Author: Krista Lamb

Kidney disease is a common complication for those living with diabetes and a leading cause of end-stage renal disease, other illnesses and death.  Not all individuals who have diabetes, including those diagnosed at an early age, develop kidney disease.   To understand why some individuals get kidney disease while other do not, a recent study by Diabetes Action Canada Investigators, Dr. Bruce Perkins and Dr. David Cherney in JCI  investigates the role of the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) – a hormone system that regulates blood pressure and fluid balance.

The function of the kidney is to filter waste products from the blood, by removing them in the urine.  In people with diabetes, higher than normal blood glucose levels over a period of time can damage the blood vessels in the kidneys. If these blood vessels are not functioning properly than the kidney is unable to filter toxins effectively and this can lead kidney disease.  If left untreated, this can lead to kidney failure and the need for either dialysis or a kidney transplant.

In this study, 75 people living with prolonged type-1 diabetes (T1D) and 75 people living without diabetes were tested before and after RAAS stimulation.  Of the individuals with T1D and no signs of kidney damage RAAS activity was comparable to individuals without diabetes.  Conversely, individuals with diabetes and signs of kidney disease had higher levels of RAAS hormone activity causing the the arteries that supply blood to the kidney to constrict.  This study outcome could suggest that that RAAS activation could be an important marker for kidney dysfunction, especially in patients with long-term diabetes.

This work was supported by JDRF and the Toronto General & Western Hospital Foundation.

Lovshin JA, Boulet G, Lytvyn Y, Lovblom LE, Bjornstad P, Farooqi MA, Lai V, Cham L, Tse J, Orszag A, Scarr D, Weisman A, Keenan HA, Brent MH, Paul N, Bril V, Perkins BA, Cherney DZ.
Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activation in long-standing type 1 diabetes (link is external). JCI Insight. 2018 Jan 11. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.96968

Diabetes Action Canada: A paradigm shift in Research – the title of a recent article about our SPOR Network in chronic disease written by Erika Opingari and published in IMS Magazine at University of Toronto.

This article provides an excellent overview of Diabetes Action Canada and our contribution to developing a patient-informed learning health system.

To read more click here: IMS Magazine Winter 2018; Diabetes Action Canada

McGill University, in association with Manulife and the McGill Centre for the Convergence of Health and Economics (MCCHE), is pleased to announce that Dr. Jean-Pierre Després, Professor at the Department of Kinesiology, Faculty of Medicine at Université Laval and pioneer in developing screening techniques for visceral obesity, is the winner of the 2018 Manulife Prize for the Promotion of Active Health.  This award recognises research pioneers who screened for abdominal obesity and acted to prevent it.

With over 30 years of experience, Dr. Després is recognised for being the first to suggest that individuals with visceral obesity (characterized by an excess accumulation of body fat in the abdominal region) are at the highest risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In line with these findings, he developed a novel approach to screen for visceral obesity. He determined that the combination of a high waist circumference with elevated blood triglycerides was predictive of an 85% chance of being diagnosed with visceral obesity – a screening approach that has been widely accepted by the international medical community.

To read more please visit this link

ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM

There is considerable evidence from several imaging cardiometabolic studies that excess visceral adipose tissue accumulation is associated with a constellation of cardiometabolic abnormalities for which hypertriglyceridemia is a key feature. This satellite symposium will provide an update on visceral obesity as a clinical entity requiring new tools for clinical assessment and management. It will also provide evidence that the hypertriglyceridemia of visceral obesity is particularly atherogenic as it reflects atherogenic dysfunctions in subcutaneous adipose tissue and lipoprotein metabolism, leading to the formation of atherogenic remnants. Therapeutic and preventive options will also be reviewed.

This IAS/ICCR joint satellite symposium is supported by an unrestricted grant from Kowa Company, Ltd.

SYMPOSIUM DETAILS

Date: Wednesday, June 13, 2018
Time: 08:30 – 17:30
Location: Room 717, Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC)

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Don’t miss the Summer Institute 2018 – Keys to Collaboration

Register for in Calgary on May 14-16, 2018 for this patient-oriented research conference where researchers, patients, clinicians, students, policy makers and more, gather to share insights, connect with colleagues and promote patient-oriented research.

Meet our Keynote Speakers

We are delighted to welcome Victoria Maxwell, (BFA/BPP)* and Dr. Glenda MacQueen as our Keynote speakers!

