rapid response 2016

the prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases of aging is high and growing rapidly.  the rapid response program was created to catalyze and jumpstart the development of safe and effective treatments for these diseases. the program provides short-term grants as seed funding for novel, high-risk, high-reward translational research projects that advance the development of therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases of aging. proposed projects may relate to any disease; however, the basis for selection will be on the potential impact of the project on neurodegenerative diseases of aging.

new this year:

• rapid response 2016 will run three times within the 2016 calendar year, and each round of applications will be tied to a specific disease group (outlined below)
• each lab can only submit 1 loi per round of applications
• als projects should submit to als 2016, which will accept both rapid response and transformational research applications

funding and eligibility

projects can request up to $150,000 over up to 18 months.

applicants must be researchers or postdoctoral fellows from institutions that are cra qualified donees in canada.

new for rapid response 2016: the institute will have three application rounds, each focused on one of two disease groups:

group 1 (rounds 1 and 3):         ad-related diseases (ad, ftd, mci and prodromes)

group 2 (round 2):         pd-related diseases (pd, psp, dlb, msa and prodromes)

* projects focused on als should be submitted to the als-focused program scheduled to launch in spring 2016.

**applicants should apply to the category best suited to their project. projects that have impact on multiple neurodegenerative diseases of aging should apply to the most appropriate program.

proposed projects must fall into one of two categories:

development of a therapeutic

• a pharmacological approach, e.g., drugs (including small molecules, biologics, cell therapies and vaccines, and including drug repositioning and repurposing), animal models, imaging techniques, reagents, biomarkers, diagnostics, medical devices, surgical interventions, or magnetic or electrical brain stimulation; but not complementary approaches. therapeutics can be for symptomatic relief, disease modification, or prevention.

development of tools that help accelerate development of therapeutic

• an item that accelerates the development of therapeutics, e.g.,  drugs (including small molecules, biologics, cell therapies and vaccines), medical devices or surgical interventions.

important dates

round 1: ad-related diseases (ad, ftd, mci and prodromes)

submissions open: january 4th, 2016
application deadline:  february 23, 2016 2:00 pm est

round 2: pd-related diseases (pd, psp, dlb, msa and prodromes)

submissions open: may 2nd, 2016
application deadline:  june 27th, 2016 2:00 pm edt

round 3: ad-related diseases (ad, ftd, mci and prodromes)

submissions open: june 2nd, 2016
application deadline:  july 28th, 2016 2:00 pm edt

the healthy life trajectories initiative linked international intervention cohorts (helti liic) will work in partnership with countries with populations where there has been rapid changes in population demographics e.g., urbanisation and lifestyles, change in diet, that have resulted in increased non-communicable diseases (ncds) over a relatively short period of time (2-4 generations).  the initiative will be a collaboration of participating countries developing linked international intervention cohorts, both retrospective and prospective interventions, focused on risk factors for ncds based on the developmental origins of health and disease concept (dohad). due to the deliberate coordination and co-funding of these linked international intervention cohorts, this initiative will allow for accelerated learning and impact within and across countries through methodological advances, common measures, and data harmonization, as well as enhanced understanding of the results and their implications across contexts.   for each country, the joint team will include both a lead from canada and a lead from the participating country to establish a cohort composed of a representative sample of the target population in the participating country. this initiative will be supported through a novel partnership with the world health organization (who) to provide secretariat support for initiative management and governance.

the goal of helti is to generate evidence that will inform national policy and decision-making in canada and the participating countries for the improvement of health and the prevention of ncds, with an emphasis on obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes throughout the lifespan. given that both maternal and paternal health have transgenerational effects on development and health of offspring, this funding opportunity also aims to develop gender-responsive evidence for interventions and policies aimed at the needs of men, women, boys and girls. the engagement of multiple countries will promote value-added international collaborations through a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach to the problem by spanning basic science to public health research and policy, which will position the initiative to have significant long term impacts on global health. it is expected that the research initiative will yield greater value because of the collaborative nature than if studies were implemented as single country projects. the collaboration will enable comparative analysis of interventions, harmonized data, assessment of biological mechanisms and biological-environmental interactions in different populations and the exchange and stimulation of scientific ideas and sharing of expertise.

this current funding opportunity will fund a cohort leadership team comprised of investigators and knowledge users/policy makers from both canada and south africa for a cohort in south africa.

this funding opportunity is part of the healthy life trajectories initiative (helti) to fund a cohort leadership team.

the healthy life trajectories initiative linked international intervention cohorts (helti liic) will work in partnership with countries with populations where there has been rapid changes in population demographics e.g., urbanization and lifestyles, change in diet, that have resulted in increased non-communicable diseases (ncds) over a relatively short period of time (2-4 generations).  the initiative will be a collaboration of participating countries developing linked international intervention cohorts, both retrospective and prospective interventions, focused on risk factors for ncds based on the developmental origins of health and disease concept (dohad). due to the deliberate coordination and funding of these linked international intervention cohorts, this initiative will allow for accelerated learning and impact within and across countries through methodological advances, common measures, and data harmonization, as well as enhanced understanding of the results and their implications across contexts.   for each country, the joint team will include both a lead from canada and a lead from the participating country to establish a cohort composed of a representative sample of the target population in the participating country. this initiative will be supported through a novel partnership with the world health organization (who) to provide secretariat support for initiative management and governance.

