Postdoctoal Award Competition Results 2004
Twenty applications were reviewed in this fourth competition for the CHSRF/CIHR Postdoctoral Awards within the CADRE Program, which is a slight decrease from the number reviewed in the 2003 competition (20 vs. 26).
Merit Review Process
The membership of the merit review panel was an equal mix of researchers and decision makers that balanced regional and disciplinary distribution and perspectives. The panel was chaired by Steven Lewis, and François Champagne performed scientific officer duties.
The merit review panel met February 16th, 2004 in Ottawa to assess the 20 applications received from across the country. Of these, eight were in health services, seven in nursing, and five in knowledge transfer. Five applications were received from Quebec, six from Ontario, eight from the western provinces, and one from the Atlantic region.
Applicants Recommended for Funding
The panel recommended 12 applicants for funding. The Foundation initially had the funds to offer eight awards and four additional candidates were on an internal reserve list if additional funds became available. Due to the early termination of some previously funded postdoctoral awards, we were able to fund a ninth award this year. In addition, the Institute of Aging in the Canadian Institutes of Health Research is fully funding a tenth award.
Of the ten candidates being offered funding at this time, three are in the health services field, three are in nursing, and four have a knowledge transfer focus.
Some of the candidates offered funding have yet to complete their PhDs. They must complete all of the requirements for their doctorates and take up the award within one year of the funding offer.
The recommended candidates are listed in alphabetical order:
Patricia Conrad (award offered but declined) is completing her PhD in the department of health policy management and evaluation at the University of Toronto. She will do postdoctoral work at Dalhousie University with her co-supervisors Thomas Rathwell (Dalhousie University) and Doreen Neville (Memorial University of Newfoundland). Ms. Conrad's decision-maker partner will be Maura Davies at the Capital District Health Authority in Nova Scotia. The
postdoctoral award will allow her to work at the interface between Dalhousie University, the Atlantic Regional Training Centre, and Capital Health to explore the 'researcher in residence' concept. She will work concurrently and collaboratively between the worlds of practice and research to enhance her health policy analysis skills for the use of evidence in practice settings.
Laurie Goldsmith is completing her PhD in the school of public health, health policy and administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She will do postdoctoral work at the University of British Columbia with her supervisor Sam Sheps. Ms. Goldsmith's decision-maker partner will be Ellen Pekeles at the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority. Her program will document and examine the individual access to healthcare experiences in three
rural areas in the health authority since a December 2001 amalgamation. This will provide the health authority with the context of rural healthcare delivery, access, and utilization from the perspective of individuals and communities, as well as comparisons across communities. In addition, she will document and examine healthcare access experiences of individuals in Vancouver in order to provide the health authority with an urban/rural comparison.
Susan Jack is working as an assistant professor in the school of nursing at McMaster University. She will be based at McMaster University during her postdoctoral work and will be co-supervised by Harriet MacMillan (McMaster University) and Carole Estabrooks (University of Alberta). Dr. Jack's decision-maker partner will be Lil Tonmyr at Health Canada. Her research will examine the issue of violence against women, and her program will broaden her
understanding of knowledge transfer and develop skills in the effective dissemination of research. In addition, she will work with senior-level decision makers to broaden her understanding of the processes involved with knowledge transfer and policy development.
Izzat Jiwani is working as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Montreal and McMaster University. She will continue her work at these universities under the supervision of Jean-Louis Denis (University of Montreal) and Julia Abelson (McMaster University). Dr. Jiwani's decision-maker partners will be David Levine of the Régie régionale de Montreal, Luc Boileau of the Régie régionale de la Montérégie, and Susan
Thorning of the Ontario Community Support Association. She will work on a collaborative program of applied health research in a cross-jurisdictional (provincial) practice setting that will allow her to develop expertise in the dissemination of research knowledge to decision makers. The focus of her research will be the reforms in health organization governance that took place in Ontario and Quebec, beginning in the 1990s.