Victoria Maxwell, (BFA/BPP)* is the first in Canada & the U.S.A. to use the ‘lived’ experience of mental illness to disseminate scientific research and transfer knowledge into action at the international level through theatre.

Dr. Glenda MacQueen’s research has focused primarily on stress, mood and anxiety disorders, including the use of mindfulness as a treatment for depression.

To learn more about our speakers, submit an abstract or for early bird registration click here!

Subsidies Available for Patients and Students

We are pleased to announce that we have opportunities for patients, students, and citizens to receive sponsorships to attend the Summer Institute 2018 Keys to Collaboration.  Please visit our conference website for more information or to submit an expression of interest. The deadline for submitting an expression of interest is March 31, 2018.

Call for Abstracts deadline extended

The deadline for submitting an abstract to the Summer Institute 2018 Keys to Collaboration on May 14-16, 2018 in Calgary has beed extended until March 19, 2018 (11:59 PM MT).

We invite researchers, patients, clinicians, students and others to submit abstracts that are related to patient-oriented research which inform our conference streams of Thinking, Planning and Doing and provide insights for the following themes:

• • Innovative methods in knowledge synthesis, knowledge translation and/or implementation science

• • Innovative patient-oriented research techniques in clinical trials

• • Leveraging Alberta’s provincial data resources for patient-oriented research

• • Practical approaches to meaningfully engage patients in health research

• • Innovative methods for conducting patient-oriented research

Don’t miss this exciting opportunity to showcase your patient-oriented research!

To submit an abstract or to register for the Summer Institute 2018 click here!

Career Development Platform  | Alberta SPOR SUPPORT Unit

www.absporu.ca/career-development

The 2018 National Indigenous Diabetes Conference brings together Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative Workers, Indigenous front-line workers, lead-ership, Diabetes Prevention Workers, diabetes educators, health managers, dietitians, nutritionists, nurses, academics, industry, and government reps from across Canada to learn about and share practices in diabetes prevention and self-management among Indigenous Peoples in Canada.

Delta Halifax is offering a special group rate at 149.00 CAD per night. This rate is available until March 15, 2018. Please follow this link to book a room:

Delegate registration: Please use this link

Vendor and Exhibitor Registration: Please use this link

Sponsorship Opportunities: Please use this link

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT JEFF LAPLANTE – jefflaplante@nada.ca – 204-927-1224

SPONSORS

The Diabetes Action Canada Training and Mentoring Group in collaboration with the Maritime SPOR SUPPORT Unit (MSSU) is pleased to invite you to participate in the Patient-Oriented Research Training Session in French on Thursday, March 15^th and Friday, March 16, 2018 at the Université de Moncton (Léopold-Taillon Building, Room 157 Richelieu, 18 Antonine-Maillet St., Moncton). This training session will focus on patient engagement and POR application in diabetes research (see attached draft agenda).

The POR Training Session is an opportunity to develop a common understanding of patient engagement in health research and enable research teams wishing to engage diverse stakeholders. Many hands-on activities allow participants to not only integrate the POR concepts developed, but also to share their research interests and build relationships with other participants. This is an opportunity for patients and researchers to meet and develop new collaborations!

This training session is offered free of charge. In addition, the DAC Training and Mentoring Group will cover the costs for travel and accommodations for DAC members attending the POR Training Sessions. An expense form will be sent via email after proof of participants’ attendance at the POR Training.

Hotel rooms have been reserved at the Rodd Moncton Hotel (434 Main Street, Moncton) at a special rate of $115/night including continental breakfast. Please make your reservation by calling 1-800-565-RODD (7633) by February 14, 2018. To take advantage of the rate, simply mention “Formation SRAP, campus de Moncton”.

If you wish to participate in this training, please complete the registration form by clicking on the following link: https://formation_srap.eventbrite.ca. The deadline for registration is Friday, March 9, 2018.

For more information, please contact Michelle Murray, coordinator for the Training and Mentoring Group at michelle.murray@umoncton.ca.

86th ACFAS Congress

May 9th 2018 at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)

Chicoutimi, QC, Canada

Organised by Diabetes Action Canada Principal Investigator France Légaré, this symposium aims to highlight the diversity of end-users engagement initiatives in research and health care practices.  With particular attention on settings other than traditional university-related community practices, this symposium also aims to facilitate knowledge exchange and experiences between university and non-university based settings.  For more information please refer to the following link for details in English and French

Please note this event will be conducted in French

The Aboriginal/Indigenous Youth Mentorship Program (AYMP) has released the second edition of its community Newsletter!

