UBC researchers awarded $1.9m from CIHR to further COVID-19 understanding and tackle evidence gaps

March 12, 2021

Today, the Honourable Patty Hajdu, Canada’s Minister of Health, announced an investment of approximately $25.2 million in 52 research projects to further improve our understanding of COVID-19 and tackle persistent evidence gaps linked to this disease. Funding was awarded through the the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Led by researchers across the country, the new COVID-19 projects will focus on topics such as variants of the virus, vaccine development and uptake, testing, mental health, and the ways in which the COVID-19 pandemic is having specific impacts on women, racialized populations, and Métis, Inuit and First Nations Peoples. This investment will enable research teams to target priority areas and advance our knowledge and management of COVID-19 related issues. The findings will serve to provide decision-makers with guidance to improve the health of our populations.

Six projects led by UBC researchers were awarded a total of $1.9 million.

Principal investigators for these projects are based at UBC and our affiliated health authority research institutes.

Read CIHR Release

UBC-led PROJECTS

1. Upstream determinants of effective COVID-19 response: tools development and application through a case study in British Columbia
   UBC Principal investigator: Peter Berman (School of Population and Public Health)
   Award amount: $118,575
    
2. Discovery of small molecules targeting SARS-CoV-2 frameshifting using a rapid yeast platform
   UBC Principal investigator: Eric Jan (Biochemistry)
   Award amount: $445,230
    
3. All-cause and cause-specific acute morbidity attributable to Covid-19 epidemic, severe Covid-19 symptoms, and adverse birth outcomes in Canada
   UBC Principal investigator: Sarka Lisonkova (Obstetrics and Gynaecology)
   Award amount: $168,300
    
4. Repurposing an FDA-approved anti-gout drug for the treatment of COVID-19
   UBC Principal investigator: Honglin Luo (Pathology and Laboratory Medicine)
   Award amount: $562,275
    
5. The unintended consequences of implementing stay-at-home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic: Violence outcomes in children and youth in Canada
   UBC Principal investigator: Ian Pike (Pediatrics)
   Research Institution: B.C. Children's Hospital
   Award amount: $267,750
    
6. Short and Long Term impact of COVID-19 on mental health and wellbeing of health workers in Pakistan
   UBC Principal investigators: Joseph Puyat (School of Population and Public Health), Rosemin Kassam (School of Population and Public Health), Saima Hirani (Nursing)
   Award amount: $302,175

Read full list of projects