Bruyère Research Institute Partners in New Canada-Wide Initiative That Will Prepare Trainees and Early Career Researchers to Be Future Leaders in Digital Health Solutions for Older Adults
03/31/2022
The Bruyère
Research Institute is pleased to be co-leading a new national training program
that will equip trainees and early career researchers to accelerate the
delivery of digital health solutions for older adults with complex health needs
and their caregivers.
The Early
Professionals, Inspired Careers in AgeTech (EPIC-AT) Health Research Training
Platform,
powered by AGE-WELL, is a collaborative effort led by researchers from 11
universities and research hospitals across 6 Canadian provinces. EPIC-AT is
hosted at the University of Toronto (U of T). It is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health
Research (CIHR), with additional cash and in-kind support provided by 41
collaborating organizations.
The
competency-based, experiential learning platform is an extension of AGE-WELL’s
globally-leading EPIC training program and will provide one-year fellowships to
at least 127 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and early career
researchers at Canadian institutions from 2022-2027. The focus is on digital
health solutions for seniors with complex health needs.
Participants
will be equipped to develop, implement and evaluate digital technology
solutions across areas such as information and communication technologies
(ICT), telemedicine, artificial intelligence, sensors, smart environments and
wearables. These solutions will help older Canadians age safely, independently
and with dignity in the setting of their choice.
CIHR
is funding EPIC-AT at $2.4 million over six years. Funding is also being provided by the Strategy for Patient Oriented
Research to empower and enable stakeholder engagement in platform programs.
In addition,
more than $6.1 million in cash and almost $4.5 million of in-kind support is
being provided by 41 collaborating organizations from across Canada. These
include public, not-for-profit and private sector organizations who are
supporting participant salaries, sharing their expertise, serving as mentors,
hosting interns, developing online courses and more. The total investment
including in-kind contributions comes to more than $13 million over 6 years.
The
11 researchers and institutions collaborating to lead EPIC-AT are: nominated
principal applicant Alex Mihailidis, U of T, and principal applicants: Nathalie Bier, Université de Montréal;
Mohamed-Amine Choukou, University of Manitoba; Shannon Freeman, University of
Northern British Columbia; Thomas Hadjistavropoulos, University of Regina;
Karen Kobayashi, University of Victoria; Bianca Stern, Baycrest Centre
for Geriatric Care; Heidi Sveistrup,
Bruyère Research Institute; Robyn Tamblyn, McGill University; Grace Warner,
Dalhousie University; Azadeh Yadollahi, The KITE
Research Institute-University Health Network.
To
learn more about EPIC-AT, visit: www.agewell-epic.ca/
Click here to read the news release.