Dates to remember
Competition opening in fall 2021Application
November 2021
Results
February 2022
Orphan diseases definition
An orphan disease is a pathology that does not have effective therapies, mainly due to the lack of knowledge. These diseases are usually rare, each affecting less than one person in 2000. The small number of cases seen in the clinic also complicates the diagnosis. These rare / orphan diseases are more than 7,000 in the world, 80% of which are of genetic origin. Other causes include infections or intoxications. Most of these diseases are life-threatening and about 75% affect children. According to the Regroupement Québécois des Maladies Orphelines (RQMO), close to one in 20 people would be infected or have a rare disease in Quebec, which is about 500,000 Quebecois. While identifying the genes involved in rare diseases greatly benefits from the Human Genome Project, much research is still needed to understand the pathogenic mechanisms and develop therapies.
Directions
Eligibility
- The principal investigator and the co-investigators must be a member of CERMO-FC when the application is filed;
- Funding of up to $ 50,000 for one year;
- The university or institution that will receive the grant on behalf of the researcher must agree not to incur a management fee;
- A member of the winning team will be invited to present the results of this project at the next annual CERMO-FC symposium;
- It is expected that each member of the recipient team will contribute to the functioning of the Center, for example as a committee member, evaluator of scholarships or student presentations.
Selection criteria
- Scientific quality and relevance of the research project related to orphan diseases;
- Innovative and multidisciplinary aspect of the proposed research;
- Quality, dynamism and structuring effect of the team;
- Contribution to the advancement of knowledge on at least one orphan disease;
- Impact on the objectives and missions of CERMO-FC;
- Special attention will be paid to projects based on the Center’s technology platforms.
Contribution
Maximum value of the grant: $ 50,000 maximum per project
Required documents
- Research grant application form;
- Curriculum vitae of all researchers making the request, Canadian Common CV format (CIHR, CRSNG, or FRQ).
Please, send all required documents (combined as one PDF file) to cermo-fc@uqam.ca
Laureates
The CERMO-FC institutional center wishes to congratulate all the candidates for the excellence of their application. CERMO-FC would particularly like to congratulate the winners of these first two editions.
Both editions of the CERMO-FC ACCELERATE research grant competition were a great success with over 20 researchers applying each year. The external evaluation committee, as well as the scientific committee of CERMO-FC underline the excellence of the application files, and thank all the principal researchers and co-cheurs for their participation in the competition. .
To learn more about the research work of the laureates, please consult the Research projects page
Laureates - 2020 edition
- Geneviève Pépin, UQTR, Targeting STING-driven inflammation in Fanconi Anaemia to rescue hematopoietic defects.
- Laurent Cappadocia, UQAM, Outils moléculaires pour promouvoir la SUMOylation des variants de la protéine MeCP2 et faciliter le traitement du Syndrome de Rett
- Benoit Vanderperre, UQAM, In vivo functional study of an alternative protein encoded by the gene ZYX/zyx-1 with implications for dystrophinopathies
Laureates - 2019 edition
- Stéphane Lefrancois, INRS-Centre Armand-Frappier Santé Biotechnologie, Développement et caractérisation d’un modèle novateur pour étudier le Syndrome MEDNIK
- Philippe Campeau, CHU Sainte-Justine, Pédiatrie, Caractérisation du rôle de TBC1D24 dans la fonction mitochondriale
- Gilles Gouspillou, UQAM, Investigating the therapeutic potential of Parkin to attenuate muscle dysfunction in a mouse model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy