These information sessions feature talks from the chairs of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant Program. The chairs provide potential applicants to their committees an opportunity to hear first-hand about the committee ‘culture’, what sort of proposals are regularly seen in the committees, what aspects are generally well-received by reviewers, what factors are considered particularly important, how the committees’ mandate is interpreted, what types of proposals are transferred to or from other committees. These 60-minute talks feature a 30-minute presentation, followed by a Q&A. The Health Initiatives unit, Office of Research, hosts these sessions in collaboration with the Centre for Bioengineering & Biotechnology (CBB).
Kwame McKenzie
Chris McLeod
Public, Community and Population Health (PH) Peer Review Committee with Dr. Kwame McKenzie and Dr. Chris McLeod
July 18, 2023 | 2:00 - 3:00 p.m.
About the speakers:
Professor (Dr.) Kwame McKenzie is CEO of Wellesley Institute; a full Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, Director of Health Equity at CAMH; and a practicing psychiatrist. His expertise is the social causes of illness and the development of effective, equitable social policy and health services and systems. His work and collaborations have influenced local and national social and health policy and teaching, clinical practice, services and policy in mental health. Kwame McKenzie is Chair of PH2 Peer Review Committee.
Dr. Chris McLeod is Associate Professor and Head of the Occupational and Environmental Health Division in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of BC, and Co-Director of the Partnership for Work, Health and Safety. His research focuses on the program and policy evaluation of occupational health policies and practices and on the causes and consequences of work-related injury and disease. He is currently leading an evaluation of the Health and Safety Excellence program in Ontario that focuses on changing health and safety practices and impact on longer term health and safety outcomes. Other areas of research include an assessment of the effectiveness of occupational health and safety management systems; exploring the effect of COVID-19 policies on violence, bullying and harassment in the service sector in BC and national and international comparative work on return-to-work after work injury. Dr. McLeod has been a CIHR peer reviewer and scientific officer since 2017 and most recently was the chair of the Project Grant Scheme, September 2021 competition.
Paula Rochon
Robyn Tamblyn
Andrea Gruneir
Health Services Evaluation & Interventions Research (HS) Peer Review Committee with Dr. Paula Rochon, Dr. Robyn Tamblyn and Dr. Andrea Gruneir
November 23, 2023 | 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
About the speakers:
Dr. Paula Rochon, BA, MPH, FRCPC, MD, is the Founding Director of Women’s Age Lab, Senior Scientist at Women’s College Research Institute, Professor at the Department of Medicine and Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, and RTOERO Chair in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Toronto. Her career is focused on promoting the health and well-being of older adults, particularly women, and finding new ways to improve their lives through leading national and international research. She has published over 300 papers in peer-reviewed journals, is Chair of the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Aging Advisory Board, and Deputy Editor of the Journal of the American Geriatric Society (JAGS). She founded Women's Age Lab, the first and only research centre of its kind, to focus on improving the health and well-being of older women. Through decades of experience and leadership, Dr. Rochon is creating a space for collaboration on science-driven health and social change that will improve the lives of older adults, specifically women. Dr. Rochon is Chair of HS1.
Dr. Robyn Tamblyn, BScN, MSc, PhD, CM is a Professor of Medicine, a James McGill Chair, and a Medical Scientist at the McGill University Health Centre. She is Scientific Director of the McGill Clinical and Health Informatics Research Group. She was appointed Scientific Director of the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research in 2011 and served in this position until her term ended in December 2018. In 2005 Dr. Tamblyn received the CHSRF KT award for research in improving medication use and in 2006 she received the ACFAS Bombardier award for innovation in the development of a drug management system. In 2014, she received the John P. Hubbard Award for outstanding achievement in the assessment of professional competency in health care and medical education and she was appointed to the Order of Canada. In 2015 she received the Outstanding Achievement Award in the evaluation of clinical competence for sustained excellence in Canadian health care and research from the Medical Council of Canada. Dr. Tamblyn was selected as the 2018 Justice Emmett Hall Laureate in recognition of her outstanding contributions to the health ideals extoled by Justice Hall and she was named the recipient of the 2018 Peggy Leatt Award in acknowledgement of her work in improving outcomes in Canada’s health care system. Recently, in 2019, she was elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society of Canada, and she was appointed Director of the Division of Clinical Epidemiology at the McGill University Health Centre. Dr. Tamblyn is Chair of HS2.
Dr. Andrea Gruneir, BSc, MSc, PhD is currently the co-Director of the Research Program in her department and is the Alberta lead on the newly funded SPOR Primary Care Research Network. Her research focuses on the health services needs of older adults with complex care needs. She is the current Chair of the Health Services Evaluation & Interventions Research 3 (HS3) committee for the Project Grant program at CIHR. Prior to this, Dr. Gruneir has served on HS1 as a committee member and Scientific Officer.
*A slide deck for this information session is available. A summary of the talk can be found here*
Kathleen Marsman
Commercialization (CMZ) Peer Review Committee with Dr. Kathleen Marsman
June 23, 2022 | 12:00 - 1:30 p.m.
About the speaker:
Kathleen Marsman, PhD, is a registered Canadian and U.S. Patent Agent and a Senior Associate at Borden Ladner Gervais LLP. She specializes in patent applications for the life sciences, biotechnology, nutrition and chemistry sectors. She counsels patent applicants on matters of patentability, filing strategy and portfolio management. Her clients include universities, healthcare institutions, start-ups, and multinational pharmaceutical and consumer product companies. Learn more about her expertise.
*A summary of the session can be found here*
Douglas Hamilton
Biomedical Engineering (BME) Peer Review Committee with Dr. Douglas Hamilton
March 22, 2022 | 1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
About the speaker:
Douglas Hamilton, PhD, is Assistant Dean, Dentistry Research at Schulich Medicine & Dentistry, Western University. He is a recent Chair of the BME Peer-review Committee for CIHR. He also holds the position of Associate Professor of Oral Biology, Dentistry with a cross appointment in the Departments of Anatomy & Cell Biology, and Biomedical Engineering. His research focuses on the molecular biology underlying wound repair and regeneration in connective tissues including bone, skin and the periodontium. Learn more about his research.
*A summary of the information session can be found here*