WHRN Funding & Training Opportunities

Women's Health Research Network Seed Funds, Trainee Funds, and Community-Based Research Funds

The WHRN's granting programs have been revised and updated to better respond to the needs of our members. We are now offering funding opportunities for grant proposal development, trainee research and travel, and community-based research. Click here for details and submission guidelines . For this, the last WHRN grants competition, preference will be given to those with projects/plans that are ready to begin by early 2010. The final WHRN grants competition is now closed. Deadline for submissions was December 4, 2009.

The WHRN thanks all of the applicants to the final WHRN grants competition. After a thorough review, the successful candidates are:

• Women Into Healing  - Community-based research travel grants to support the travel of five members of the Women Into Healing research group to attend various international conferences in October and November 2009 (CBR grant)
• Sarah Boyd-Noel, UNBC - Life in the Combat Zone:  Exploring Women’s Health in relation to Child Custody and Access Disputes in northern BC (seed grant)
• Lynda Dechief, Atira Women's Resource Society - Taking Care of Those Who Care: Assessing Organisational and Individual Stress Management Interventions for Anti-Violence Workers (seed grant)
• Dr.Leah Douglas, University of the Fraser Valley - An Analysis of the Impacts of Stigma on Women with Concurrent Disorders Residing in the Fraser Valley: Developing a SSHRC Grant (seed grant)
• Dr. Pablo Nepomnaschy, SFU - Women’s physiologic stress response and its effect on ovarian function from post-partum infertility to the resumption of eumenorrhea (seed grant)

Exploring Social Locations: Women's Health & Policy in Canada

MPP 812: Selected Topics in Public Policy / HSCI 891: Special Topics in Health Sciences

Exploring Social Locations is a new, innovative, and interactive approach to learning about gender, women’s health, and health policy in Canada. The course explores analytical and constructive aspects of theory, practice and policy from critical, feminist and anti-racist perspectives.  Each section of the course is facilitated by leading provincial, national and international scholars, activists, community–based researchers and policy makers. Click here for recordings of the course's public lecture series

New Training Opportunities

Master of Arts in Community Development, University of Victoria

The School of Public Administration at the University of Victoria has developed a MA in Community Development (MACD). The program begins May 2010. For more information, click here to visit the website www.publicadmin.uvic.ca

CIHI's NEW Canadian Population Health Initiative (CPHI) eLearning Products

Are you involved in health planning? Do you want to know more about a population health perspective and its impact on decision-making? CIHI is very pleased toannouncethe availability ofseven new population health distance-learning opportunities. These eLearning courses are designed to introduce population health and guide users through associated CPHI reports in order to better understand and apply report findings.These new education products are available to you and your colleagues at NO CHARGE.To learn more, please click on the course links below.

• An Introduction to Population Health (eLearning)
• Exploring Positive Mental Health (Archived Resource)
• Improving the Health of Young Canadians (eLearning)
• Mental Health and Homelessness in Canada (eLearning)
• Mental Health, Delinquency and Criminal Activity (Archived Resource)
• Promoting Healthy Weights in Canada (eLearning)
• Reducing Gaps in Health: A Focus on Socio-Economic Status in Urban Canada (Archived Resource)

How to register? Follow these simple steps:

• Contact the CIHI Order Desk at orderdesk@cihi.ca to obtain an ID and password.
• Once you’ve received your eCommerce ID and password, you can simply go to the website (www.cihi.ca/education), select the course(s) that you would like to register for and sign in using your ID and password.  Follow all of the registration steps and ensure that your email address is correct. Within five minutes of completing the registration process, you should receive an email containing the connection information for your eLearning course.
  
  Please note: If this is your first time registering for a CIHI eLearning course, be sure to SAVE your eLearning user ID and password (which are different from your eCommerce ID and password), as you will need them for future eLearning registrations.

• If at any time you experience difficulties registering online, please contact education@cihi.ca and one of our registration assistants will walk you through this process.

Other Funding Opportunities

2010 CIHR Grants and Awards Guide

CIHR announces the launch of the revised Grants and Awards Guide. The CIHR Grants and Awards Guide consists of policies and guidelines in the conduct of your research.The guide has been significantly restructured and many changes have been made to the policies. Please click here to visit the CIHR web site for more information about IGH.

