Pre-announcement: Accelerating Stem Cell-Based Therapies for Type 1 Diabetes Team Grants
The CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and JDRF Canada are pleased to announce the upcoming funding opportunity for Team Grants: Accelerating Stem Cell-Based Therapies for Type 1 Diabetes.
In 2021, Canada will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the discovery of insulin, for which Drs. Banting and McLeod received a Nobel Prize- an illustrious moment for Canadians and one of the most dramatic examples of rapid translation of a discovery in basic science into a benefit for patients. Millions of lives have been saved due to this discovery, yet the prevalence of diabetes continues to increase and diabetes remains a chronic disease.
Building on Canada’s demonstrated excellence and leadership in clinical islet transplantation, stem cell biology, diabetes research, immunology, genetic engineering, and cell encapsulation systems, JDRF and CIHR will soon open a joint call for multidisciplinary, collaborative Canadian research teams to accelerate a breakthrough stem-cell-based therapy for type 1 diabetes.
The initiative is intended to bring together research teams with extensive diversity of expertise, and a joint structure that goes beyond conventional research collaborations to accelerate stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of type 1 diabetes to the clinical trial stage.
Anticipated timelines:
Launch Date: November 2019
Registration Deadline: Late January, 2020
Application deadline: Early March, 2020
Notice of Decision: Early September, 2020
Funding start date: November 1, 2020
Objectives
The focus of these collaborative team grants will be on developing, and translating to the clinical trial stage, a strategy for delivery and protection of a stem cell-based therapy for type 1 diabetes. Research teams should propose a strategy that:
- Aims to recapitulate the physiological, glucose-responsive insulin kinetics of healthy beta cells with long-term functionality
- Encompass site optimization, encapsulation, genome editing, targeted immunomodulation, or any other approach that optimizes the delivery, engraftment, survival and/or function of transplanted cells.
Eligibility
Applicant teams must be highly multidisciplinary and involve investigators from at least 3 institutions in at least 2 provinces. Research Teams must include one early career researcher (ECR) and the Nominated Principal Applicant must have successfully completed one of the sex- and gender-based analysis training modules available online through the CIHR Institute of Gender and Health and submitted a Certificate of Completion.
Funds available
JDRF and CIHR financial contributions for this initiative are subject to availability of funds. Should funding levels not be available or are decreased due to unforeseen circumstances, JDRF and CIHR reserve the right to reduce, defer or suspend financial contributions to grants received as a result of this funding opportunity.
The total amount available for this funding opportunity is $6,000,000, enough to fund approximately 2 teams. The maximum amount per team grant is $600,000 per year for five years for a total of $3,000,000 per team grant.
Submission Information
Proposals will be submitted through ResearchNet.
OSR Contact(s)
Michelle Picard-Aitken, Senior Grants and Agreements Officer, 514-398-3348
Katarina Stojkovic, Grants and Agreements Officer, 514-398-5184
Disclaimer: The information contained in this pre-announcement of the Team Grants: Accelerating Stem Cell-Based Therapies for Type 1 Diabetes funding opportunity is subject to change and does not commit CIHR or JDRF to the requirements outlined in this version. The final funding opportunity will be published by CIHR in the Funding Opportunity Database in ResearchNet in the fall of 2019.
For more information, see the CIHR website
Source: McGill Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) / CIHR website.