Heather Lambert is working as a postdoctoral fellow in the department of community health and epidemiology at Queen's University. She will conduct her CHSRF/CIHR Postdoctoral Award in the Health Policy Research Unit at Queen's University and will be supervised by Mary Ann McColl. Dr. Lambert's decision-maker partner will be Tim Burns in the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Her program will examine the characteristics of systems that
permit patients to successfully make advance decisions regarding their healthcare. Specifically, she will explore the institutional and governmental policies in place in long-term care facilities regarding directives for care and determine the factors that contribute to the successes of these policies and procedures.
Mathieu Ouimet is completing his PhD in the faculty of political sciences at Laval University. He will do postdoctoral work at McMaster University with his supervisor John Lavis. Mr. Ouimet's decision-maker partner will be Sonya Corkum at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). His program will examine CIHR-affiliated researchers' knowledge transfer practices and study linkage and exchange relationships between researchers and decision
makers.
Brenda Poon is completing her PhD in the department of educational and counseling psychology and special education at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She will do postdoctoral work at the Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) research institute in the faculty of graduate studies at UBC with her co-supervisors Clyde Hertzman and Janet Jamieson. Ms. Poon's decision-maker partner will be Loreen O'Byrne in the B.C. Ministry of Children and
Family Development. Her program will centre around work with HELP's Child and Youth Developmental Trajectories Research Unit and will facilitate a 'cross-walk' of birth record, health services, and socio-economic data with provincial student-level achievement data for all B.C. school children through the construction and utilization of a linked database.
Nancy Salbach (award offered but declined) is completing her PhD in the department of epidemiology and biostatistics at McGill University. She will do her postdoctoral work at the University of Toronto with her co-supervisors Susan Jaglal and David Davis. Ms. Salbach's decision-maker partners will be Dorianne Sauvé of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association and Geoff Fernie of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. The CHSRF/CIHR Postdoctoral Award
will allow her to examine the needs physiotherapists have for research findings in the area of stroke rehabilitation and what factors influence physiotherapists' use of research information. This will in turn allow her to develop strategies to improve knowledge transfer between researchers who study stroke rehabilitation and physiotherapists, ultimately improving research use, service delivery, and health outcomes.
Catherine Scott is working as a postdoctoral fellow in the department of community health sciences at the University of Calgary. She will be based at the universities of Calgary and Alberta during her CHSRF/CIHR postdoctoral work and will be co-supervised by Valerie Haines (University of Calgary) and Carole Estabrooks (University of Alberta). Dr. Scott's decision-maker partner will be Remo Di Palma at the Calgary Health Region. Her program will look
at models of collaboration among healthcare professionals within primary care. This will help her develop substantive knowledge of network theory and analysis, and of inter-professional and inter-organizational networks for knowledge utilization and policy implementation.
Sonia Semenic is completing her PhD in the school of nursing at McGill University. She will do postdoctoral work at the University of Ottawa school of nursing and Community Health Research Unit with her co-supervisors Nancy Edwards (University of Ottawa) and Jean-Louis Denis (University of Montreal). Ms. Semenic's decision-maker partner will be France Laverdiere in the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec. Her program
will build on her interest in ethnic diversities in perinatal health and will provide her with training on how to design effective health services for ethnic minorities with limited access to healthcare. It will have significant potential for transfer of knowledge to isolated or immigrant communities in Canada.
Lisa Votta (award offered but declined) completed her PhD in the department of social sciences at Carleton University. She will be based at the University of Ottawa during her postdoctoral work and will be co-supervised by Nancy Edwards and Peter Tugwell (both from the University of Ottawa). Dr. Votta's decision-maker partner will be Robert Conn from SMARTRISK - a national non-government organization dedicated to the prevention of injuries. Her
research will look at alternative models organizations can use to deliver injury prevention strategies to vulnerable populations, particularly how sustainability, equity of access, and inter-sectoral partnerships are incorporated in the organizational design and delivery of initiatives to prevent falls. In addition, she will work with decision makers to explore how to facilitate the use of research results in planning, allocating, and/or managing decisions.