ACCELERATE BC - BC’s Graduate Research Internship Program

MITACS ACCELERATE offers a way for BC graduate students and postdoctoral fellows from ALL DISCIPLINES (arts, science, applied science) to gain experience and share their expertise with a for-profit company.  Research supervisors are able to leverage their grants by matching funds with the company, the Provincial and the Federal governments.  Click here for details (PDF). For additional information, visit the website or email Duncan Phillips.

CHSRF Nursing Research Fund

The Nursing Research Fund was created to answer several concerns raised by nursing organizations and others representing nursing interests. The Canadian Nurses Association and other major nursing voices lobbied the federal government extensively for funding to develop nursing researchers and to support research on nursing recruitment, retention, management and the issues emerging from health-system restructuring. Click here for more details.

UBC Office of Research Services - funding opportunities & deadlines by month

Upcoming Deadlines

Calls for Submissions

Call for Applications: CIHR Institute of Gender and Health 2010 Summer Institute

The Institute of Gender and Health (IGH) will host its second annual Summer Institute in July 2010. Applications from graduate students and post-doctoral fellows who study health in relation to gender (broadly, social factors) and/or sex (broadly, biological factors) are invited. The purpose of the IGH Summer Institute is to provide participants with the opportunity to both increase their understanding of methods for conducting gender, sex and health research and to network with colleagues and mentors from across Canada. By the end of the IGH 2010 Summer Institute, participants will have a greater understanding of:

• The mechanisms through which gender and sex influence health;
• The research designs and tools that can be used to investigate these mechanisms;
• How inter- and multi-disciplinary approaches and collaborations can be used to investigate the influence of gender and sex on health;
• How gender and sex intersect with other determinants of health to influence health status and health outcomes; and
• How these concepts, theories, designs and approaches can be applied to their own research projects/programs of research.

Please e-mail ea-igh@exchange.ubc.ca for an application package. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 26, 2010. Applicants are encouraged to request an application package well ahead of this deadline. You will receive an e-mail to confirm receipt of your application package. Late applications or applications with missing documents will not be accepted. Applicants are responsible for ensuring the completeness of their applications. The IGH Summer Institute will cover the following costs:

• Travel - lowest price economy return airline ticket from the applicant's home town or academic institution to the University of British Columbia. If possible, IGH will arrange transportation to and from the airport. If this is not feasible, taxi fares will be reimbursed. Local participants who prefer to drive will be reimbursed for mileage provided the cost does not exceed that of lowest economy airfare.
• Accommodation - will be arranged and paid for by the organizers of the 2010 IGH Summer Institute for four nights (Monday through Thursday, July 5-9, 2010).
• Meals - meals will be provided for the duration of the 2010 IGH Summer Institute (dinner on July 5, breakfast, lunch and dinner on July 6, 7 and 8, and breakfast and lunch on July 9).
• Participants will be responsible for any additional meals/transportation/hotel and incidental expenses.

Call for Letters for Interest: Pacifica Family Addiction Foundation

The Pacific Family Addiction Foundation (PFAF) (formerly know as the Women’s Addiction foundation) is a public foundation committed to the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellness of women whose lives have been affected by their misuse of, or dependency on, alcohol or other drugs. PFAF is seeking Letters of Interest (LOI) from qualified organizations working with women in recovery. Maximum funding available for this project is $400,000. 

Proposed projects should meet the following criteria:   

• Be dedicated to services for women
• Provide support in long-term recovery from misuse of, or dependency on, alcohol or other drugs 
• Be lead by experienced management and board with an established track record
• Projects must be based in the Greater Vancouver area
• Enable recovery services to be delivered to a larger number of women
• Have a short-term timeline that requires an investment in the next 2-3 years.

The LOI must not exceed two (2) pages and must be submitted via email to atzanadamis@can.rogers.com by Friday, March 26, 2010. 

