2014-15 food safety research program

call for letters of intent

the food safety research program is an open, competitive research fund with the mandate to support food safety research in three broad areas:

• development / validation of testing methods for pathogen and chemical detection in food and water;
• data to support risk assessments / risk assessments, including the identification of emerging hazards and contaminants; and
• risk management and control in food safety.

research priorities

proposals are being solicited that will generate new knowledge and/or technologies in the following areas:

Ÿ  analysis of food safety economics;

Ÿ  threat identification and prioritization;

Ÿ  detection and surveillance;

Ÿ  pathway analysis; and

Ÿ  prevention and control of disease.

for the 2014 call, we have identified a number of research needs, such as:

Ÿ  development and validation of food safety interventions for small and medium scale operators;

Ÿ  validation of manufacturing processes related to various ready to eat food
products such as dried/dehydrates meats;

Ÿ  identification and prevention of food safety risks associated with fish processing activities; and

Ÿ  interventions to reduce risks of environmental impacts on food safety (e.g. climate change).

application process

interested applicants must apply to the call through a letter of intent (loi) by the submission deadline of thursday, may 29, 2014 at 4:00 pm est. successful applicants will be invited to submit a full proposal.

who may apply

we invite applicants from universities, research institutes, industry, government agencies and partnership networks with demonstrated capacity to perform quality research to submit a letter of intent. applicants outside the province of ontario are eligible but must clearly indicate how their proposed research will benefit ontario's food safety system. staff from ontario provincial ministries cannot apply as lead applicant to this program.

how to apply

researchers apply using the research management system (rms), omaf and mra’s on-line system for managing and administering ministry-funded research programs. if you have previously applied to a research program through the rms, log in to your researcher workbench to access the call documents and application form.

if you have not previously applied to a ministry-funded research program through the rms, you will need to register to create a user file before you can apply:

Ÿ   click here if you are an applicant with a research office or other approval authority  (such as applicants from colleges, universities, hospitals, government)

Ÿ   all other applicants click here (i.e. applicants from business, commodity groups, industry, municipal organizations, non-government organizations etc.)

more information about the 2014 food safety research call can be accessed from theprogram’s homepage.  

information session

an information session to provide an overview of the 2014 food safety research program will be hosted on may 7, 2014 from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm in the conference centre (room 3) at 1 stone road west, guelph, ontario. interested applicants may attend in-person or via webex. to register for the information session, please contact stacy favrin, senior research advisor (519-826-5178).

the msrp investigator-initiated partnership award (iipa) mechanism is being offered for the first time in fy14 with the goal of attracting promising investigators and new perspectives on a research project to improve ms patient care and/or quality of life.

the ocrp pilot award supports conceptually innovative, high-risk/high-reward research that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will drive the field of ovarian cancer research forward. the proposed research must demonstrate a clear focus on ovarian cancer (e.g., using tissues, cell lines, datasets, or appropriate animal models, etc.).

the ocrp ovarian cancer academy, which was initially created in fy09, is intended to be a unique, interactive virtual academy providing intensive mentoring, national networking, and a peer group for junior faculty. the overarching goal of the ovarian cancer academy is to develop successful, highly productive ovarian cancer researchers in a collaborative research training environment.

the ocrp ovarian cancer academy, which was initially created in fy09, is intended to be a unique, interactive virtual academy providing intensive mentoring, national networking, and a peer group for junior faculty. the overarching goal of the ovarian cancer academy is to develop successful, highly productive ovarian cancer researchers in a collaborative research training environment. the ovarian cancer academy is a virtual career development and research training platform that currently consists of nine early-career investigator/designated mentor pairs from different institutions and one academy dean.

the ocrp investigator-initiated research award is intended to support studies that will significantly impact ovarian cancer research and/or patient care. research projects may focus on any phase of research from basic laboratory research through translational research. the rationale for a research idea may be derived from a laboratory discovery, population-based studies, a clinician’s first-hand knowledge of patients, or anecdotal data. applications must include preliminary data that are relevant to ovarian cancer and support the proposed research project.

the intent of the ocrp clinical translational leverage award mechanism is to support leveraging of human-based ovarian cancer resources in translational research. this award supports early-phase, proof-of-principle clinical trials and correlative studies (retrospective and prospective) to investigate high-impact research ideas or unmet needs in ovarian cancer. preliminary data are required.

the idea development award promotes new ideas that are still in the early stages of development and have the potential to yield impactful data and new avenues of investigation. this award supports conceptually innovative, high-risk/high-reward research that could lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate progress toward eradicating deaths from lung cancer.

this award mechanism supports early-phase, proof-of-principle clinical trials and correlative studies to investigate hypothesis-based, innovative interventions that have the potential to resolve current clinical barriers and result in a profound impact on the clinical management of lung cancer.

the career development award supports early-career, independent investigators to conduct impactful research under the mentorship of an experienced lung cancer researcher as an opportunity to obtain the funding, mentoring, and experience necessary for productive, independent careers at the forefront of lung cancer research. this award is intended to support impactful research projects with an emphasis on discovery.