Celebrating six top achievements in Canadian health research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) honoured six outstanding Canadian individuals and teams with the second ever CIHR–CMAJ Top Canadian Achievements in Health Research Awards, which recognize and celebrate Canadian health research and innovation excellence.
Dr. Elizabeth Bryce and Dr. Annalee Yassi, of the University of British Columbia,whodeveloped a collaborative research and training team whose work has changed practice and policy in infection control in Canada and many other countries.
The winners were selected by a peer-review panel of Canadian experts, who looked for the discoveries and innovations that had the biggest impact on the health of people in this country and around the world.
Collaboration between infection control and occupational health
Who: Dr. Elizabeth Bryce is regional director of infection control at Vancouver Coastal Health, and professor of medicine at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia; Dr. Annalee Yassi is professor in the school of population and public health at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia.
They developed a collaborative research and training team whose work has changed practice and policy in infection control in Canada and many other countries. They produced internationally endorsed guidelines, training products (both online and face-to-face), checklists, research materials, frameworks and a web-based health information system.
“This year’s achievements have proven once again the strength and impact of health research in Canada,” said Dr. Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR. “I am pleased to recognize, alongside the CMAJ, these scientists for their talent and dedication in demonstrating the positive outcomes of health research across the country.”
“We are pleased that for the second year, many outstanding scientists applied for this award program,” said Dr. Paul Hébert, Editor-in-Chief of CMAJ. “CMAJ, in partnership with CIHR, is pleased to highlight ground-breaking research that will improve the health of Canadians and the practice of medicine.”
“The winners of this award have demonstrated the key purpose of health research – translating research knowledge into practical health outcomes,” said Dr. Ian Graham, Vice President, Knowledge Translation at CIHR. “The accomplishments recognized today are a testament to how translating knowledge into practice can have a direct impact on the lives of Canadians.”
Special Report highlighing the winners: http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/rapidpdf/cmaj.110255v1
Other winners were:
Dr. Russell D. Hull, of theUniversity of Calgary, has changed the way patients with cancer are treated for blood clots.
Dr. Cyril Frank, Dr. Deborah Marshall, Dr. Peter Faris and Christopher Smith, of the Alberta Bone and Joint Health Institute,whosework towards cost-effective ways to treat severe osteoarthritis in the knee and hip has helped reduce wait times for hip and knee replacements in Alberta and ensure consistent quality of the procedure.
POISE-1 investigators, who led a large international trial to evaluate the effects of a β-blocker in more than 8300 patients undergoing non-cardiac surgery.
Dr. William Ghali, Dr. Merril Knudtson, Dr. Michelle Graham, Dr. Colleen Norris and Diane Galbraith, for the Alberta Provincial Project for Outcome Assessment in Coronary Heart Disease (APPROACH) team which was established as a cardiac registry initiative to track the long-term outcomes of all patients undergoing cardiac catheterization in Alberta.
Dr. Mohit Bhandari, Dr. Gordon Guyatt and Dr. Stephen Walter, of McMaster University, who set out to collectively improve the way clinical trials are done in fracture care.