the goal of helti is to generate evidence that will inform national policy and decision-making in canada and the participating countries for the improvement of health and the prevention of ncds, with an emphasis on obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes throughout the lifespan. given that both maternal and paternal health have transgenerational effects on development and health of offspring, this funding opportunity also aims to develop gender-responsive evidence for interventions and policies aimed at the needs of men, women, boys and girls. the engagement of multiple countries will promote value-added international collaborations through a multifaceted, multidisciplinary approach to the problem by spanning basic science to public health research and policy, which will position the initiative to have significant long term impacts on global health. it is expected that the research initiative will yield greater value because of the collaborative nature than if studies were implemented as single country projects. the collaboration will enable comparative analysis of interventions, harmonized data, assessment of biological mechanisms and biological-environmental interactions in different populations and the exchange and stimulation of scientific ideas and sharing of expertise.

this current funding opportunity will fund a cohort leadership team comprised of investigators and knowledge users/policy makers from both canada and china for a cohort in china.

the specific objective of this funding opportunity is:

• to provide travel awards to individuals in aid of research and knowledge translation activities consistent with cihr institutes’ vision, mandate and strategic directions where the circumstances fall outside cihr's current suite of funding programs.

biofuelnet canada (bfn) is announcing ten (10) calls for proposals for research to be conducted in the period of 2017-2022. the focus is in the areas of biomass feedstock (2 projects), conversion technology (4 projects), engines and combustion (1 project) and social, economic and environmental sustainability (3 projects).

this call for proposals is open to anyone meeting the eligibility criteria of nserc or sshrc. there is no requirement for the applicant to have already participated in bfn. maximum grants range from $45k up to $90k per year, depending on the project. applicants are limited to submitting two (2) applications for funding.

innovation grants have been created to support innovative, creative problem solving in cancer research. as competition for grant funding increases, peer review panels become more conservative and risk averse, emphasizing feasibility more than innovation. the goal of this ccsri grant program is to support unconventional concepts, approaches or methodologies to address problems in cancer research. innovation projects will include elements of creativity, curiosity, investigation, exploration and opportunity. successful projects may be based on “high risk” ideas, but will have the potential for “high reward” (i.e. to significantly impact our understanding of cancer and generate new approaches to combat the disease by introducing novel ideas into use or practice).

it is hoped that this grant program will accelerate the introduction of innovation into the entire cancer research system and contribute to the scientific idea pipeline. significant findings from investigators funded by innovation grants may be developed further through ccsri "innovation to impact" grants or operating grants offered by other agencies.

defence research and development canada (drdc) is seeking a qualified researcher or team to perform metabolomic analyses of bodily fluids from cells, tissues or research animals exposed to defined brain insults with respect to both the actual insult, as well as to the resultant brain damage and functional outcome.   the purpose of this study is to assess the utility of a metabolomic approach in predicting two types of brain injury of concern to the caf; chemical warfare induced brain injury and primary blast brain injury.

the canadian institute for military and veteran health research (cimvhr) has entered into partnership with the government of canada to procure research and development services related to the mental, social and physical wellbeing of active military members, veterans and their families.  cimvhr is seeking notices of interest from qualified researchers to enter into a contract with cimvhr to produce this work.

2016 strategic investment program

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

age-well’s strategic investment program (sip) supports opportunities that require a rapid response in order to generate, promote or accelerate economic and social benefits aligned with age-well’s mission and vision. these funds will support post-discovery commercialization, business development and knowledge dissemination, mobilization, or translation activities.

successful projects should accelerate canadian innovation and economic competitiveness, and improve the quality of life for older adults or caregivers.

age-well will consider proposals for knowledge mobilization and/or commercialization, including:

• knowledge mobilization (km), translation (kt) or exchange activities, including but not limited to, the development or implementation of km/kt products or tools
• commercialization of technologies, products, and/or services, including but not limited to, business development, market readiness and prototype development activities

the strategic investment program funds projects of up to one (1) year in length and up to $25,000.

to apply

please review the program materials prior to submitting an application. applications will be accepted through age-well’s forum research portal in early january 2016. a link to the online system will be available on this webpage shortly.

applications must be received by friday, january 15, 2016 at 5 pm et.

the career guidance for trainees (cgt) program provides grants of about $30,000 (but up to $50,000) over a one-year period to support demonstration projects that will model affordable approaches to improving trainees’ readiness for stable, fulfilling careers, whether by clarifying and improving their basic “ph.d.-level” skills, by helping them identify how they can best use their skills and interests to serve the needs of potential employers, by providing them approaches to thinking through their career options, or by other strategies.

it is anticipated that the average project budget will be $30,000, not to exceed $50,000 per award. $300,000 has been set aside to fund this group of pilot projects.