Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation Phase 2

Overview of the HCCI2 Initiative

The HCCI2 Initiative, a $13.5M CIHR investment, aims to move beyond the current research silos and bring together the Canadian inflammation research community to collectively leverage the expertise of multiple disciplines, pillars of research, Institutes and partners. It will support a collaborative strategy on inflammation and will stimulate innovative health research approaches and translation of knowledge on shared pathways to prevent or reduce inflammation in chronic disease. This strategic investment aims to improve the health outcomes of Canadians, throughout their life cycle, in an equitable way that considers biological, social and individual characteristics, including but not limited to sex, gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status.

The initiative will promote the integration of the following principles:

• Inter-disciplinary
• Translational
• Patient engagement
• Life trajectory
• Sex-, Gender- and Equity- responsive

HCCI2 builds on previous investments, notably Phase 1 of Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation, that have identified promising molecular and cellular candidates as well as biological, environmental, social and behavioral pathways that are shared across chronic conditions and are almost at the stage of being targeted in an intervention trial.

HCCI2 will support the next phase of inflammation research in Canada through two distinct components:

1. Preparation to Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions; and
2. Intervention Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions

The purpose of HCCI2 is to support a collaborative and interdisciplinary strategy on inflammation in Canada to accelerate the development of new solutions and/or the repurposing and optimization of existing solutions for the prevention, diagnosis, prediction of treatment response, and management of inflammation in chronic conditions. This multi-institute initiative will accelerate the clinical translation of solutions that target shared pathways of inflammation in chronic conditions.

The CIHR Health Challenges in Chronic Inflammation – Phase 2 initiative is led by the Institute of Infection and Immunity in collaboration with the CIHR Institutes of Aging, Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Gender and Health, Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes and the CIHR HIV/AIDS and STBBI Research Initiative.

HCCI2 Strategic Funding Opportunities

Preparation to Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions

The overall goal of the Team Grants: Preparation to Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions is to support the identification and validation of shared mechanistic pathways of inflammation underlying two or more chronic conditions to inform the future development and/or implementation of an intervention trial for the prevention, diagnosis or management of inflammation aimed at improving the quality of life for those living with or at risk of developing chronic conditions.

The objectives of this funding opportunity are:

• To promote the application of new and existing knowledge on shared pathways that drive inflammation in chronic conditions to be targeted in subsequent human intervention trials;
• To promote a precision medicine approach that equitably delivers the benefit of interventions and improves health outcomes for all individuals; and
• To promote a high quality, inter-disciplinary training and mentoring environment to prepare the next generation of leaders in inflammation research

More information can be found on the funding opportunity page for the Team Grants: Preparation to Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions competition.

Intervention Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions

The overall goal of the Team Grants: Intervention Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions is to support intervention trials that will lead to the repurposing or development of interventions for prevention, diagnosis, prediction of treatment response, and management of inflammation in chronic conditions, and/or the optimization of such interventions across life stages, sex, gender and other intersecting conditions. It is expected that this targeted research investment will lead to improved availabilities of solutions for inflammation in chronic disease and catalyze changes in clinical practice and policy.

The objectives of this funding opportunity are to:

• Utilize knowledge on shared inflammation pathways in intervention trials in humans with the objective of improving prevention or management of inflammation in people living with or at risk of developing chronic conditions.
• Equitably improve health outcomes for population subgroups that have been underrepresented in research (e.g., women, LGBTQIA/2S populations, racialized Canadians, Indigenous Peoples, pregnant people) and those across life stages (e.g., children, older adults) through proven effective evidence-based interventions to address the health effects of inflammation.
• Accelerate the mobilization of knowledge and translation of research outcomes into proven and effective solutions and interventions to benefit multiple chronic conditions through early engagement, sustained and meaningful collaboration with PWLE, KUs, inflammation researchers and researchers from other disciplines.
• Foster a high-quality, interdisciplinary training and mentoring environment to increase capacity and prepare a diverse next generation of leaders to address inflammation in chronic conditions.

More information can be found on the funding opportunity page for the Team Grants: Intervention Trial in Inflammation for Chronic Conditions competition.

Date modified:

2025-02-05