Children and youth who have participated in the Aboriginal Youth Mentorship Program (AYMP) say they experience inclusion and empowerment. This resilience-based approach to wellness was co-developed with Indigenous youth and leaders in Winnipeg and northern Manitoba led by a group of researchers and community members from Manitoba, currently under the direction of Diabetes Action Canada co investigator Dr. Jon McGavock from the University of Manitoba.  Delivered by Indigenous adolescents for Indigenous children in their communities, the AYMP builds on the strengths of its participants and helps to create healthy inclusive communities.  It is guided by an Indigenous medicine wheel concept of health called the Circle of Courage from Lakota scholar Dr. Martin Brokenleg and consists of four elements; belonging, independence, mastery and generosity.  The program includes after-school physical activities, healthy snacks, games, and education and leadership activities for elementary school-aged students. Each community has the opportunity to tailor components of the program to meet its own unique needs, teachings and cultural values.

Learn more about the facilitators and participants in this program and the benefits this program has brought to the Aboriginal and Indigenous communities by visiting the link below.

Aboriginal Youth Mentorship Newsletter_2nd edition FINAL

Optimal care in diabetes requires a collaborative and interdisciplinary team of health-care professionals.  More often than not, pharmacists are an integral part of this team, using their knowledge of medications, skills and professional judgement to manage the medication needs of patients.  Almost 75% of Canadian pharmacists work in a community pharmacy setting, making these health-care professionals highly accessible and often a principal point of contact for patients with diabetes.  In this capacity, community pharmacists are well positioned to educate patients and other health care providers on safety, efficacy and potential interactions of medications – including prescribed, over-the-counter and natural health products.

In the December 2017 issue of the Canadian Journal of Diabetes, Diabetes Action Canada co-investigator, Dr. Lori MacCallum acted as a guest editor on this issue focusing on pharmacy practice and the evolving role of pharmacists in diabetes care.  Furthermore, in this issue Dr. MacCallum explores the pharmacist perspective on the use of decision aids in managing type 2 diabetes in community pharmacies and the creation of a Canadian Diabetes Pharmacists Network to support and empower pharmacists through networking, education and knowledge translation initiatives.  The evidence provided in this issue promotes an integrated care strategy with a more active role of pharmacist in the diabetes care team.

In October, Scientific Co-lead Dr. Jean-Pierre Després represented Diabetes Action Canada at the Global Diabetes Forum in Rome, Italy.  This meeting was held in follow-up to the Global Diabetes Policy meeting held last year that led to the “Berlin Declaration”.  Participants from various countries reported on actions implemented since last year’s Berlin meeting.  Representatives from Canada included two MPs (Sonia Sidhu, Liberal and Christine Moore, NDP), leadership of Diabetes Canada (including Rick Blickstead and Russell Williams) and two academic investigators/members of Diabetes Action Canada (Paul Oh and Jean-Pierre Després).  Over the two days, presentations and round table discussions centred on approaches to developing and implementing a National Diabetes Strategy for contributing countries.   This meeting was very useful to inform Diabetes Action Canada’s current practices and reiterate the importance of maintaining a constant dialogue with strategic partners (i.e., Diabetes Canada) and federal governments.  As follow-up to this meeting, Dr. Jean-Pierre Després plans to present the concept of a Canadian National Diabetes Strategy to the Parliamentary All Party Diabetes Caucus starting a formal dialogue between Diabetes Action Canada, Diabetes Canada and the Federal government.

Diabetes Action Canada kicked off the Diabetes Canada Conference in Edmonton, Alberta by hosting one of the pre-conference patient-oriented research training sessions. Twenty-six people participated in the training, with the vast majority being trainees and early career investigators and some established investigators, including Dr. Ron Sigal, Professor in Community and Health Sciences at the University of Calgary.  Overall, the feedback was positive about patients and researchers having meaningful interactions and developing a mutual understanding about the importance of involving patients in developing and implementing research plans.  On the next day, our Training and Mentorship Goal Group hosted another Trainee-Focused event with Diabetes Action Canada investigators presenting their patient-oriented research to the trainees. Those involved included Dr. André Carpentier (Training and Mentoring Goal Group), Dr. Jon McGavock (Indigenous Peoples Health Goal Group), and Dr. Amy Hoang-Kim (Women’s XChange, Sex and Gender Goal Group). There were approximately 21 participants, mostly trainees, with a guest appearance by Jovita Sundaramoorthy, Vice President, Research and Education and Jan Hux, Chief Science Officer of Diabetes Canada. This session was very well received with positive feedback lauding the patient interaction and grant writing sessions.

