N.S. announces $1.5 million for COVID R&D

HALIFAX, NS – The Nova Scotia research community has come together to respond to the COVID-19 global pandemic with a collective investment of just over $1.5 million in COVID-19 focused research. The coalition announced that it will use the money to fund 40 different projects.

“Nova Scotians are known for their resilience, optimism and generosity. That spirit has come through in the response to the need for COVID-19 research support. This collective commitment of $1.5 million will allow us to tap into health researchers from across the province who will provide real-time results that will inform how we respond to this pandemic,” said Dr. Gail Tomblin Murphy (pictured), vice president, research, innovation & discovery and CNE, NSHA.

The funding will support COVID-19 research that will inform health system decisions, facilitate vaccine development, identify novel treatments, develop devices, and influence social response to the pandemic. Funding will also leverage existing research capabilities to help rapidly respond to the urgent need to support further COVID-19 focused research in Nova Scotia.

A full description of the 40 projects can be found at: https://www.nshealth.ca/files/nova-scotia-covid-19-health-research-coalition-covid-19-funding-recipients-list

The I.T. and diagnostic imaging-related projects include:

• This study will use the new 0.5T Magnetic Resonance Imaging scanner at the QEII Health Sciences Centre to determine whether evidence of brain abnormalities among COVID-19 inpatients is associated with the need for ventilation, and whether there are consistent features in the brains of COVID-19 patients that could inform treatment. Principal investigator: Dr. Steven Beyea. Funding: $74,647.69
• This study will use novel data mining approaches to analyze primary care electronic medical record data in order to better meet the needs of patients during and after the pandemic. Principal investigator: Dr. Fred Burge. Funding: $35,000.00
• This study will assess the needs of neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) families at the IWK Health Centre during the COVID-19 pandemic, identify barriers and facilitators to implementing virtual care options for these families during the pandemic, and evaluate one potential virtual care platform for NICU families. Principal investigator: Dr. Marsha Campbell Yeo. Funding: $50,000.00
• This study will use a Learning Health System framework to examine the IWK Health Centre COVID-19 pandemic planning work and identify strategies that we can use to be prepared for future pandemics. Principal investigator: Dr. Janet Curran. Funding: $50,000.00
• Don’t Count Us Out! – to identify the determinants of trust that African Nova Scotians have with the COVID-19 pandemic strategy and response, and demonstrate how race-based data collection during the COVID-19 pandemic can establish foundational capacity to extend race-based analysis to other health and healthcare issues. Principal investigator: Dr. OmiSoore Dryden. Funding: $40,000.00.

The COVID-19 Health Research Coalition is dedicated to fostering a research environment that engages academic partnerships and responds to the current needs of Nova Scotians and their health system, in addition to maintaining expertise in innovative research, discovery science, population/social sciences, and health system improvement.

The Nova Scotia COVID-19 Health Research Coalition encourages others to join the collective efforts to support this urgent research and fund more grants. For more information about donating to these efforts please contact one of its Foundation partners.