Genome Alberta: 2024 Healthy Outcomes Through Genomic Innovations

Eligibility

Eligible projects must:

• Be led or co-led by an Alberta- or British Columbia-based researcher
• Have a minimum project budget of $300,000
• Have a minimum 1:2 co-funding ratio (Genome Alberta funding : all co-funding sources, including Genome British Columbia)
• Have a project term in the range of 6 to 18 months
• Demonstrate engagement with a health authority, for example by including a health authority representative as a (co-)lead, co-applicant, or collaborator on the project
• Align to the objectives of the program
  • Include the development or application of a genomics-derived or genomics-enabled solution
  • Align with one of the targeted priority research streams 1 or 2 (see below)
  • Be within Technical Readiness Levels (TRL) 4 – 8, positioning the innovation for near term implementation and/or commercialization
• Plan to employ genomics to achieve the project objectives 
• Meet the specific program criteria (see below)

Summary

*This posting may be updated following the Genome Alberta webinar of October 7, 2024 (see Additional Information section below). 

Precision health uses an individual’s multiple omics profiles (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, etc.) and linked phenotypic data (clinical, lifestyle, environmental) to provide tailored healthcare that supports improvements in patient care and savings to healthcare systems. The Healthy Outcomes through Genomic Innovations Initiative (Healthy Outcomes Initiative), a joint initiative between Genome Alberta and Genome British Columbia with support from industry partners, will support implementation research designed to accelerate the development and adoption of genomics infrastructure and genomics-enabled technologies to improve healthcare in Western Canada.

The program is designed to encourage the formation of research teams spanning both Alberta and British Columbia (BC). Applications without interprovincial collaborations will be considered but will need to demonstrate that successful outcomes of the research efforts can be scaled beyond a single Province.

Genome Alberta and Genome BC will invest $3M to support projects that benefit Alberta and BC, providing up to $250,000 each for projects.

Healthy Outcomes proposals must:

• Focus on near-term solutions (duration of 6 – 18 months from project launch to outcomes) to accelerate the adoption of broader genomic testing into routine clinical care.
• Expand genomics-based testing and technologies into routine care by addressing system barriers and de-risking adoption.
• Find solutions that address equitable delivery of healthcare and access to genomics-based testing across rural and urban settings.
• Enable improved integration of genomics data into digital health infrastructure that enhances health outcomes for patients.

The Initiative will be deployed through two broad streams:

• Stream 1: Enabling practical solutions for the adoption of precision health into routine healthcare
  • Projects must address system barriers hindering the adoption of broader genomic testing into routine clinical care, expanding the current genomics infrastructure
• Stream 2: Evidence synthesis for clinical effectiveness of genomics-based approaches
  • Projects must deliver evidence about genomics-based and/or genomics-enabled approaches to inform on patient, population, and/or health system outcomes to meet health technology assessment requirements, including clinical and economic benefits over standard care

SUBMISSION PROCESS

The application process consists of two stages: 

1. Expression of Interest (EOI) - template found in the Resources section below
2. Full applications – on invitation only

Individuals interested in participating or who have questions should contact Georgia Balsevich at Genome Alberta (GAB) at gbalsevich@genomealberta.ca (cc Research Services at ipd@ucalgary.ca) as soon as possible.

Institutional and agency milestones are listed below, additional instructions follow.

Timeline

• Activity:       Submit Expression of Interest (EOI) to GAB and Research Services 
  • email to gbalsevich@genomealberta.ca, cc ipd@ucalgary.ca
  • no RMS is required for EOI stage

              Deadline:    October 21, 2024

• Activity:       Invitation to full application 

              Deadline:    October 30, 2024

• Activity:       Optional detailed administrative review: submit draft application and budget to Research Services 
  • email to ipd@ucalgary.ca

              Deadline:    By 9am November 14, 2024

• Activity:       Submit application and budget to Research Services for final review; approvals within RMS 
  • email to ipd@ucalgary.ca

              Deadline:    By noon November 20, 2024

• Activity:       Submit final application to Genome Alberta 
  • email to gbalsevich@genomealberta.ca, cc ipd@ucalgary.ca

              Deadline:    November 25, 2024

RESOURCES

Support for projects involving Indigenous Research:

Support with the development of your grant application is available internally through the Indigenous Research Support Team (IRST). Applicants can reach out by email to IRST at IRST@ucalgary.ca in advance of the RSO internal deadline. For more information about IRST, please visit the IRST webpage.

EOI template

RMS: Creating a Pre-Award Application

Overhead

Not applicable

Application deadlines

RSO final internal review deadline

Program application deadline

NOTE: Consult your Faculty Associate Dean (Research) (ADR) regarding Faculty-specific deadlines and submission processes.

Principal Investigators: Complete a Research Management System (RMS) record, including a copy of your complete application, and submit this for approvals in RMS.

Approvals: The University of Calgary requires that all funding applications be approved prior to submission. Approval requires signatures via either RMS or the RFAA Trainee form, in the following order:

• Principal Investigator
• Department Head
• Faculty ADR/Dean
• Research Services (on behalf of the Vice-President Research)

Read the Meaning of Grant Signatures policy to understand what your approval means. Please see the agency guidelines for details about which signatures are required on your application, as it may differ from internal requirements.

Late submissions: Late submissions will only be accepted in cases of medical or family emergencies, or other exceptional circumstances. If you submit your RMS record to Research Services after the internal deadline has passed, you must secure additional approvals. Please read: Late Applications Process.

Genome Alberta will offer an information webinar on October 7, 2024, 2:30 – 3:30 pm MT. Register using this link.

Contact ipd@ucalgary.ca for links to the webinar recordings and presentation following the session.

RMS Training

As the full application will run through RMS, we encourage applicants to view the step sheets available at the RMS Training page. 

For training or technical support, you can contact RMS at: rms@ucalgary.ca and 403.210.9309.