On the last day of the Diabetes Canada Professional Conference, Diabetes Action Canada was proud to host an Indigenous Interests session entitled “Integrated Care Models – Balancing Western and Indigenous Approached to Wellness for Persons Living with Diabetes”.  Presenters included the following:  Ameila Tekwatonti McGregor, Elder and Community Advisor on the Kahnawake Schools Diabetes Prevention Project (KSDPP), Roslynn Baird and Amanda Lipinski form the Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle and Melissa Stevenson and John Laforme from Anishnawbe Health Toronto. They detailed the journeys of these Indigenous organizations and their personal experience as they have engaged their communities. These groups share a mission to improve the health and wellbeing of Indigenous peoples’ spirit, mind, body and emotion by providing traditional healing within an integrated health-care model. Their approaches have been well adopted within their communities because they are rooted in relationships and understanding of Indigenous principles and beliefs.  A special thank-you to Dr. Jon McGavock and Pusha Sadi for coordinating and moderating this event.

Our Health Informatics team was also very active at the conference with Helena Medeiros presenting a poster on the proof of concept diabetes data repository and Shivani Goyal presenting a poster on the bant diabetes self-management mobile application.

Finally, we would like to acknowledge the exceptional efforts of Dr. Bruce Perkins, our Clinical Trials and New Therapies Goal Group co-lead, who co-chaired the Diabetes Canada Conference.  We are looking forward to our continued involvement in next year’s event in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

By: Patrice Bleau, Type 1 Diabetes for 35 years

The Patient-Oriented Research training that took place October 31^st and November 1^st at the Alberta Diabetes Institute was my first face-to-face involvement with Diabetes Action Canada. Being a new patient partner with Diabetes Action Canada I was expecting this training to provide basic information to better understand the mandate and objectives of patient partner involvement.  That was the WOW expectation, the training aim was intended for the Trainees, so the Patient-Oriented Research Training day was like a dive into the research world from the scientist perspective, that was my OH moment – am I a value for this type of audience? Well during the sessions and the discussions in small groups I was welcomed to participate, and my comments were well received. Monica Parry, NP-Adult, PhD and Caroline Jose, Research Associate, PhD presented Patient-Oriented Research, giving and explanation of the history and context, Health research and Research cycle, and the principles of Patient Engagement, Team Building, and Decision Making. That was a lot of theory to assimilate in a single day.

The second day gave the patient partner participants a practical overview of the grant review process. After the presentation given by Jon McGavock, PhD, I was at my OMG moment. I was amazed of the amount of work required (e.g. identification of the need, the mean, the objectives, the expected outcome, etc.) to prepare a convincing grant application –  and that was just the morning.  In the afternoon, we had the opportunity to do a quick tour of the Alberta Diabetes Institute, thanks to Peter Light, PhD and his team that facilitated this impromptu tour of the clinical research and the laboratory facilities. We then had the opportunity to listen to Andre Carpentier, MD FRCPC FCAHS, Jean-Louis Chiasson, MD and Dr. Greg Steinberg the Young Scientist Award recipient. Listening to those speeches and presentations could only bring one word to mind – RESPECT, for their passion, their dedication and their devotion. That part of the session was FUN to paraphrase Dr. Chiasson.

In those two days, we received a lot of information, not to mention some early snow. The content was sufficient to make anyone feel overwhelmed, but it was also exciting to see patient partners welcomed and valued for their contribution to the different phase of research within Diabetes Canada Action.

I would like to take this opportunity thank Olivia Drescher, Patient Engagement Coordinator and Michele Murray, Training and Mentoring Coordinator for Diabetes Action Canada who have made those training days available for the seven patient partners.

In conclusion, is the condensed version of the Patient Oriented Research Training sufficient for all new Patient Partners? To answer, it was a nice appetizer as it did open many doors for future collaboration with patients and researchers.

