Diabetes Canada is thrilled to announce two new research awards. In partnership with Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Diabetes Canada awarded two Embracing Diversity to Achieve Precision & Health Equity team grants valued at $2M each. This research funding aims to inspire a paradigm shift in health research whereby biological, behavioural, social and environmental diversity and structural determinants of health are considered and integrated. The two projects are:
- Dr. Erin Mulvihill: Heart Health and Endocrine Disruption during Aging: Risk from Type 2 Diabetes in Women Incurring Sleep Disruption
- Dr. Laura Rosella: Developing a Precision Participatory and Multi-Level Approach for Population-Based Diabetes Risk Assessment to Address Inequities in Type 2 Diabetes
Why personalized health care could be the future—and why Canada is getting serious about it
It has become increasingly clear that a one-size-fits-all approach to diagnosing, treating and preventing disease is showing its limits. People differ in their biology, genetics, age, environment and how their bodies react to medicine. People’s health is also shaped by whether they live in a big city or a rural community, whether they’re Indigenous, racialized or part of a group that’s historically faced unequal access to care.
Understanding these differences is key to developing better care. Imagine a treatment plan for diabetes that changes depending on your genetics, a cancer drug tailored to how your immune system responds or a diet recommendation based on how your gut microbiome works?
This isn’t science fiction—it’s called precision medicine, and it’s all about tailoring health care to the individual. Instead of using the same treatment for everyone, it looks at a person’s unique genetics, lifestyle, environment and other factors to find the best way to prevent, diagnose and treat disease.The need has never been greater.
In Canada:
- 44% of adults and 73% of seniors live with at least one chronic disease like diabetes, cancer or high blood pressure
- 1 in 3 has diabetes or prediabetes
- 1 in 4 lives with obesity
- Canada has one of the highest rates of inflammatory bowel disease in the world
- These conditions often overlap with infections like HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections, which disproportionately affect marginalized communities
To address these pressing issues, CIHR, Diabetes Canada and other partners have invested more than $38 million over five years in 19 research teams and one national knowledge mobilization hub through the Embracing Diversity to Achieve Precision & Health Equity team grants.
With this funding, researchers will:
- Pinpoint why diseases affect people differently, and use that insight to prevent, detect and treat conditions like obesity, liver disease and chronic infections in a more personalized way.
- Dig into the deeper causes of health inequities, including how racism, poverty, pollution and other structural factors influence who gets sick and who gets well.
This work is being funded by the CIHR Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes, alongside other CIHR Institutes and partners including Diabetes Canada, the Kidney Foundation of Canada and Genome British Columbia and Génome Québec.
Learn more about the funded projects and how they're shaping the future of health research in Canada.
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