Call for Abstracts: Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH)

The Canadian Society for International Health is pleased to invite you to attend the Canadian Conference on Global Health (CCGH), formerly the Canadian Conference on International Health. The conference is being held from Sunday, October 31 to Wednesday, November 3, 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Ottawa Hotel, 101 Lyon St. N., Ottawa, ON, Canada. This year's conference theme is Global Health: A Humanitarian Crisis?Abstract information and submission forms can be found on the event website at http://www.csih.org/en/conference/abstracts.asp. Deadline for submissions: Monday, March 29th, 2010

Call for Papers: Workshop on the Politics of Reproduction in Canada

Drs. Francesca Scala, Marlene Sokolon, and Stephanie Paterson, from the Department of Political Science at Concordia University, invite proposals for participation in a two-day workshop on the politics of reproduction in Canada to be held in Montreal, Quebec, September 23-24.The organizers seek to stimulate dialogue and debate in various areas within the broad topic of the politics of reproduction, particularly in the areas of reproductive health, fertility, pregnancy, motherhood and childrearing. Targeting individuals from political science, sociology, psychology, history, geography, anthropology, and economics, the workshop will identify specific multidisciplinary and crosscutting research areas aimed at exploring the role of the state in reproductive politics and highlighting issues of policy relevance. Individuals or groups are invited to submit a 300 word abstract to Stephanie Paterson (spaterso@alcor.concordia.ca) by April 30, 2010. Please indicate whether or not travel assistance is required. All inquiries should be directed to the email address provided.

Seeking input for Women and Water in Canada website

As one part of a collaborative project in environmental health over the past year entitled Women & Water in Canada (National Network on Environments and Women’s Health, Prairie Women’s Health Centre of Excellence and the Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health), a website is being planned for launch in early May to promote and distribute the reports and the knowledge generated, to engage women in the issue and provide information, links, and perhaps outlets for views and reactions. Suggestions and views as to what this site should include are welcome. Please click here to email Dayna Nadine Scott, Assistant Professor, Osgoode Hall Law School and the Faculty of Environmental Studies with your ideas.

Ministry of Health - Policy Rounds

The role of the Strategic Policy and Research Knowledge Branch is to manage and support the development, implementation, coordination and review of Ministry-wide projects and policy initiatives, in consultation with other divisions, ministries and relevant stakeholders. Policy Rounds is a forum where all levels of staff, from all areas of the Ministry, can find out more about a broad range of policy research topics. Topics must be related to policy issues in health and considered ‘research,’ in its broadest sense. Topics must be well-defined. Information on upcoming Policy Rounds is distributed to a large audience, so the information needs to be clear. Policy Rounds are open to all Ministry of Health staff so presentations should be appropriate for a broad and varied audience. Click for details >> (PDF)

Calls for Nominations

There are no current calls for nominations.

Job Postings

Director of Research: Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR)

The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) seeks an experienced social science researcher with excellent management, program and business development, and public presentation skills to strengthen and lead the strategic growth of its policy research portfolio.  Expertise in employment and labor markets, poverty and inequality, or health economics desired.IWPR is a Washington D.C.-based think-tank that conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialogue, and strengthen families, communities, and societies. (See www.iwpr.org for more information about IWPR's mission and work). To apply: Send a cover letter, CV or resume, short writing sample, and contact information for three references to:
Research Director Search Committee
Institute for Women's Policy Research
1707 L Street NW, Suite 750
Washington, DC 20036

Or by e-mail: researchdirector@iwpr.org.

Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.

To advertise a position through the WHRN, contact us.

Calls for Collaborators

Amberhearst Breast Cancer Foundation

Amberheart Breast Cancer Foundation is looking for partners interested in community research project related to breast health education aimed at adolescents. In particular, partners involved in community epidemiology and/or research on non-communicable diseases education are being sought. If you are interested in partnering with Amberheart please contact Dr. Tad Slubowski

Research Participation

Call for Volunteers: Self-Injury Study

A healthy control group is needed for a study on self-injury. Volunteers are needed for a control group in the study on self-injury and related factors. Participants will be asked to complete a set of on-line questionnaires. All responses and inquiries into participating will remain confidential. To be eligible for the study, volunteers must be 18 years or older with no history of self-injury (e.g., cutting, burning), and with no diagnosis of a mental health condition within the last 5 years. If you are interested in participating in the study or would like further information, please contact Sandra at research.eam@gmail.com.or go directly to the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/9ZDFJWN. All enquiries will be kept confidential.

The plan for this study has been reviewed for its adherence to ethical guidelines and approved by the Faculties of Education, Extension, Augustana and Campus Saint Jean Research Ethics Board (EEASJ REB) at the University of Alberta. For questions regarding participant rights and ethical conduct of research, contact the Chair of the EEASJ REB at (780) 492-3751.

Damask Project

Are you a woman who:

• has ever smoked in her teens with her mother?
• has ever smoked with her teenage daughter?

Too Young for Night Sweats?

Learn more about yourself and help us understand night sweats in women
(35-50) who still have regular periods. This UBC study is observational (no study medications), and takes 4 menstrual cycles. This study is open to women between age 35 and 50 with regular menstrual periods, and not taking hormone therapy or hormonal birth control. For information, contact Dr. Vesna Stajic at: Night-sweats@interchange.ubc.ca or Vesna.Stajic@vch.ca, or call 604.875.5232.
For details, visit the CeMCOR website.

Progesterone Therapy for Hot Flushes

WANTED: Women past menopause to evaluate progesterone therapy for hot flushes. The researchers are looking for women to participate in a 5-month research study on hot flushes, blood vessel function and clotting factors. They are comparing natural progesterone (Prometrium®) with a placebo (dummy pill). Participants will keep a daily record of hot flushes during these five months. The study includes four office visits, with two assessments of your blood vessel function. This study is investigator-initiated and benefactor-funded. Active drug and placebo provided by Besin’s International, France. For more information, visit the website.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Study

Women affected by POS are invited to join a unique study conducted by UBC endocrinologist Dr. Jerilynn Prior. The study aims to determine if women with Anovulatory Androgen Excess (AAE) - also known as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) - share a genetic link to people who have an eye condition called aniridia. AAE/PCOS is a metabolic syndrome that affects many women and is sometimes difficult to diagnose. Most commonly. women with AAE/PCOS have problems with their menstrual cycle, tend to gain weight easily (especially around the waist) and may have certain hair and skin problems. For more information or to participate, please contact Dr. Sheela Mistry or call 604.875.5232. The study is funded by the UBC Sharon Stewart Research Grant.

Study of the role of genetic variations in risk for postpartum depression and psychosis in women who have a history of psychiatric illness.

Recruitment of participants is currently underway for a study of postpartum depression and psychosis that is being conducted by a group led by Dr. Jehannine Austin of the UBC Department of Psychiatry. The study aims to investigate the role of a genetic variant in risk for postpartum depression and psychosis in a group of women who have a history of a major psychiatric disorder (e.g. schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder etc). The  group hopes to develop strategies by which to reduce the risks for postpartum depression and psychosis for this group of women. Please click here for additional information about taking part in the study. Visit the website for details.

Chemicals, Health & Pregnancy Study (CHirP)

Recruitment is currently underway for women who are pregnant and interested in learning about environmental chemicals.  Researchers at UBC and Children's & Women's Hospital seek the participation of 150 pregnant women who are less than 15 weeks pregnant, and who are planning to deliver at BC Women's Hospital, St Paul's Hospital or at home. For more information, please visit www.cher.ubc.ca/chirp or contact Glenys Webster -  chirp.study@ubc.ca   604.827.5454.

Testosterone Activity & Sexual Response in Women - Call for Participants

UBC researchers are studying testosterone activity in women who do and do not currently experience sexual difficulties in order to better understand the role of hormones in women's sexuality and other aspects of women's health. Women aged 35-70 who do not smoke and who meet other basic requirements are eligible for participation in the study. Click for additional details and contact information.

Understanding Sexual Desire in Established Relationships

If you are a woman over 25 years of age, and in a committed relationship for over 5 years; concurrently residing with your partner; willing to help researchers at UBC gain a better understanding of female sexual desire and arousal in established relationships contact Katherine at 604 875 4111 ext: 68901. The study involves two brief questionnaires (completely confidential) which will take approximately 20 minutes of your time and help researchers understand how to better treat women’s sexual difficulties.

The effects of pain neurophysiology and pain management education in a heterogenous sample of women with persistent pain

A study of the effects of pain neurophysiology and pain management education in women with persistent pain. This information will assist health care providers in understanding how to effectively educate people with persistent pain. Click for details.