{"id":1426,"date":"2020-02-06T18:11:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T18:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/navyblue.bcmultistaging.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=1426"},"modified":"2026-03-03T04:35:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T04:35:36","slug":"congratulations-cihr-project-grant-recipients","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/news\/congratulations-cihr-project-grant-recipients\/","title":{"rendered":"Congratulations CIHR Project Grant Recipients!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"fndry-paragraph fndry-text-intro22\">Congratulations to the BC Children&#8217;s and BC Women&#8217;s investigators who were awarded funding through the highly competitive Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant Fall 2019 competition. Our research community received more than $8 million in new research and bridge grants.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\">Many of the investigators who were successful in this competition benefited from the expertise of Dr. Dawn McArthur, Director, Research &#038; Technology Development. On behalf of BCCHR, we would also like to thank Ms. Rita Jekabsons, Senior Research Development Coordinator; Ms. Marissa Gibbard, Research Coordinator, Evidence to Innovation Theme; Dr. Robine Donken; and Dr. Beth Payne for their dedication and support.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\">Overall, projects at BC Children&#8217;s and BC Women&#8217;s had a success rate of 28 per cent, compared to the national average of 17.6 per cent. While a number of projects were not funded in this competition, many received high rankings. As such, the Research &#038; Technology Development Office team is already assisting with resubmissions for the Spring 2020 competition.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"fndry-heading\">Congratulations to:<\/h3>\n\n<figure  class=\"fndry-image fndry-mb--2\" style=\"--imageWidth:75%\" aria-labelledby=\"img-2238\">\n\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"575\" height=\"575\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/files\/2025\/01\/cihr-fall-2019-project-grants_pis-collage.jpg\" class=\"fndry-image__img fndry-pl--12\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\" style=\"--borderRadius:0px;--objectFit:cover;--imagePosX:50%;--imagePosY:50%\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/files\/2025\/01\/cihr-fall-2019-project-grants_pis-collage.jpg 575w, https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/files\/2025\/01\/cihr-fall-2019-project-grants_pis-collage-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/files\/2025\/01\/cihr-fall-2019-project-grants_pis-collage-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 575px) 100vw, 575px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/larbour\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Laura Arbour<\/a>&nbsp;and Dr. Leigh Swayne (University of Victoria) \u2013 Childhood Diseases \u2013 Project: \u201cWhen Rare Becomes Common: The impact of the AnkB p.S646F variant on heart disease in a Northern BC First Nation.\u201d $1,384,650 \/ 5 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/jdutz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Jan Dutz<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Childhood Diseases \u2013 Project: \u201cPhototherapy to modulate regulatory T cells and prevent autoimmune disease.\u201d $100,000 \/ 1 year (Bridge Grant).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/nichole-fairbrother\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Nichole Fairbrother<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Women\u2019s Health Research Institute \u2013 Project: \u201cPerinatal Anxiety Disorder Screening Study.\u201d WHRI Co-investigators: Dr. Arianne Albert and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/pjanssen\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Patricia Janssen<\/a>. $100,000 \/ 1 year. (Bridge Grant)<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/jfriedman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Jan Friedman<\/a>&nbsp;and Dr. Inanc Birol (Canada\u2019s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre) \u2013 Evidence to Innovation \u2013 Project: \u201cLong-read sequencing and bioinformatics analysis to identify cryptic genetic mutations in patients with undiagnosed intellectual disability.\u201d BCCHR Co-investigator: Dr. Indhu Shree Rajan Babu (Supervisor: Dr. Friedman). $1,063,351 \/ 3 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/wgibson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. William Gibson<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Childhood Diseases \u2013 Project: \u201cFunctional Studies of Coding Variants in Polycomb Repressive Complex Found in Humans.\u201d BCCHR Co-investigator: Dr. Sharri Cyrus (Supervisor: Dr. Gibson). $612,000 \/ 5 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/gillian-hanley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Gillian Hanley<\/a>&nbsp;&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/toberlander\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Tim Oberlander<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Women\u2019s Health Research Institute and Brain, Behaviour &#038; Development \u2013 Project: \u201cA population-level linked data study of the long-term developmental impacts of prenatal antidepressant exposure.\u201d $359,552 \/ 4 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/whoner\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. William Honer<\/a>, Dr. Kristina Gicas (Supervisor: Dr. Honer) and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/wpanenka\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. William Panenka<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Brain, Behaviour &#038; Development \u2013 Project: \u201cNeuropsychiatric complications of co-morbid illness in people living in homelessness or precarious housing.\u201d BCCHR Co-investigators:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/abarr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Alasdair Barr<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/dlang\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Donna Lang<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/athornton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Allen Thornton<\/a>. $1,235,475 \/ 5 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/plange\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Philipp Lange<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Childhood Diseases \u2013 Project: \u201cTumour microenvironment mediated cell surface shedding creates unique targets and markers.\u201d $952,425 \/ 5 years and $25,000 \/ 1 year (Prize: Early Career Investigator in Cancer).