CIHR Funding Opportunity: Data Analysis Using Existing Databases and Cohorts

Monday, July 29, 2019

A new funding opportunity from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) will support research that uses existing cohort data, administrative datasets and data platforms that link to or allow access to datasets from multiple sources, including the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

The CIHR Data Analysis Using Existing Databases and Cohorts funding opportunity provides a one-year operating grant for successful applicants within three streams of research:

Researchers interested in applying should visit ResearchNet for more information on eligibility, the relevant research areas and how to apply. If needed, researchers can download the  CLSA Data Access Support Letter to include with their application to CIHR.

Applicants to the funding opportunity are advised to apply for CLSA data access simultaneously in order to minimize the delay in receiving data if they are funded. The last CLSA data access deadline of this year is September 25, 2019.

In 2018, the CLSA and Canadian Urban Environmental Health Research Consortium (CANUE) linked CANUE data on air quality, weather and climate, greenness indicators and neighborhood factors, including Material and Social Deprivation Indices and Active Living Environments Indices, to CLSA Baseline data from more than 50,000 participants. This linkage allows researchers to understand the impact environmental factors have on health and aging in Canada.

Linked data available to researchers include:

  • Estimated exposures of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, ozone and fine particulate matter
  • Nighttime light
  • Material and Social Deprivation Indices
  • Canadian Active Living Environments Index (walkability index)
  • Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (greenness)
  • Meteorological data (weather and climate)

The deadline to register for the CIHR Data Analysis Using Existing Cohorts funding opportunity is September 5, 2019.  Full applications are due October 10, 2019, with funding expected to begin in March 2020.

For more information on how to access CLSA Data, please review the CLSA Data Access Application Process.