25
Volume1 Issue5
|
I
ssues and
P
eople
Whatare the implicationsofCIHR’s
fundingchanges for theoralhealth
researchsector?
DC:
CIHRexpects to fundabout 114
FoundationSchemegrants acrossCanada in
all
of thehealth sciences—not abignumber
considering themanypeopleapplying. But,
with thenewpeer-reviewprocess anda
Collegeof Reviewers to facilitateaccess to
appropriateexpertise, hopefully that’sgoing
tochange things favourably for people
whomayhave relativelyobscureprojects,
research that is very specialized. In thepast,
it’sbeenaproblem tofindpeoplewith the
expertise inoral health research to review
our grants.
RB:
As it is, very feworal health research
projects arebeingcurrently funded. For the
Project Schemegrants, itwill dependon
whether the reviewers evaluating theoral
health researchprojects areexperts in that
particular area.Weneed tobeproactive in
making sureappropriate individuals are
nominated tobepart of theCollegeof
Reviewers.
What canbedone to improveoralhealth
research funding inCanada?
DC:
Anything that raises theprofileof the
researchbeingdone indental schools is
helpful. A lot of peopledon’t understand that
theworkbeingdone isnot strictly focused
onoral health; there is research related to
bone, pain, biomaterials,microbiologyandall
of theseoverlapwithdifferent areasof overall
health.Wearemedical researcherswhose
research includes theoral cavity. I think
that’showweneed toproject ourselves to
Canadians and to the researchcommunity in
general.
RB:
I believe that the impact of oral health
onoverall systemichealth isbecoming
clearer now. Oral-systemichealth is
extremely important andwehave tomake
that link clear, not only to the funding
agenciesbut thepublicaswell.
a
This interviewhasbeencondensedandedited.
Theviewsexpressedarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflectthe
opinionsorofficialpoliciesoftheCanadianDentalAssociation.
Implications:
WILLNEWCIHRFUNDING
SCHEMESAFFECTORALHEALTH
RESEARCH?
TheCanadian Institutes ofHealthResearch (CIHR), the federal agency responsible for fundingall health research
inCanada, is introducingdramatic changes to its funding system.Dr.RajBhullar, associatedeanof research in the
UniversityofManitoba facultyof dentistry, andDr.DennisCvitkovitch, associatedeanof researchat theUniversityof
Toronto, talkedwithCDAabout the implications of thenew funding schemes fororal health research, a sectoralready
strugglingwith recruitment.
UnderCIHR’s
FoundationScheme
, Canadianhealth researcherswill haveaccess to largergrantsof longerduration.
Each year, approximately 114 Foundation Scheme grantswill support established leaders inhealth research. Grants
will range from $50,000 to $1.5million a year andwill be awarded in 5-year or 7-year durations, depending on the
investigator’s career stage. There will also be Project Scheme grants, which support specific projects. Over 900
ProjectScheme
grantswill beawardedannually, ranging from$25,000 to$750,000withdurationsof 1–5years.
Anewpeer-reviewprocesswillmatch applications to reviewerswith appropriate expertise, facilitatedby aCollege
of Reviewers. Thenew funding schemeswill bephased inbetween2014–16.
RajBhullar
Dennis
Cvitkovitch
TwoNewCIHRFundingSchemes
