VCHRI researchers awarded CIHR project grants to advance health research

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has announced the results of its Spring 2024 project grant competition. Congratulations to all the VCHRI researchers who were awarded project grants. 

Project Grants

aRtificial intelligence-driven computational pathology platform for blAdder Cancer subTyping (REACT)
Principal investigators: Dr. Ali Bashashati, Dr. Peter Black

The impact of 12-hour overnight shifts on nurses' driving safety: A high-fidelity driver simulator study
Principal investigator: Dr. Jeff Brubacher

The impact of medical cannabis on driving safety: A driving simulation study
Principal investigator: Dr. Jeff Brubacher

Early Life Exposures to Wildfire Smoke and Respiratory Health Outcomes During Childhood
Principal investigator: Dr. Stephanie Cleland 

An integrated AI-powered platform for cell analytics
Principal investigator: Dr. Mads Daugaard

Lin28b as a therapeutic target for prostate cancer progression
Principal investigator: Dr. Xuesen Dong

Implementation research to improve scale-up of the delivery of evidence-based community exercise programs for stroke
Principal investigators: Dr. Janice Eng, Dr. Courtney Pollock, Dr. Brodie Sakakibara

Network-Brain Age: Enhancing spatial precision of accelerated aging
Principal investigator: Dr. Sophia Frangou

A prospective interventional study to prevent allosensitization in patients who have failed a first kidney transplant
Principal investigators: Dr. John Gill, Dr. James Lan

Long term development in children exposed in utero to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and stimulant medication
Principal investigator: Dr. Gillian Hanley

DICER1 tumour predisposition syndrome: dissecting the oncogenic mechanisms with a novel lineage-trackable genetically engineered mouse model
Principal investigator: Dr. David Huntsman

Strengthening mental health services through enhancing the capacity of health workers in Somalia (MH Care-Somalia)
Principal investigator: Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim

STRIVE Study: STRatIfication of Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma by HPV and p53 status to guide Excision
Principal investigators: Dr. Amy Jamieson, Dr. Jessica McAlpine

Transfusion Without Blood Typing: Enzymatic Glycoengineering Towards 'True' Universal Blood
Principal investigator: Dr. Jayachandran Kizhakkedathu

Evaluating the efficacy of the PolarUs app on quality of life outcomes in people with bipolar disorder
Principal investigator: Dr. Erin Michalak

Genetic and environmental modulators of disease mechanisms in retinitis pigmentosa
Principal investigator: Dr. Orson Moritz

In vivo functional characterization of Parkinson's disease linked genes and identification of the best candidate genes of Parkinson's Disease GWAS loci using Caenorhabditis elegans
Principal investigator: Dr. Catharine Rankin

Fifteen year trends in racism, enacted stigma, and mental health among South Asian LGBQ+ adolescents: The impact of inclusive schools in British Columbia
Principal investigator: Dr. Elizabeth Saewyc

REhabilitation of MEMory symptoms after BRain concussion (REMEMBR trial)
Principal investigator: Dr. Noah Silverberg

Interplay between ASCL1 and chromatin remodeling complex in prostate cancer lineage plasticity
Principal investigator: Dr. Amina Zoubeidi

Read the full list of project grant recipients

Priority Announcement Grants

The Stop Osteoarthritis (SOAR) Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation Type 1 Randomized Controlled Trial for Young People at-High-Risk of Early Onset Knee Osteoarthritis
Priority announcement: Female Athlete Health
Principal investigator: Dr. Jacqueline Whittaker

Optimizing outcomes for patients presenting to emergency departments with opioid poisoning
Priority announcement: Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies Research
Principal investigators: Dr. Corinne Hohl, Dr. Brian Grunau, Dr. Andrew Kestler, Dr. Mark Lysyshyn, Dr. Jessica Moe

Read the full list of priority announcement grant recipients