The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (INMD) recently hosted a National Strengthening Workshop on Diabetes and Related Complications January 23-24, 2014 in Ottawa. Dr. Paul Fernyhough, Director of the Division of Neurodegenerative Diseases at St. Boniface Hospital Research and Professor, Dept. of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, gave a presentation at the event.
From INMD’s newsletter “Connections”:
The Workshop brought together researchers, health care providers, voluntary health organizations, and multiple CIHR institutes to consider primary and secondary prevention strategies related to diabetes and complications arising from the disease. Approximately 55 participants considered the merits, challenges, and opportunities of developing a national research network aimed at improving diabetes care by rapidly bringing new discoveries to patients and transferring this knowledge into better and more cost-effective care, which is in keeping with the Networks under discussion as part of the Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR).
An inspiring keynote presentation about the Diabetes Clinical Research Network in the United Kingdom by Dr. Desmond Johnston of Imperial College, London, started the meeting by highlighting the importance of patient involvement in all aspects of the U.K. national network. Diabetes Clinical Trial Networks and large clinical trials supported by the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) were presented by Dr. Judy Fradkin, Director of Diabetes at NIDDK, who also provided insight about various network models and issues of priority setting.
Outstanding Canadian researchers set the stage for discussions about the opportunities and potential scope of a Canadian Diabetes and Related Complications Network, presenters included: Drs. Hertzel Gerstein (McMaster Univ.), Norm Rosenblum (Hospital for Sick Children), Paul Fernyhough (Univ. Manitoba), Jean-Pierre Després (Univ. Laval), Jeffrey Johnson (Univ. Alberta), and Catharine Whiteside (Univ. Toronto).
The Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes (INMD) supports research to enhance health in relation to diet, digestion, excretion, and metabolism; and to address causes, prevention, screening, diagnosis, treatment, support systems, and palliation for a wide range of conditions and problems associated with hormone, digestive system, kidney, and liver function.