age-well invites researchers and their teams to participate in its inaugural catalyst funding program competition.

age-well’s catalyst program supports innovative research projects aimed at generating, promoting or accelerating economic and social benefit in the field of technology and aging. the catalyst program will support scalable research projects including pilot studies, feasibility studies and novel approaches that are aligned with age-well’s mission and vision it is expected that successful catalyst projects may be suitable for future age-well investment.

the theme of the 2016 catalyst funding program is “older workers and the workplace“.

priority in this competition will be given to research that looks at topics such as (but not restricted to):

• productivity in the workplace
• helping and attracting older workers stay in the workforce
• making the workplace more supportive for older workers
• combining caregiving and paid work
• technology to support older workers in the age-care sector

to unravel the dynamics of transmission and selection of antimicrobial resistance (amr) at the genetic, bacterial, animal, human, societal, and environmental levels, in order to design and evaluate preventive and intervening measures for controlling resistance.

the primary aim of the jpiamr is to combine the resources, infrastructures, and research strengths of multiple countries in order to address transmission of antibiotic resistance following a ‘one health approach’. the goal is to foster multinational research collaborations to add value to and to build upon the research conducted independently at national level and to work together to improve the control of resistant bacterial infections of clinical and/or veterinary importance only.

an organism develops resistance to a drug either by a gene mutation or by the acquisition of genetic components from another strain (i.e. transmission of resistance). resistant organisms can multiply in the presence of a drug (i.e. selection of resistance traits) but without transmission, resistance would remain an isolated problem.

to understand the complex biological and environmental interactions that shape the spread of antibiotic resistance, we must identify and characterize the determinants that contribute to the spread of resistance in and between different reservoirs; including humans (sick and healthy people), animals (livestock, companion and wild animals) and the environment (indoor and outdoor).

investigating the complex biology and epidemiology of selection and transmission of resistance is crucial in order to design preventive measures to address this public threat. the success and abundance of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains with particular public health importance should be determined through the development of risk assessment approaches that are based on the genomic repertoire of bacterial pathogens and the ecological constraints that determine their fitness in clinical, community, veterinary, and environmental settings.

for more information, please consult the joint programming initiative on antimicrobial resistance website.

the aim of the call is to facilitate multinational, collaborative research projects that will address important questions relating to external insults to the central nervous system. these insults often cause permanent disability and are a heavy burden for patients and families. the call will accept proposals ranging from understanding basic mechanisms of disease through proof-of-concept clinical studies in humans to neurorehabilitation. the focus of the call is on primary physical insults to the central nervous system, i.e. traumatic brain injury (tbi) and spinal cord injury (sci). the call covers acute traumatic events over the entire lifespan.

excluded from this call is research on haemorrhage and hypoxia. moreover, research on psychological/mental consequences of insults, including stress related disorders (e.g. post-traumatic stress disorder) are not part of the present call. research on neurodegenerative disorders will not be eligible in the present call. 

the trans-national 30-member state joint programme - neurodegenerative disease research (jpnd) is the largest global research initiative aimed at tackling the challenge of neurodegenerative disease (nd). jpnd is pleased to launch a rapid-action call for leading scientists in the field to establish working groups to bring forward novel approaches to enhance the use of brain imaging for neurodegenerative disease research. the working groups must address innovative and new ideas within the area of brain imaging.
the working groups will be community-led and will establish ‘best practice’ guidelines and/or methodological frameworks to overcome barriers regarding the use of brain imaging in nd research.

the call is not intended to support direct research studies. supported groups will provide outputs within a 9 month timeframe that will be of value to the broader nd research community. these will be made available through the jpnd website.

new investigator research grants provide important early career development support to child health researchers. it is intended that new investigator research grants will enhance the grant recipient's ability to compete with more senior investigators for research grants from other funders.

sshrc launches the first human dimensions open data challenge

sshrc has partnered with compute canada, ontario centres of excellence and thinkdata works to launch the first “human dimensions open data challenge” in january 2016. organized as part of sshrc’s imagining canada’s future initiative, this challenge seeks to address the following question:

what data, technology or process initiatives will mitigate or address critical business, policy, and social challenges in canada’s natural resources and energy sectors through 2035?

through this challenge, researchers in social sciences and humanities will lead multidisciplinary teams to respond to this question, and to find solutions to the related future challenge area that focuses on energy and natural resources. the teams will address one or more of the following themes under this challenge area:

• community engagement
• hr, skills and competencies and mobility gaps
• sustainability

the ams phoenix fellowship is a key cornerstone of the ams phoenix.
twenty-six (26) ams phoenix fellows have been funded since the projects
inception in 2012. the ams phoenix fellowship is a prestigious award
targeted at individuals with strong leadership abilities who are willing and
committed to advancing the vision of the ams phoenix project.

the fellowship is not intended to fund project-based work, rather is
focused on providing support to individuals who will take on leadership
roles and activities to address one (or both) of the following areas of focus
that are integral to ams phoenix:

where do healthcare providers learn and practise compassionate care?
this includes leadership in undergraduate, graduate, post-graduate and health professional
curricula and practice, especially the development of curricula models and materials that can
be adopted by organizations that provide health professions’ education.

how to engage patients and families in education and practice of compassionate care?
this includes leadership in the development of curriculum models and materials that embed
the voices of patients and families that can be adopted by organizations that provide health
professions’ education).

arcticnet, in collaboration with inuit tapiriit kanatami’s amaujaq national centre for inuit education, is launching a directed call for proposals to address inuit education research priority areas developed through roundtable discussions with various partners.

the deadline for submission of full proposals is friday, 26 february 2016

selected projects will start on 01 april 2016.