Faculty of medicine researchers are among the UBC awardees of funding through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant: Spring 2023 competition.
A total of 50 projects led by UBC researchers were awarded $37 million in combined funding. The projects address key health challenges like cancer, respiratory health, spinal cord injury and more.
On a national level, CIHR approved a total of 381 research grants, plus 12 bridge grants, for a total of approximately $325 million. In addition, 62 priority announcement grants were funded for a total amount of $7,200,000 and five supplemental prizes were awarded for a total of $250,000.
Faculty of Medicine-led Project Grants
- Mechanisms and targeting of repair deficient cancers with G-quadruplex small molecule ligands
Principal Investigator: Samuel Aparicio (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Research Institution: BC Cancer, part of PHSA (Vancouver) - Decoding the impact of single cell mutational processes in triple negative breast cancer and high grade serous ovarian cancer
Principal Investigator(s): Samuel Aparicio (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Research Institution: BC Cancer, part of PHSA (Vancouver) - AMPLIFY: Elevating the stories of Indigenous women, gender diverse, and Two-Spirit peoples
Principal Investigator(s): Brittany Bingham (Social Medicine), Roberta Price (Family Practice)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Engineering next-generation self-amplifying RNA therapeutics encoding bispecific T cell engager (BiTE) antibodies for treatment of ovarian cancer
Principal Investigator(s): Anna Blakney (School of Biomedical Engineering)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - FIRE-Diet: Food as an Intervention to Reduce the Effects of Woodsmoke Exposure on Respiratory Health
Principal Investigator(s): Emily Brigham (Respiratory Medicine)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Virtual Reality Exposure for Vaginismus: A Replicated Single-Case Design
Principal Investigator(s): Lori Brotto (Obstetrics and Gynecology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Dissecting the molecular basis of dietary fibre metabolism by beneficial Bacteroidetes of the human gut microbiota
Principal Investigator(s): Harry Brumer (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Metabolite Control of Microbiome-Microglia Communication in Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Principal Investigator(s): Annie Ciernia (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Histone Acetylation Regulates Microglial Innate Immune Memory
Principal Investigator(s): Annie Ciernia (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Rational Design of Lipid Nanoparticle Systems for mRNA Delivery
Principal Investigator(s): Pieter Cullis (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Steroid catabolism in mycobacteria
Principal Investigator(s): Lindsay Eltis (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Endometriosis-associated ovarian cancer: Understanding which patients are at high risk
Principal Investigator(s): Gillian Hanley (Medicine/Obstetrics and Gynecology), Michael Anglesio (Obstetrics and Gynaecology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Online Participatory Digital Storytelling for People with Endometriosis: Investigating Therapeutic Potential, Authentic Portrayal, and Knowledge Translation
Principal Investigator(s): Paul Yong (Obstetrics and Gynaecology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - The longer-term cost consequences of Cesarean delivery
Principal Investigator(s): Jennifer Hutcheon, Jessica Liauw, Kirsten Niles (Obstetrics and Gynecology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Glucose restriction-mediated changes to mitochondria as a driver of anti-tumour CD8+ T cell function.
Principal Investigator(s): Ramon Klein Geltink (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Research Institution: BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute - Use of CAR Tregs to induce transplantation tolerance
Principal Investigator(s): Megan Levings (Surgery)
Research Institution: BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute - STOPNET – A Randomized Study of Cessation of Somatostatin Analogues after Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy in Mid and Hind Gut Neuroendocrine Tumours
Principal Investigator(s): Jonathan Loree (Medicine)
Research Institution: BC Cancer, part of PHSA (Vancouver) - Dissecting the interplay between histone marks in directing transcription in pluripotent stem and neural precursor cells.
