Celebrating our success: 16 O’Brien Institute projects funded in Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) fall competition

The study of chronic opioid use in cancer patients and healthy food prescriptions are some of the projects that garnered O’Brien Institute members nearly $6.2 million in the most recent fall CIHR competition.

A total of 16 projects with Institute members as the nominated principal applicants were successfully funded.

O’Brien Institute Scientific Director Dr. Tom Stelfox, MD, says seeing grant submissions through to funding success is a testament to the perseverance of scientists, given how gruelling the process can be.

“I am grateful for all our scientists who submit funding applications. It takes a lot of courage to repeatedly put yourself and your ideas out there when fewer than one in six applications will be funded.”

“I am very excited about the incredible success of O’Brien Institute for Public Health members in this past CIHR project scheme competition. These awards will support important projects that directly advance public health,” says Stelfox.

The funded projects are:

Re-Purposing the ordering of 'routine' laboratory tests on clinical teaching units (RePORT study)
Amount awarded: $100,000
Nominated principal applicant: Anshula Ambasta

Principal applicants: Jayna Holroyd-Leduc, Irene Ma, Andrew Shih, Tom Stelfox

Healthy Food Rx - Evaluation of a subsidized healthy food prescription program for patients with type 2 diabetes and food insecurity
Amount awarded: $100,000

Nominated principal applicant: David Campbell

Principal applicants: Reed Beall, Lorainne Lipscombe, Dana Olstad, Richard Oster, Eldon Spackman

Preventing medication complications during AcUte illness through Symptom Evaluation and sick day guidance (PAUSE): Development of a Patient-Centered Mobile Health Intervention

Amount awarded: $100,000
Nominated principal applicant: David Campbell

Principal applicants: Maoliosa Donald, Matthew James, Neesh Pannu, Ross Tsuyuki

Impact of aerosol box use on patterns of healthcare provider and environmental contamination during aerosol generating medical procedures: A multicenter study
Amount awarded: $248,625
Nominated principal applicant: Adam Cheng

Characterizing chronic opioid use in cancer patients
Amount awarded: $504,900
Nominated principal applicant:  Winson Cheung

Principal applicants: Colleen Cuthbert

AYA-PACT: Adolescents and young adults becoming physically active after cancer trial
Amount awarded: $952,425

Nominated principal applicant: Miranda Fidler-Benaoudia

Principal applicants: Christine Friedenreich

COPE LTC study: Care pathway for older persons with dEpressive disorders in long term care
Amount awarded: $240,976
Nominated principal applicant: Zahra Goodarzi

Principal applicants: Matthias Hoben, Dallas Seitz, Navjot Virk

Impact of emergency department opioid prescribing on health outcomes
Amount awarded: $149,176

Nominated principal applicant: Grant Innes

Principal applicants: Jake Hayward, Rhonda Rosychuk

Nishtohtamihk li kaansyr (understanding cancer): Cancer screening, outcomes and experiences among Métis people in Alberta
Amount awarded: $100,000

Nominated principal applicant:  Karen Kopciuk

Principal applicants: Reagan Bartel, Angeline Letendre, Huiming Yang

Adoption and enhancement of a primary care management pathway for obstructive sleep apnea: an implementation evaluation project
Amount awarded: $423,046

Nominated principal applicant: Sachin Pendharkar

Principal applicants: David Oliver, Maoliosa Donald, Kerry McBrien

The impact of sex and gender in occupational disease prevention
Amount awarded: $359,549
Nominated principal applicant: Cheryl Peters

A prospective cohort study evaluating peripartum anticoagulation management among pregnant women with VTE and its impact on patient outcomes
Amount awarded: $742,052
Nominated principal applicant: Leslie Skeith
Principal applicants: Isabelle Malhamé, Ann Malinowski

ACCELERATE: Partnering with ICU patients and family caregivers toward early transitions in care
Amount awarded: $355,725

Nominated principal applicant: Tom Stelfox

Principal applicants:  Kirsten Fiest, Jeanna Parsons Leigh, Nadine Foster, Bonnie Sept

Generating EMR-based algorithms to identify hospital adverse events for health system performance evaluation and improvement
Amount awarded: $1,189,576

Nominated principal applicant: Yuan Xu
Principal applicants: Catherine Eastwood, Quan Long, Yong Zeng

INTERRAcT: Thrombus characteristics for predicting Reperfusion with Alteplase compared to Tenecteplase
Amount awarded: $527,850
Nominated principal applicant: Mohammed Almekhlafi

Principal applicants: Bijoy Menon, Richard Swartz

Connection to identity/ancestry, community, land, and spirituality: Exploring individual, family, and community wellbeing within the Métis Nation of Alberta (MNA)-Region 3

Amount awarded: $100,000

Principal applicants: Carla Ginn