Dr. Carpentier is the co-director of Diabetes Action Canada Training and Mentoring Goal Group and the recipient of the GSK Research Chair in Diabetes of Université de Sherbrooke, professor and endocrinologist-lipidologist in the Departments of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine at the Université de Sherbrooke. He is also the director of the university’s Centre de recherche sur le diabète, l’obésité et les complications cardiovasculaires and the director of the Province of Quebec Research Network on Cardiometabolic Health, Diabetes and Obesity. His research interests include: 1) the role of postprandial fatty acid metabolism in the development of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases; 2) the investigation of brown adipose tissue metabolism in humans; and 3) the anti-diabetic mechanisms of bariatric surgery. Dr. Carpentier has published more than 124 peer-reviewed manuscript publications. He is the recipient for multiple awards, including the 2011 Diabetes Young Investigator Award of the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, the CDA/CIHR Young Investigator Award in 2012 and the Canadian Lipoprotein Conference Physician-Scientist Award in 2014. He has been elected Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences (FCAHS, 2015).

What topics are most important to people living with or caring for someone living with diabetes?  This vital question was asked by Diabetes Action Canada investigators, Drs. Joyce Dogba, France Légaré, Holly Witteman and colleagues in a study published yesterday in Health Expectations. This study outlines methods for collecting valuable insight into what research topics are most relevant to diverse patients. The research team combined an online survey and focus groups. In the online survey, 469 adults (57% men, 42% women) living with diabetes rated the importance of 10 research topics. Answers showed that the list of 10 topics developed by our founding team of researchers, health professionals, patient partners, and caregiver partners was a good start. People gave the highest ratings to preventing and treating kidney, eye, and nerve complications. In focus groups, the research team explored research topics with people belonging to groups who were under-represented in the survey, especially immigrants and racialized people. Fourteen people participated in three focus groups and reiterated the importance of research in these three complication areas, while also raising the importance of research to support people living with diabetes in daily management of diabetes. The results of this study are informing the strategic direction of projects, both in progress and in development, for our pan-Canadian Strategy for Patient-Oriented Research (SPOR) Network to better align our patient-oriented research goals to the needs of people living with diabetes. To read more about this study please visit here.

It is an exciting time to be part of Diabetes Action Canada.  We have now been in operation for almost a year and a half and already we are starting to see meaningful contributions to improving the lives of those living with diabetes.  So far we have organized ourselves into eight Goal Groups, with four of these group being cross-cutting – Patient Engagement, Training and Mentoring, Knowledge Translation, Sex and Gender and four of these groups addressing an acute concern among our patient partners with diabetes –  Diabetic Retinopathy, Indigenous Health, Innovations in Type-1 Diabetes, Health Informatics.  We are also thrilled to introduce a newly formed ninth goal group in Foot Care and Prevention of Lower Extremity Amputation.  This group will be tailoring its goals and objectives in the very near future and will bring great value to our Network, as amputation is a significant concern raised by our Indigenous Circle and Collective Patient Circle.  It is quite gratifying that our Goal Group projects are informed by patients with experiential knowledge to optimize impact. We are proud that all the parts of our Network are working together focused on improving the lives of those living with diabetes.

Diabetes Action Canada is truly asserting itself as a catalytic research consortium that has the capacity to scale-up effective health-care solutions. We have ongoing fruitful partnerships with Diabetes Canada and JDRF and in the following Newsletter you will read about how Diabetes Action Canada was involved in both the CIHR/JDRF innovative clinical trials multi-year operating grant applications and the Diabetes Canada Professional Conference.  Diabetes Action Canada is really starting to produce results and over the next couple of months, we will be implementing a new communications plan to better inform our community and patients of all our activities. Also, look out for us on Twitter and LinkedIn for more frequent news items and updates!

Also featured in this newsletter is the incredible work of our Training and Mentoring Goal Group, led by André Carpentier, Mathieu Bélanger, Aurel Schofield and Michelle Murray.  This Goal Group aims to strengthen patient-oriented research capacity in Canada for diabetes and its related complications. They develop and organize training and mentoring opportunities for graduate students (MSc and PhD), postdoctoral fellows and health professionals to develop the next generation of patient-oriented researchers.   Already this group has run numerous training sessions (in French and English) across Canada and we are excited to announce a major training event to be held in Toronto on May 3, 2018, immediately prior to our Annual Workshop, May 4 and 5.  Our Training and Mentoring Goal Group engages patients as facilitators in these training sessions. The aim is to successfully build teams of patients and researchers to ‘humanize’ diabetes and guide researchers towards outcomes that directly address the concerns of patients.  This group also actively collaborates with other SPOR Networks to enhance capacity building and design new approaches to teaching and learning. We encourage you to read this feature for a more complete picture of our training and mentoring initiatives.

