Launch: 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 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.

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.

For all inquiries please contact:

CIHR Contact Centre
Telephone: 613-954-1968
Toll Free: 1-888-603-4178
Email: support-soutien@cihr-irsc.gc.ca

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.

Date modified:

2019-11-25