Grant Competition

Dr. Robin Urquhart

Congratulations to Dr. Robin Urquhart, NSHA/Dalhousie Department of Surgery, for receiving funding from CIHR’s 2016-2017 Foundation Grant Competition. 

CIHR’s mandate is to “excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.” Dr. Urquhart will be using her $950,000+ award for her research program involving: “Follow-up care of cancer survivors: optimizing survivor and health system outcomes”. 

The Foundation Grant Competition saw 600 applications submitted across Canada, 14 of which were from Nova Scotia. Only 76 across Canada were funded and Dr. Urquhart’s was the only funded application in Atlantic Canada. Each application went through a 3 stage review process where only successful applicants advanced to the subsequent stage.

Dr. Urquhart is an Assistant Professor and Ramia Scientist in the Department of Surgery, with cross-appointments in the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology and Division of Medical Education. She is also a Senior Scientist with the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute and an Affiliate Scientist at NSHA.

NSHA Research Services has been proud to support and work with Robin-
Congratulations to Robin and her team!

TRIC Awards- May 2017

Name	Award	Research Description
Jacqueline Gahagan & Ashley Harnish	Level 1- $2,931	Improving Timely Care and Access for Trans and Gender Diverse Population in Primary Health Care-Central Zone: An Exploratory Study
Matthew Rigby & Laurette Geldenhuys & Colleen Caines	Level 3- $59,700	Implementation of an Intraoperative Margin Assessment Protocol in Head and Neck Cancer Surgery
Michael Vallis &  Lynn Edwards &  Janelle Comeau	Level 3- $60,000	Supporting Psychosocial Distress in Diabetes Care: A Patient-Centrered Integrated Care Management Initiative