We will close by wishing everyone a Happy Holiday season.  2018 promises to be a remarkable time for Diabetes Action Canada as we move forward rapidly to realize our vision and mission.

Gary Lewis and Jean-Pierre Déspres

The Training and Mentoring Goal Group of Diabetes Action Canada aims to strengthen patient-oriented research capacity for diabetes and its complications in Canada. This Goal Group focuses on preparing the next generation of diabetes researchers across Canada in Patient-Oriented Research methods pertaining to all CIHR pillars.

The Training and Mentoring Goal Group develops and organizes training and mentoring opportunities for graduate students (MSc and PhD), postdoctoral fellows and health professionals in diabetes-related patient-oriented research. Training opportunities in both official languages are available to patients, healthcare providers, researchers, policy makers and administrators. These activities are coordinated jointly with other Goal Groups such as the Patient Engagement Goal Group and the Indigenous Peoples Health Goal Group and in collaboration with partners such as CIHR, Diabetes Canada and Quebec Cardiometabolic Health, Diabetes and Obesity (CMDO) Research Network.

The Training and Mentoring Goal Group also works to coordinate training activities with other SPOR Networks such as, CHILD-BRIGHT, Can-SOLVE CKD, Chronic Pain and IMAGINE to maximize training opportunities and synergize respective training strategies in POR. Goal Group leads André Carpentier and Mathieu Bélanger are actively involved in enhancing collaboration between SPOR Networks and participate in regular meetings to share ideas and opportunities on training initiatives.

Diabetes Action Canada Training Activities

In October, the Training and Mentoring Goal Group in collaboration with the CMDO Research Network sent a call for applications from PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, residents and research professionals from Diabetes Action Canada to participate in a Winter Camp (French training program) which will be held February 3^rd to 6^th, 2018 at Hôtel Chéribourg, Magog-Orford, Québec.

This is the sixth session of this Winter Camp and this year’s four-day interactive workshop will feature internationally renowned speakers and participants discussing research in cardiometabolic health, diabetes, obesity, knowledge translation and patient-oriented research. The Training and Mentoring Goal Group was pleased to offer two training grants of up to $2,500 each (to cover transportation, accommodation, meals and registration) for candidates studying outside Quebec wishing to attend the camp.

In collaboration with Diabetes Canada, the Training and Mentoring Goal Group offered two training days in advance of the Diabetes Canada Professional Conference held November 2^nd-4^th, 2017 in Edmonton, Alberta. The first training in Patient-Oriented Research was done with both patient and facilitators co-presenting on strategies in patient engagement, team-building and understanding roles within the patient-oriented research environment. The second training day focused on Trainee development and discussed the skills needed by postdoctoral fellows to transition to become independent investigators. Both sessions were well attended and received positively by both patients and researchers who participated.

Diabetes Action Canada Spring Training Events

This year the Training and Mentoring Group will host a patient-oriented research training session prior to the Diabetes Action Canada Annual Workshop held on May 4^th– 5^th, 2018. This full-day session will be held on May 3^rd, 2017 and will focus on the history and context of patient-oriented research, the research cycle, levels of participation for patient engagement, health research ethics as well as team building and decision-making.

The Training and Mentoring Goal Group plans on offering two more Training sessions in the spring of 2018 in Toronto (in English) and Moncton (in French). More information regarding these POR Training session will be shared in the coming months. Diabetes Action Canada members who would be interested in additional Training sessions can contact the Goal Group Coordinator, Michelle Murray  (michelle.murray@umoncton.ca) for information on available sessions in your region or about developing customized training sessions.

Mentorship and Fellowship Programs

In June 2017, the Training and Mentoring Goal Group did its first call for competitive Mentorship Awards among its members and four were awarded. Each successful grantee received $10,000 for a period of one year and the successful recipients were as follows:

• Laura Desveaux – Institute for Health System Solutions and Virtual Care, Women’s College Hospital
• Martin Sénéchal – Faculty of Kinesiology, University of New Brunswick
• Marie-Claude Tremblay – Faculté de médecine, Université Laval
• Xiaolin Wei – Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto

In the Spring of 2018, the Training and Mentoring Group will run this competition again so stay tuned for an announcement to all our Diabetes Action Canada Members!