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/cmaxwell\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Christopher Maxwell<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Childhood Diseases \u2013 Project: \u201cMechanisms that impact the cell division axis and phenotype for BRCA1-mutant mammary epithelial cells.\u201d $837,675 \/ 5 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/wnorman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Wendy Norman<\/a>, Dr. Bonnie Henry and Dr. Kimberlyn McGrail (University of British Columbia) \u2013 Healthy Starts \u2013 Project: &#8220;The CART Mife-Outcomes study: Relating Canada&#8217;s unique mifepristone regulations to health system events, costs and access to abortion, using linked health administrative data.&#8221; WHRI Co-investigators:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/regina-renner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Regina Renner<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/laura-schummers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Laura Schummers<\/a>,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/sarah-munro\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Sarah Munro<\/a>&nbsp;(Supervisor: Dr. Norman),&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/janusz-kaczorowski\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Janusz Kaczorowski<\/a>, and&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/cheryl-davies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Cheryl Davies<\/a>. $524,024 \/ 4 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/wrobinson\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Wendy Robinson<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Healthy Starts \u2013 Project: &#8220;Genetics and epigenetics of sex differences in placental and fetal development.&#8221; BCCHR Co-investigator:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/cbrown\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Carolyn Brown<\/a>. $604,350 \/ 5 years.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/obgyn.ubc.ca\/person\/aline-talhouk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Aline Talhouk<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/jessica-mcalpine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Jessica Mcalpine<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 Women\u2019s Health Research Institute \u2013 Project: &#8220;Pre-operative Risk Stratification in Endometrial Cancer to Inform Surgical Management.&#8221; WHRI Co-investigator:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/gillian-hanley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Gillian Hanley<\/a>. $263,925 \/ 3 years.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"fndry-heading\">Additional Partnered Grants:<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/nursing.ubc.ca\/our-people\/fuchsia-howard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Amanda Howard<\/a>&nbsp;and Dr. Gregory Haljan (Fraser Health Authority)&nbsp;\u2013 University of British Columbia (School of Nursing)&nbsp;\u2013 Project: &#8220;Unplanned Hospital Readmission Following Critical Illness Survival: An Investigation of the Survivor-Family Dyad.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\">Dr. Teresa Liu-Ambrose and&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/liisa-galea\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Liisa Galea<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 University of British Columbia \u2013 Project \u201cSex Matters: Understanding Sex Differences in Exercise Efficacy on Brain Health in Mild Cognitive Impairment.\u201d WHRI Co-investigator:&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/cindy-barha\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Cindy Barha<\/a>&nbsp;(Supervisors: Dr. Liu-Ambrose and Dr. Robin Hsiung).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/smiller\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Steven Miller<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/regrunau\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Ruth Grunau<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 The Hospital for Sick Children \u2013&nbsp;Project: &#8220;Healthy brain growth in preterm children for optimal function: do males and females differ?&#8221; BCCHR Co-investigators:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/rbrant\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Rollin Brant<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/asynnes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Anne Synnes<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\">Dr. Robert Olson (University of British Columbia),&nbsp;Dr. Alison Allan (London Health Sciences Centre), Dr. David Palma&nbsp;(London Health Sciences Centre),&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bccrc.ca\/dept\/ccr\/people\/stuart-peacock\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Stuart Peacock<\/a>, and Dr. Scott Tyldesley \u2013 BC Cancer&nbsp;\u2013 Project: &#8220;A phase III randomized controlled trial and economic evaluation of Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) for Comprehensive treatment of OligoMETastatic (1-3 metastases) cancer: SABR-COMET-3.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/whri.org\/staff\/kate-shannon\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Kate Shannon<\/a>&nbsp;and Dr. Charlotte Loppie (University of Victoria) \u2013 Centre for Gender and Sexual Health Equity (BC) \u2013 Project: \u201cTowards Equitable Sexual Health Care in BC: Centring the Voices of Cis and Trans Feminine Youth and Young Women in Policy and Practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"fndry-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/ksoma\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Kiran Soma<\/a>&nbsp;\u2013 University of British Columbia \u2013 Project: \u201cEffects of added sucrose on hormones, neural circuits, and behaviour.\u201d BCCHR Co-investigator:&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bcchr.ca\/adevlin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Dr. Angela Devlin<\/a>. &nbsp;<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congratulations to the BC Children&#8217;s and BC Women&#8217;s investigators who were awarded funding through the highly competitive Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Project Grant Fall 2019 competition. Our research community received more than $8 million in new research and bridge grants.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","fndry_alternate_title":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"modified_by":"caorda","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1426"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2252,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1426\/revisions\/2252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bcchr.ca\/maxwell-lab\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}