The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), together with Rona Ambrose, Canada’s Minister of Health, announced today in Calgary the 533 recipients of the 2014 Foundation Grants live pilot competition and the 2014-2015 Transitional Open Operating Grants Program (OOGP) competition. In all, more than 4,300 researchers submitted funding applications.

Among the recipients, six work at the Douglas Mental Health University Institute.

Foundation Grants:

• Srividya Iyer and Ashok Malla have received $3.7 M for their research into improving youth mental health. Their work will examine the mental health needs of young Canadians, their care trajectories and treatment outcomes.

Transitional OOGP:

• Mallar Chakravarty and Jens Pruessner have been awarded almost $500,000 for their research into the brain imaging of biomarkers associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
• Lalit Srivastava will receive a grant of more than $660,000 for his study of the impact of the hippocampus on the development of prefrontal cortical functions.
• A grant of close to $400,000 will enable Laurence Roy to study the risk of homelessness among new users of mental health services.

The results of these competitions mark a significant change in how Canada will support the work of its health research community. The new Foundation and Project Grants Programs will ensure that CIHR continues to maintain support for world-class health researchers and trainees, and their pursuit of innovative ideas and approaches in all areas of health research and knowledge translation.