Message from Norman Rosenblum, INMD Scientific Director
May 2024

I was very pleased to see in the Government of Canada’s Budget 2024 – Fairness for Every Generation – a proposed new investment in research and innovation. For CIHR, NSERC, and SSHRC, this included $1.8 billion in core research grant funding over five years (starting in 2024-25, with $748.3 million per year ongoing). The budget also proposes $825 million over five years (starting in 2024-25, with $199.8 million per year ongoing) to increase the annual value of master's and doctoral student scholarships to $27,000 and $40,000, respectively, and post-doctoral fellowships to $70,000. This will also increase the number of research scholarships and fellowships provided. Please see the recent Message from CIHR’s Acting President, Tammy Clifford, for more details. This is very positive news, and I look forward to learning more about the new investments as more information becomes available.

Recently I attended the annual meeting of the Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN). The Canadian kidney research community has a rich history of evidence-based clinical practice supported by clinical and basic science research. Clinical research, as exemplified by CAN-SOLVE CKD, a SPOR Network, is particularly prominent at this time and is supported by engagement with both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities. One could only be impressed by the engagement of a number of Indigenous community members in the meeting and how the kidney research community is working together with Indigenous community members to engage in clinical research and clinical service in a manner that is consistent with Indigenous principles of engagement. I was also extremely pleased to participate in the sessions featured by CKD-N, an organized conglomerate of Canadian basic and translational kidney researchers. CKD-N is a relatively new ‘creation’ and is serving to highlight basic/translational research and facilitate conversations among these researchers to increase the impact of basic and translational research. Kudos to the organizers of CKD-N and to the CSN for making CKC-N programming an organic part of the annual meeting program. Finally, the presence of young investigators describing new research across the domains of health research was truly inspiring. Many of these trainees and young investigators are enrolled in KRESCENT, the training program funded by CIHR-INMD and other partners via the Health Research Training Program (HRTP) Pilot Program. All in all, I had a wonderful experience interacting in person with my colleagues from across the country and returned home feeling inspired by new work that has great potential to improve the lives of individuals living with kidney disease.

Norman Rosenblum, MD, FRCPC, FCAHS
Scientific Director
Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes

Date modified:

2024-05-21