FoMD researchers earn 13 of the U of A’s 15 fall 2021 CIHR project grants
Sasha Roeder Mah - 6 May 2022
The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry received 13 of the University of Alberta’s 15 recently announced fall 2021 project grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
The Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry continues to shine on the national research stage, receiving 13 of the University of Alberta’s 15 recently announced fall 2021 project grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The funding, totalling $11,203,977, includes a project co-led with the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine.
This news also highlights the continued importance of our research institutes. Nearly all who received funding are members of one or all of the following: Li Ka Shing Institute of Virology (LKSIoV), Cancer Research Institute of Northern Alberta (CRINA), Women and Children’s Health Research Institute (WCHRI) and Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute (NMHI). The U of A’s strength in neuroscience is particularly well represented, with six grants in this area alone.
“These awards are a testament to the excellence in research in our Faculty, the hard work of the principal investigators, and the support of their teams,” says Lawrence Richer, vice-dean of clinical research. “The breadth of research is remarkable, spanning disciplines from molecular mechanisms to new therapeutics and innovative clinical applications.”
The CIHR’s Project Grant program provides federal support for ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related fundamental or applied knowledge, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes. The fall 2021 competition saw 417 grants awarded across the country, for a total of $325 million.
Find out more about the researchers and their projects below.
FoMD CIHR Project Grant program awardees
Principal investigator: Monica Gorassini, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and member of NMHI and WCHRI
Principal investigator: Zamaneh Kassiri, professor in the Department of Physiology
Targeting SARS-CoV-2 Main protease and variants for effective antiviral development
Principal investigator: Joanne Lemieux, professor in the Department of Biochemistry and LKSIoV, WCHRI, CRINA and NMHI member
Principal investigator: Nikolai Malykhin, associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry, member of NMHI
Pyroptosis in the CNS: Molecular mechanisms & therapeutic targets in progressive MS
Principal investigator: Christopher Power, professor of neurology in the Department of Medicine and founding director of the University of Alberta Multiple Sclerosis Centre, member of NMHI
Advanced immunotherapeutic oncolytic reovirus combination therapy for breast cancer
Principal investigator: Maya Shmulevitz, associate professor in the Department of Medical Microbiology & Immunology and member of LKSIoV, CRINA and WCHRI
Principal investigator: Gopinath Sutendra, associate professor in the Department of Medicine’s Division of Cardiology, CRINA member
Principal investigators: Puneeta Tandon, associate professor of gastroenterology in the Department of Medicine and Margaret McNeely, WCHRI and CRINA member, associate professor in the Faculty of Rehabilitation Medicine and adjunct professor in the Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry’s Department of Oncology
Relaxation mapping for the clinic: Application to multiple sclerosis
Principal investigator: Alan Wilman, professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and NMHI member
Principal investigators: Ian Winship, professor in the Department of Psychiatry, director of the Neurochemical Research Unit (NRU) and deputy director of NMHI; and Glen Jickling, NMHI member and associate professor in the Department of Medicine
The role of mitotic sumoylation events in establishing nuclear envelope structure
Principal investigator: Richard Wozniak, professor in the Department of Cell Biology and member of LKSIoV
Enhancing the efficacy of antisense oligonucleotide-mediated therapy for spinal muscular atrophy
Principal investigator: Toshifumi Yokota, professor in the Department of Medical Genetics, NMHI and WCHRI member
Widespread regulation of P-type ATPases and ion homeostasis by small membrane proteins
Principal investigator: Howard Young, professor in the Department of Biochemistry, member of WCHRI and the recently launched Cardiovascular Research Institute
Priority announcement grant: Erythroid progenitors and precursors impair tumour immunogenicity and promote tumour progression in breast cancer
Principal investigator: Shokrollah Elahi, associate professor in the School of Dentistry and member of LKSIoV, WCHRI and CRINA