Diabetes Action Canada, Training and Mentoring Goal Group also granted one Post-doctoral Fellowship Award, peer-reviewed by Diabetes Canada, of $50,000 per year for a period of two years to Priska Stahel – Toronto General Hospital Research Institute. This competition was open to all Diabetes Action Canada Investigators and the Training and Mentoring Group is planning to run this again in the Spring of 2018.

Recap Of  Trainee Days in Edmonton -November 2-4, 2017

On December 4 and 5, 2017, the inaugural Maritime SPOR Summit will take place in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Building on the success of the New Brunswick SPOR Summit held in June 2017, the Summit will promote increased collaboration between the Maritime SPOR networks in ongoing research, priorities, and future initiatives. Participants will have the opportunity to showcase projects, broaden their understanding of patient-oriented research, and consult with representatives from the other networks.  Registration is due November 14th, 2017.

Date and Time

Monday, December 4, 2017
1:00 PM – 3:30 PM
Halifax Central Library, Lindsay Children’s Room
5440 Spring Garden Road, Halifax, NS B3J 1E9

Tuesday, December 5, 2017
8:00 AM – 4:00 PM
The Lord Nelson Hotel, Admiral Room
1515 South Park Street, Halifax, NS B3K 2L2

To register please use this link.

Diabetes Action Canada is proud to announce that Dr. France Légaré, Co-Principal Investigator for our Knowledge Translation Goal Group, has made the 2017 Highly Cited Researcher List!

Ranked in the top 1% by citation for field and publication year in Web of Science for 2017, Highly Cited Researchers are leading the way in solving the world’s biggest challenges.  This list, created by Clarivate Analytics rosters more than 3,300 Highly Cited Researchers. These researchers have distinguished themselves by publishing a high number of papers that rank in the top 1% most-cited in their respective fields over a recent 11-year period. Such consistent production of highly cited reports indicates that the work of these researchers has been repeatedly judged by their peers to be of notable significance and utility.

To view the Highly Cited Researchers list, click here.

The SPOR Evidence Alliance (hereafter, the Alliance) is developed out of Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute at St. Michael’s Hospital. The vision of the Alliance is to create a rapid learning health system where patients receive the right intervention at the right time by facilitating access to high-quality evidence and accelerating its use in decision-making and practice.  The objective of this the Alliance is to establish a national, coordinated alliance in support of systematic reviews, guidelines development and knowledge translation.

The Alliance will be coordinated by a central center, who will match the relevant knowledge synthesis, guideline or knowledge translation method to a query from a

knowledge user.  Subsequently, a center with capacity and expertise in the selected method and content area will be asked to conduct the research and provided with funding accordingly. Knowledge users including patients, clinicians, managers, and policy makers will be involved throughout the research process. Over the next five years, we aim to:

1. Improve patient care, inform policy and practice, strengthen our healthcare system, and increase efficiencies by responding to knowledge user queries related to health and its determinants
2. Strengthen and leverage partnerships between knowledge users and researchers by meaningful engagement throughout the research process from query priority-setting to study conduct, dissemination and implementation.
3. Reduce redundancy and research waste, improve study conduct and accelerate knowledge translation of results across all levels of health through a pan-Canadian alliance using leading-edge science and practice
4. Grow and support the next generation of early career researchers and trainees by providing them with meaningful opportunities to lead projects and work with senior researchers and knowledge users.
5. Increase the profile of Canadian research and advance relevant research methods by leveraging Canadian and international multi-disciplinary linkages with over 100 organizations
6. Increase accessibility and dissemination of research by freely providing all data, research findings, and user-friendly knowledge products on our website
7. Support, reinforce, and strengthen existing Strategy for Patient Oriented Research (SPOR) entities
8. Conduct methods studies to advance the science of knowledge synthesis, clinical practice guidelines, knowledge translation, and patient-oriented research
9. Develop a strategy to sustain our alliance beyond the 5 year funding period

To read more about this integrated knowledge translation approach visit this link on the Open Science Framework.

Dr. Malcolm King has been appointed as the new Scientific Director for SCPOR (Saskatchewan Centre for Patient-Oriented Research). Dr. King will bring not only a background in basic science but experience in citizen-engaged research.

Dr. King is a member of the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation. He completed a Ph.D. in polymer chemistry at McGill University in Montreal and fellowships at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel, and the Meakins-Christie Laboratories at McGill University. He has been a guest professor at several prestigious universities including the University of Freiburg (Germany), the University of São Paulo (Brazil), the University of Bern (Switzerland) and the University of Auckland (New Zealand).

