CANADIAN STROKE NETWORK 2010 SUMMER STUDENTSHIPS

Goal:
The CSN Summer Studentship Program is targeted to undergraduate and medical students. The goal is to allow students to obtain research experience related to stroke at a Canadian University or affiliated institution. Up to fifteen awards will be provided for the summer of 2010. The awards, valued at $7,000, are tenable for a period of 4 months (May 1, 2010 - August 31, 2010).

Application Process: Applications are made by the proposed supervisor, not by the student. Investigators should submit electronically (preferably PDF) a 1-page Project Outline and the student's CV and transcripts (a scanned copy of transcripts, signed by the supervisor is acceptable) to Robin Millbank (robin@canadianstrokenetwork.ca) at the CSN by Monday, February 22nd, 2010. The project must include involvement in research. Applicants need to have completed at least their first year of university. Investigators are not eligible to receive more than one studentship.

Review Process: Applications for the Summer Studentship Program will be reviewed by a committee comprised of CSN researchers and Network associates. The committee will rate the applications using established criteria (eg., relevance to stroke and the goals of the CSN; feasibility and quality of the project; quality of the candidate; quality of the training environment.)

If you have any questions regarding the Summer Studentship Program, the application or review process, please contact Robin Millbank at the CSN at 613-562-5800 extension 8593 or by e-mail at robin@canadianstrokenetwork.ca.

Vascular Cognitive Impairment Competition Results

The CSN and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada are pleased to announce the following successful applicants to the Vascular Cognitive Impairment call for research proposals. Eighteen proposals were received in total. In addition to those projects listed below, four additional proposals have been approved for developmental grants by the CIHR Institute of Aging. These applicants have been notified directly and results will be posted by CIHR shortly.

Canadian Stroke Network and Heart and Stroke Foundation funds three new projects in
Secondary Prevention Project

More than 22,000 Canadians have a minor stroke, or transient ischemic attack (TIA), every year. Among them, as many as 15 per cent go on to have a bigger, disabling stroke – often within 48 hours.
Three innovative research projects, jointly funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, the Canadian Stroke Network and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, aim to reduce the risk of major strokes by improving care for TIA patients.

ASPIRE
Researchers at the University of Calgary and University of Alberta will put in place a province-wide system to ensure that patients with TIA get fast and appropriate follow-up care.
Called ASPIRE (Alberta Stroke Prevention in TIAs and mild strokes), this project involves extensive professional education and the creation of a TIA hotline. The telephone hotline allows general physicians to connect directly with a stroke expert to arrange for rapid assessment by a specialist. The time window for action after TIA is very tight; almost half of recurrent strokes occur within two days.
Another component of the project is the targeted education of nurses and doctors across Alberta on the high risk of stroke after TIA. Information cards will be sent to every doctor’s office in the province.
And, finally, research will evaluate the impact of the project on the stroke rate in Alberta and determine whether the ASPIRE-approach reduces both the rate of secondary stroke and addresses gaps in urban-rural healthcare.
The project is unique because it provides a central point of access for TIA across the province and links with the provincial stroke strategy. 

Rapid TIA care with knowledge transfer and exchange
Co-led by the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the University of Alberta, this project will measure the effectiveness of an established Stroke Rapid Assessment Unit (SRAU) in Victoria and analyze data to get a clearer picture of the rate of mild strokes in Canada.
Over the next three years, the project team will, first, review the cases of about 5,000 new patients and measure what happens to them in the 90 days after TIA.  Next, it will hire analysts to extract death and hospitalization rates for 4,000 TIA patients seen at the SRAU since 2004. And, finally, it will perform a sophisticated analysis to compare the destiny of weekday TIAs (when the SRAU is open) and weekend TIAs (when the SRAU is shut.)
The goals are to measure the effectiveness of the SRAU approach for urban and isolated communities and to determine the rate of TIA in the population.
With 9,000 patients -- including clinical, imaging and outcome data -- the project will assemble one of the richest databases on TIA in the world. The project is part of the BC Stroke Strategy.

PREVENT
Headquartered at Dalhousie University and Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre in Halifax, this project involves putting 464 patients with non-disabling stroke or TIA into a clinical trial to evaluate a new prevention program.
Half of patients in the trial, called PREVENT, will become part of an intensive 12-week education and exercise program to reduce stroke risk factors, including high blood pressure, high cholesterol, physical inactivity, diabetes, tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption and stress. The other group will get usual care, which includes clinic visits, education and counseling.
Over time, researchers will measure modifiable risk factors in both groups and determine the impact of PREVENT on rates of TIA, stroke and heart attack.
Researchers will also measure exercise capacity, daily physical activity, rates of depression, health decision-making, quality of life and health costs for participants in both groups. As well, clinical trial data will be compared between urban and rural settings.
If findings show that PREVENT reduces vascular risk factors in a cost-effective and sustainable way, this evidence could be used to improve care after TIA in Nova Scotia and across Canada.

Visit the Heart and Stroke Foundation's website for more information.

"Focus on Stroke" Results

Results of the Focus on Stroke VII Personnel Awards Competition
November 2008 Competition

"Focus on Stroke"Call for Abstracts for the
Researcher Interaction Workshop

Focus on Stroke recipients who have completed their awards are invited to submit abstracts for oral presentations at the June 5-6, 2010 Researcher Interaction Workshop, to be held in conjunction with the 1st Canadian Stroke Congress in Québec City.
Click here for details.

The FRSQ launches the second research grant competition of the Pfizer-FRSQ Innovation Fund.

PFIZER-FRSQ INNOVATION FUND
Second competition

AMOUNT OF GRANT:         From $100,000 to $200,000/year
TERM OF GRANT:               3 years, not renewable

CLOSING DATES
Letter of intent:                    March 1, 2010
Application:                           April 30, 2010

 
This program, in partnership with Pfizer Canada, is designed to support innovative, large-scale multi-institutional research projects in human health that have a strong likelihood for technology transfer and commercialisation. The objective of this program is to act as a catalyst for innovative translational research and stimulate an entrepreneurial culture within Quebec Universities and Affiliated Hospital Based Research Centres.
 
Priority topics are:
 -neurodegenerative diseases
-cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
-cancer
-inflammation
-mental health
-chronic diseases
 
 
PROGRAM DETAILS AND FORMS: http://www.frsq.gouv.qc.ca/en/financement/Programmes_2010_2011/s17_fiche.shtmlhttp://www.frsq.gouv.qc.ca/en/financement/Programmes_2010_2011/s17_fiche.shtml 

INFORMATION:
Annie Villeneuve, M. Sc.
Program Manager
Fonds de la recherche en santé du Québec
avilleneuve@frsq.gouv.qc.ca
www.frsq.gouv.qc.ca