Principal Investigator(s): Matthew Lorincz (Medical Genetics)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Astrocyte Piezo1 channels in neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration
Principal Investigator(s): Brian MacVicar (Psychiatry)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Elucidation of the client repertoires and functions of the two related DNAJB6 and B8 co-chaperones
Principal Investigator(s): Thibault Mayor (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - HEALthy Eating and Supportive Environments (HEAL); a Pan-Canadian study
Principal Investigator(s): Rachel Murphy (School of Population and Public Health)
Research Institution: B.C. Cancer Research Centre (Vancouver) - Translating Epigenomics into Clinical Care for Synovial Sarcoma
Principal Investigator(s): Torsten Nielsen (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Development and evaluation of novel nanoparticle formulations for therapeutic genome editing
Principal Investigator(s): Anna Blakney (School of Biomedical Engineering)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Multi-modal, multi-parametric liver imaging for ultrasound-based stratification of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease
Principal Investigator(s): Piotr Kozlowski (Radiology and Urologic Sciences), Emily Pang (Radiology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Advanced optical monitoring of free tissue transfer hemodynamics
Principal Investigator(s): Babak Shadgan (Orthopedics)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Understanding the Geography of Overdose: A Mixed Methods Study
Principal Investigator(s): Amanda Slaunwhite (School of Population and Public Health)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Exploring the potential of type-1 regulatory T cells in resolution and recovery from intestinal inflammation
Principal Investigator(s): Theodore Steiner (Infectious Diseases/Internal Medicine)
Research Institution: BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute - Reinforcing the battle at the bacterial cell wall: Structure-guided characterization and inhibition of beta-lactam antibiotic resistance signalling mechanisms
Principal Investigator(s): Natalie Strynadka (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Innate lymphoid cells in hepatitis and liver fibrosis
Principal Investigator(s): Fumio Takei (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
Research Institution: BC Cancer, part of PHSA (Vancouver) - Mechanisms of regulation of Cell-Matrix adhesion in development and disease
Principal Investigator(s): Guy Tanentzapf (Cellular and Physiological Sciences)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Telehealth for Emergency-Community Continuity of Care Connectivity via Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring (TEC4HOME-BP)
Principal Investigator(s): Karen Tran (Medicine)
Research Institution: Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute - Colonic mucus-derived sugars fuel the growth and virulence of pathogenic enteric bacteria.
Principal Investigator(s): Bruce Vallance (Pediatrics)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Physiological and pathological regulation of GABAA receptor functions
Principal Investigator(s): Yu Tian Wang (Medicine, Neurology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Acute intermittent hypoxia as a novel cardio-therapeutic for spinal cord injury
Principal Investigator(s): Christopher West (Cellular and Physiological Sciences)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - How far is too far? Creating an evidence base to support safe provision of medication abortion for people living far from emergency services.
Principal Investigator(s): Wendy Norman (Family Practice), Bonnie Henry (School of Population and Public Health), Sarah Munro (Obstetrics and Gynaecology)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Program of Outcomes Research on Treatment with Injectables for Addiction: Accessibility Needs and Tangible Actions
Principal Investigator(s): Eugenia Oviedo-Joekes (School of Population and Public Health)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia - Implementation research to improve scale-up of the delivery of evidence-based community exercise programs for stroke
Principal Investigator(s): Janice Eng (Physical Therapy)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia
Project Grant – Priority Announcement: Patient-Oriented Research - Evaluating the delivery of breast cancer care for patients undergoing breast reconstruction: A provincial quantitative and qualitative evaluation of care
Principal Investigator(s): Kathryn Isaac (Surgery), Jason Sutherland (School of Population and Public Health)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia
Project Grant – Priority Announcement: Health Services and Policy Research - Population-based study to determine the appropriateness and determinants of antibiotic use in primary care for migrants in Canada using administrative data: from data science to policy and action
Principal Investigator(s): Fawziah Lalji (Medicine)
Project Grant – PA: Antimicrobial Resistance (Bridge Grant) - Accelerated Lung Aging in People Living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus
Principal Investigator(s): Janice Leung (Medicine)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia
Project Grant – Priority Announcement: HIV/AIDS and STBBI - SOX4 regulation of human islet cell genesis and growth*
Principal Investigator(s): Francis Lynn (General Surgery);
Research Institution: University of British Columbia
Project Grant – PA: Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes
*conditional award at time of announcement - Impact of loss of commensal bacteria on enteric infection
Principal Investigator(s): Carolina Tropini (School of Biomedical Engineering)
Research Institution: University of British Columbia
Project Grant – PA: Infection and Immunity (Early Career Research Support)
Faculty of Medicine-led Bridge Grants