He has held faculty positions at the University of Alberta, where he was an Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) Senior Scholar in the Pulmonary Medicine Division of the Department of Medicine. Recently, he had a faculty appointment at Simon Fraser University where he co-developed a course on Indigenous health in Canada, and supervised graduate students and other trainees in related endeavours. Dr. King also served as Scientific Director of CIHR’s Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health (CIHR-IAPH). He was instrumental in leading CIHR in the development of a national health research agenda aimed at improving wellness and achieving health equity for First Nations Peoples, Métis and Inuit in Canada.

His areas of research interest include respiratory health issues among Indigenous peoples, health service delivery to vulnerable populations, the interaction of education and health, airborne disease transmission and chronic obstructive lung diseases. He is the author of some 200 scientific papers and has supervised some 50 health research trainees. His international Indigenous health interests include improving Indigenous health through workforce development and provision of culturally appropriate care, and developing Indigenous health indicators to monitor progress in programs aimed at achieving wellness and health equity.

Dr. King was the national President of the Canadian Thoracic Society in 1999-2000, and served on the Governing Council of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research from 2000-2004. He received the Alberta Lung Association Lorraine Award of Excellence in Research and the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Medical Research in March 1999, and in September 2003, the University of Alberta Board of Governors’ Award of Excellence. He was elected a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences in 2016.

In addition to his active research and teaching schedule, Dr. King contributes to numerous councils and boards that support health research and policy across Canada. He was an inaugural member of the CIHR Governing Council (appointed Jun’00, re-appointed July 2001-June 2004). Subsequently, he served on the CIHR Institute of Aboriginal Peoples’ Health Advisory Board (Chair 2005-2008). He also served on the Board of Directors of the Alberta Centre for Child, Family & Community Research from 2004 to 2016. In January 2017, he accepted the position of Chair of the Diabetes Action Canada Steering Council, a CIHR SPOR Network.

“We have an opportunity to bring the basic science community together with the public,” says Dr. King. “We have good practice examples not only from Indigenous research but also from citizen-engaged research in other areas. We can enrich health research and make it more relevant.”

Dr. King has three daughters (residing variously in Canada and England). He is married to Dr. Alexandra King, who has recently been appointed as the Cameco Chair in Indigenous Health in the University of Saskatchewan College of Medicine. They look forward to their time in this fair province – “from many peoples, strength.”

Dr. King can be reached at malcolm.king@usask.ca or (306) 966-8243

For link to message from SCPOR click here

GDM is a type of diabetes that occurs during pregnancy. It occurs because the mother’s body becomes resistant to insulin due to the effects of changing hormones and the growing baby.  GDM has a greater impact for Indigenous women and their families.  Untreated, the baby may become very large, leading to a difficult delivery. In the long term, GDM can lead to Type 2 diabetes for the mother and child.

However, there is hope.  This hope that will be explored in the NADA webinar in August.  In this webinar, Suzanne Lennon RN, PhD(c) will be speaking on Gestational Diabetes: Risk and Hope.  Suzanne was a bedside nurse in Winnipeg’s inner city for 12 years, working in the high-risk labour and delivery unit, as well as in the intermediate and intensive care nurseries.  Since 2012, she has been researching issues in maternal-child nursing at the College of Nursing, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba.  She will be speaking on GDM, its causes, risks and treatments.  In addition, she will talk about her research on the perception of pregnancy risk for women with GDM and their partners, and how these perceptions impact behavior changes in pregnancy.

We are also very pleased to have Marisa Cardinal joining Suzanne for this webinar.  Marisa is an Indigenous woman who has had GDM.  She will provide her insight based on her experience with GDM.

Registration begins Thursday, August 17^th.
Register at this link:
https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/gestational-diabetes-risk-and-hope-with-suzanne-lennon-rn-phdc-tickets-36934157058

This webinar will be broadcasted live on Thursday, August 24^th at 12 noon EST.
To view on the 24th, enter as guest at the following link:
https://soadi.adobeconnect.com/traditionalknowledgewebinars/.

The webinar will be broadcast in coordination with the Indigenous Diabetes Health Circle (IDHC formerly SOADI) and First Nations Health and Social Secretariat of Manitoba and Pathways Partners for Engagement and Knowledge Exchange (PEKE).

See you on August 24th 12:00pm EST to 1:00pm EST.