Congenital heart disease team grants to drive interdisciplinary research collaboration

Heart & Stroke, together with Brain Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and Institute of Genetics, are launching a new research funding opportunity, the Congenital Heart Disease Team Grants. This team grant competition focuses on congenital heart disease (CHD) throughout the lifespan and in the context of the whole person, with considerations for sex and gender, Indigenous health and wellness, and health equity.

CHD includes a wide range of structural anomalies of the heart that occur as a fetus develops in the womb. Due to advances in detection and interventions, there has been an increase in survival of babies born with CHD, and a growing number of people with CHD are reaching adulthood. This has implications for the ongoing management of their health and wellbeing, and ongoing care needs, across the lifespan. A coordinated and collaborative effort is needed to accelerate system-level change to improve CHD care and lifelong, equitable access to the full continuum of care services available in Canada. The ultimate goal is to improve the lives of those living with the condition as well as their families and caregivers. Research is needed to help achieve these goals.

"Heart & Stroke is thrilled to once again be collaborating with our partners at Brain Canada and CIHR,” says Doug Roth, CEO, Heart & Stroke. “We are committed to working to improve access to high quality, personalized and integrated health services and knowledge for people living with CHD and their families.”

"This funding empowers the research community to accelerate advancements and impact the lives of those living with CHD. Together, we can unlock the mysteries of the heart-brain connection, uncovering innovative solutions and nurturing a healthier future for all,” says Dr. Viviane Poupon, President and CEO of Brain Canada.

“As Canada's primary health research funding agency, CIHR is proud to collaborate with partners and researchers to support knowledge creation, capacity development and knowledge mobilization in important health areas. Through targeted research investments, this team grant funding aims to improve the health and wellbeing of individuals living with CHD, recognizing that their health care needs extend beyond diagnosis to life-long management.” says Dr Brian H. Rowe, Scientific Director of CIHR’s Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health.

Research Teams will focus on one of three priority research areas:

1. Causes of CHD and Early Detection
2. Brain Health and CHD
3. Care Transitions

The competition aims to bring together multi-institutional, interdisciplinary health research teams with multiple collaborators (e.g., researchers, clinicians, people with lived/living experience, health care providers, system leaders,  Indigenous Elders or Knowledge Keepers, government, policy makers, not-for-profit organizations, and industry) to create and mobilize knowledge that will improve the health and wellness of individuals living with CHD, their families, and caregivers.
The registration deadline is September 15, 2023. Eligible registrants will have until November 15, 2023 to submit their full application.

Funding for the Congenital Heart Disease Team Grants has been made possible by the Canada Brain Research Fund (CBRF), an innovative arrangement between the Government of Canada (through Health Canada) and Brain Canada Foundation; the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Canada’s primary health research funding agency, and its Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health and Institute of Genetics; and Heart & Stroke, Canada’s leading health charity devoted to heart disease and stroke.