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(Wolfville,
NS) - Dr. Sabu Aliyar of the Centre for Development
Studies in Trivandrum, India is teaming up with mentor Dr. Shanthi
Johnson of Acadia University to implement research on healthy aging
in India with the help of the new CANADA-HOPE Scholarship.
Dr. Aliyar and Dr.
Johnson are the first of three CANADA-HOPE Scholarship recipients
announced this week in Ottawa by the Honourable Tony Clement,
Minister of Health, Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of the Canadian
Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), and Mr. Jérôme Silvestre,
President of sanofi-aventis Canada Inc. The value of the scholarship
is $134,000.
The scholarship
recipients are studying healthy aging, organ damage and stroke
research. The funding for this initiative was announced by CIHR in
October 2005.
“Dr. Shanthi Johnson
has shown time and time again that her research has global
implications,” said Dr. Gail Dinter-Gottlieb, President and
Vice-Chancellor of Acadia University. “Acadia is pleased to host Dr.
Aliyar on campus and we are hopeful that his work with Dr. Johnson
will lead to improved health for our aging population.”
Under this program,
during the first two years, the three researchers are mentored in
Canada where they are exposed to some of the best Canadian science,
laboratories and training environments. Their research projects will
be transferred to their home institution when they return to India
for the remaining two years of the program.
The aging population
phenomenon is observed in several developed and developing countries
like Canada and India. These demographic transitions have taken
place for over 100 years in developed countries, but within a short
span of only 35 years in developing countries. In developing
countries, there is a lack of promotion of population-based healthy
aging.
Dr. Sabu Aliyar, with
mentor Dr. Shanthi Johnson, will implement long-term aging and
health research collaboration in India. In particular, they will be
examining health status and healthy life expectancy as well as
multidisciplinary approaches to the prevention of falls and health
promotion among the elderly both in community-based and long-term
care settings in Canada and India.
The scholarships
announced today are supported by the CANADA-HOPE Scholarship
Program. This joint program was developed and supported by CIHR via
its CIHR/Rx&D Collaborative Research Program, in partnership with
sanofi-aventis Canada Inc.
CIHR is the Government
of Canada's agency for health research. CIHR's mission is to create
new scientific knowledge and to catalyze its translation into
improved health, more effective health services and products, and a
strengthened Canadian health care system. Composed of 13 Institutes,
CIHR provides leadership and support to more than 10,000 health
researchers and trainees across Canada.
CIHR/Rx&D
Collaborative Research Program enables scientists, clinicians and
members of the full spectrum of health professions, and Rx&D members
to optimize opportunities in clinical research benefiting the health
of Canadians.
CIHR/Rx&D is a
national association representing over fifty research-based
pharmaceutical companies in Canada. The mission of Rx&D is to
improve the quality of life of all Canadians and enhance our health
care system by fostering the discovery, development and availability
of new medicines.
Acadia University, in
Wolfville, Nova Scotia, is recognized as one of Canada’s premier
undergraduate institutions. With its nationally and internationally
recognized research initiatives, small class sizes, and its
technology-rich teaching and learning environment, Acadia offers
students a personalized education that includes rigorous academic
programs combined with personal growth and development. For more
information about Acadia, visit our website at
www.acadiau.ca.
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