Congratulations to DEM Faculty Member Dr. Jessica Moe who recently received the 2019 Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) Mentored Clinician Scientist Award!
The VCHRI Mentored Clinician Scientist Award is a salary award that supports new clinician investigators who are building an early research career. Under the excellent mentorship of Dr. Corinne Hohl, Dr. Jess Moe was granted a 2019 MCS Award to support her project aiming to identify risk factors for adverse outcomes among frequent emergency department users, particularly those presenting with substance use, using linked system-level data in BC. Dr. Moe will receive $75,000 per year for two years with the possibility of renewal for an additional year to support the development of her research program.
Canadians from all walks of life have been profoundly impacted by the effects of problematic opioid use, and the crisis continues to claim lives at an alarming rate. By making investments in targeted, priority-driven research, CIHR can mobilize researchers to confront threats such as the opioid crisis, increasing awareness of the issue and our capacity to respond.
Through the Opioid Crisis Knowledge Synthesis operating grant, CIHR is supporting efforts to address the most urgent elements of the crisis, and to investigate strategies that could reduce opioid-related mortality rates.
A partnership with the Canadian Drugs and Substances Strategy, the CIHR Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction (CIHR-INMHA) and the CIHR Institute of Health Services and Policy Research (CIHR-IHSPR), has invested over $1.8 million to support 22 projects, matching teams of researchers with knowledge users across Canada.
Drs. Corinne Hohl and Jessica Moe and their team at the University of British Columbia wanted to better understand the effectiveness of the opioid antidote naloxone on reversing overdoses due to increasingly common ultra-potent opioids such as fentanyl. They analyzed 174 studies that looked at naloxone administration to reverse non-medical opioid toxicity among 26,660 patients. They compared the dose of naloxone needed to reverse the effects of lower potency opiates such as morphine and heroin, compared to high-potency opioids. They determined that in North America, standard naloxone doses were less effective at reversing overdoses of fentanyl and its powerful new analogues, and these agents required higher overall doses to reverse their effects compared to heroin and other opioids. The study could have important implications for the development of first-responder treatment guidelines in communities with a high prevalence of ultra-potent opioids.
Future health care needs require visionary approaches to tackle the challenges confronting patients and their families today. From curing disease to improving quality of life, researchers are at the forefront of medical advances that support the health and happiness of patients and their families. For this reason, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) is proud to contribute to groundbreaking research with our annual Innovation and Translational Research Awards. This year’s eight recipients are putting new knowledge into practice, implementing research outcomes and turning discoveries into commercial opportunities.
Congratulations to Dr. Jessica Moe for recently receiving a CIHR travel grant to attend the Institute of Population and Public Health’s (IPPH) second annual “Starting Investigators Workshop” in Ottawa this June. This event is geared towards new population and public health researchers who have just become (or who are about to become) eligible to apply for CIHR funds for the first time. The goal of this event is to introduce starting investigators to CIHR, to give training/tips on applying for CIHR grants, to provide networking opportunities with more senior academics, and to make introductions to senior public health policymakers.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) features our very own Dr. Jessica Moe in the article “Dr. Jessica Moe: Preventing opioid deaths related to an increase in smoking illicit substances during COVID-19“. This article discusses Dr. Moe’s impact and research as a clinician scientist in overdose prevention during an opioid crisis.
