Five IIDR Members Awarded More Than $14M in Federal Grants

Five research programs led by members of the Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research (IIDR) will receive more than $14M from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

The grants, which will support cutting-edge research ranging from the discovery of novel antibiotics to the development of a global vaccination strategy to control Tuberculosis (TB), are part of a larger $667M investment from two of the federal agency’s funding competitions.

CIHR Foundation Grant awards

Established in 2015, the Foundation Grant competition provides long-term support of five to seven years for the pursuit of innovative, high-impact research programs.

• Dr. Gerry Wright, professor in the department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences and scientific director of the IIDR, will receive $4,246,166 to address the antibiotic resistance crisis. Wright’s work will focus on the mechanisms and origins of drug resistance and the discovery of new antibiotics and antimicrobial strategies.

• Dr. Mark Loeb, professor in the departments of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, Medicine, and Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, will receive $8,310,463 to advance his studies of the prevention and management of influenza.

CIHR Project Grant awards

The Project Grant competition provides short- and long-term support of one to five years to advance health-related knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes. 

• Dr. Zhou Xing, professor in the department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, will receive $875,355 to develop a new Tuberculosis (TB) vaccination strategy that will ultimately contribute to the effective control of lung TB around the world.

• Dr. Karen Mossman, professor in the department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, will receive $688,051 to discover and develop novel, generic antiviral therapies capable of protecting against new, emerging viruses.

• Dr. Mike Surette, professor in the department of Medicine, will receive $653,649 to advance his studies of the human microbiome for the discovery of novel antibiotics, immunomodulators and probiotics.