Notice of Upcoming Funding Opportunity: Avian Influenza One Health Research

Introduction

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is pleased to announce the upcoming launch of the Avian Influenza One Health Research Funding Opportunity.

This funding opportunity is led by the CIHR Centre for Research on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Emergencies (CRPPHE) in partnership with the CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity (III), the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and Michael Smith Health Research BC (Health Research BC).

Overview

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to catalyze research that integrates One Health approaches to better prevent, prepare for, and respond to current and future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) and avian influenza viruses with pandemic potential A(H5Nx). In alignment with the concept of One Health endorsed by the Quadripartite Organizations' One Health Joint Plan of Action, this funding opportunity will support research activities at the interface of human, animal (including domestic and wildlife), and environmental systems, that emphasizes incorporation of diverse perspectives and holistic approaches including Indigenous ways of knowing, and bridges disciplines to create new knowledge systems / frameworks / conceptual understandings (i.e., transdisciplinary research). Research projects supported through this funding opportunity will directly address knowledge gaps and research needs that have been identified through a robust research prioritization process led by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). The full results of this research prioritization will be available by the time of the Funding Opportunity launch.

The specific objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• Support cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary research collaborations focused on protecting human health and wellbeing through developing and applying One Health approaches to prevent, prepare for, and respond to current and future outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) and avian influenza viruses with pandemic potential A(H5Nx);
• Enable researchers to plan and undertake research on avian influenza, which can provide a foundation for the development of longer-term future research in priority research areas;
• Build expertise to advance One Health research approaches to human health and wellbeing including contextualizing research results and analyzing diverse data at the interface of human, animal and environmental systems;
• Begin to build sustainable research collaborations with knowledge users including policy-makers, clinicians, public health practitioners, and local communities, such as Indigenous communities, where relevant, to support timely and effective knowledge mobilization.

For applications involving Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Inuit, and/or Métis), the team must include at least one applicant who self-identifies as Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit or Métis) and/or demonstrates a track record of meaningful and culturally safe involvement with Indigenous Peoples.

Research Areas

This funding opportunity will support research projects taking One Health approaches across five research areas:

• Biological and Virological Characterization
• Epidemiology, Surveillance, and Testing
• Modelling
• Public Health Interventions (Pharmaceutical Interventions and Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions)
• Behavioural and Social Sciences

Please note that further refinement to the above list will be made available in the coming days as the PHAC prioritization process is finalized. Applicants proposing projects focused on animal and/or environmental health sectors must include a human health component in their project and demonstrate the impacts on human health. Research focused exclusively on animal and/or environmental health with no link to human health are not eligible.

Partner Linkage Tool

CIHR is providing a Partner Linkage Tool that is intended to facilitate connections between extramural researchers, clinical and public health practitioners, intramural research partners (such as scientists and decision-makers in government departments), and community organizations who involve or represent people with lived and living experience (such as communities and populations directly impacted by avian influenza including Indigenous communities, agricultural producers and agricultural workers, hunters, and other populations with a higher risk of exposure to the virus), to create, where appropriate, opportunities for collaboration, and knowledge mobilization related to the scope of this initiative. This is not a mandatory tool. Information is provided on a volunteer basis and does not confer any advantages in the evaluation and funding of applications. The table will be updated weekly until the application deadline. If you would like to use this tool, please complete a short survey. The information you provide will appear on CIHR's website. Please note that potential applicants are not required to use the linkage tool or contact those who have submitted their information.

Funds Available

The total amount available for this funding opportunity is anticipated to be $1,650,000, enough to fund approximately 11 grants. The maximum amount per grant is anticipated to be $150,000 per year for a total of 1 year. This amount may increase if additional funding partners participate.

Anticipated Timelines

Launch: May/June 2024
Application Deadline: June/July 2024
Funding Start Date: September 2024

The official CIHR funding opportunity will be posted on ResearchNet in the coming weeks.

For a full list of CIHR funding opportunities, please visit ResearchNet.

Peer Review Recruitment

Recruitment for peer reviewers will begin immediately, and international reviewers are welcomed. If you are interested and available to volunteer as a peer reviewer, please reach out to CIHR at pdd-crpphe-cep-crppus@cihr-irsc.gc.ca.

Date modified:

2024-06-11