CIHR awards honour four exceptional researchers

Ottawa, ON – Last night, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) honoured its researchers and their exceptional contributions to health research by awarding four Canadian Health Research Awards: Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year, The Peter Lougheed/CIHR New Investigator Salary Award, CIHR Knowledge Translation Award and CIHR Partnership Award.

“Each of the award recipients has made tremendous contributions in health research,” said Dr. Alain Beaudet, President of CIHR. “We should all be proud of their accomplishments, which reflect our country’s strong performance in the health sciences and will have enduring impacts on the health and quality of life of Canadians.”

Recipients are awarded for demonstrating exceptional creativity, a willingness to overcome challenges, and the ability to embrace new concepts, all in the pursuit of new knowledge.

The recipients of the 2013 Canadian Health Research Awards are:

Canada’s Health Researcher of the Year:

Dr. Gordon H. Guyatt, from McMaster University, received this award in recognition of his instrumental role in shifting the way doctors practise medicine when he coined the term “evidence-based medicine” (EBM) in 1990. This award is presented to an outstanding Canadian researcher who has demonstrated a high degree of innovation, creativity, leadership and dedication in health research.

The Peter Lougheed/CIHR New Investigator Salary Award:

Dr. Christian S. Hendershot from the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) received this prestigious award in recognition of his work in examining how genetic data could help treat and prevent addictions, particularly alcohol addictions. This award is presented to Canada’s brightest young researchers at the beginning of their careers; it is CIHR’s most important career development award.

CIHR Knowledge Translation Award:

Cochrane Canada received the CIHR Knowledge Translation Award in recognition of its efforts over the past 20 years to provide physicians and patients with the most up-to-date and credible source of information to guide their treatment choices. The Centre’s director, Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw, accepted the award.

CIHR Partnership Award:

Walk away, Ignore, Talk it out and Seek help (WITS), a program designed by teachers and community police officers, received this award in recognition of its efforts in turning teachers, students, law enforcement officials and parents into active participants in the effort to reduce bullying. University of Victoria researcher Dr. Bonnie Leadbeater accepted the award.

to research, develop research agendas that are responsive to the health needs of Canadians and/or accelerate the translation of knowledge for the benefit of Canadians.