Research Teams & Themes
National Teams
The Translational Science Team
The Translational Science team is led by Dr. Philip Joseph of the Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, and by Dr. Eileen O’Meara of the Montreal Heart Institute, Montreal, QC, Canada.
The goal of this team is to better understand the determinants of progression from risk factors to HF and death, and to test whether interventions at different stages can prevent progression and improve prognosis. HF is the end result of several complex processes that are only partially understood, with different phenotypic presentations and a range of comorbidities that affect survival and quality of life (QOL). This team focuses on three important but relatively neglected areas of HF research:
The Pediatric & Congenital Health Team
The Pediatric Team is co-led by Dr. Seema Mital and Dr. Aamir Jeewa, both from SickKids, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Cardiomyopathies (CMP) and congenital heart diseases (CHD) are the leading causes of heart failure (HF) in children, with a growing number of children and young adults requiring lifelong cardiac care. There are no targeted therapies and drugs developed for adults have limited efficacy in children. Children are often diagnosed late, with under-recognition of diastolic HF (DHF) and right ventricular failure. Therefore, the objectives of the pediatric team are:
Improving Access & Quality of the HF Journey Team
The Access Team is led by Dr. Sean Virani of Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Advances in the treatment of heart failure (HF) have improved the prognosis and quality of life for people with HF. Unfortunately, significant disparities in timely access to integrated and coordinated health care for people with HF exist across Canada and are exacerbated in vulnerable populations. Barriers to improving the care of patients with HF include delayed diagnosis, inadequate patient empowerment, poor support systems, discontinuity of care after hospital discharge, and underuse of proven therapies (HS HF Roundtable 2021). This team proposes a multi-pronged approach that engages patients to identify their priorities and seeks solutions that are adaptable to the Canadian healthcare ecosystem (10 provinces, 3 territories and Indigenous populations). The main objectives of the Access Team are then:
Indigenous Health and Wellness Team
The Indigenous Health and Wellness team is led by Dr. Alexandra King, a member of the Nipissing First Nation (Ontario), and by Dr. Malcolm King, a member of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, both from the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SASK, Canada. This team focuses on improving the prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of HF in Indigenous people living in Indigenous communities.
As outlined on the Translational Team, the CHF Alliance will help complete the GWAS and biomarker panel of the CAHHM First Nations Cohort and support the co-development of Indigenous co-identified priority projects, including the identification of high-risk individuals for HF.
In addition, the team has identified two priorities that will lead to project development. The first is to map the patient journey of Indigenous people living with HF, while the second is to improve access to care for patients diagnosed with HF/LV dysfunction by adaptating of the CANet VIRTUES and HOPE-HF trial program to a culturally safe and responsive model for Indigenous populations.
Collaborative Research Programs
The Right Ventricle Network of Networks (RV/N2)
The RV/N2 collaborative project is led by Dr. Duncan Stewart of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
The right ventricle (RV) is critical for functional capacity and clinical outcomes in a variety of cardiovascular diseases, including pulmonary hypertension (PH) and various forms of congenital heart disease (CHD). However, the RV has received much less attention than the left ventricle (LV). The RV has a remarkable capacity to undergo profound adaptations to accommodate volume or pressure overload; however, there is tremendous interindividual heterogeneity in the ability of the RV to adapt. In many patients, maladaptive RV remodeling leads to right ventricular failure (RVF) and ultimately to death or transplantation. Therapies that have proven effective in LVF have not worked in RVF. The RV/N2 will leverage the tremendous strengths and resources across Canada, as well as strategic international collaborations, to identify novel therapeutic strategies for RVF and build a clinical trial platform that spans the life continuum to shed light on different RVF subtypes.
Heart Outcomes Prevention Evaluation in Heart Failure: HOPE-HF
The HOPE-HF collaborative project is led by Dr. Robert McKelvie of Western University, London, ON, Canada.
Adoption of proven therapies for HF is suboptimal in Canada. Specialized HF clinics improve HF management, but these are mostly located in tertiary hospitals and are accessed by only 10% of HF patients. There is a lack of integration of HF care in primary care. Therefore, building integrated and supported HF care in primary care is critical to improving HF management in the community, especially in settings where access to a HF cilinic is limited. HOPE-HF will then evaluate whether a non-physician health workers (NPHW)-led HF management program, delivered in primary care and centrally supported from tertiary care centers, will improve HF management and outcomes.
Themes
First Nations, Inuit and Métis
The First Nations, Inuits and Métis theme is led by Dr. Malcolm King, a member of Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation, and Dr. Alexandra King, a member of the Nipissing First Nation (Ontario), both from the University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SASK, Canada.
The CHF Alliance focuses on reconciliation research. Using etuaptmumk (Two-eyed Seeing)(1), we seek to interweave Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing with Western science and to work with Indigenous peoples to improve the prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of HF. The vision is to find the harmonies between Indigenous and Western approaches to create sustainable, community-centered, culture-based approaches to HF research and care.
Training, Mentoring and Capacity Development
Led by Dr. John Parker of the Unvisersity of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, the training, mentoring and capacity development team aims to implement various programs to support training within the network, including an educational training program, financial support programs, and a mentoring program.
Knowledge Mobilization
The Knowledge Mobilization (KM) team is led by Dr. Brian Clarke of Providence Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The team develops and creates content and tailors approaches in consultation with identified audiences: patients and families, healthcare professionals, the general public, government and policy makers, researchers, and industry and technology partners.
Patient Engagement and Empowerment
This theme is led by Dr. Davina Banner-Lukaris of the University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada, and by Sylvain Bédard of the Center of Excellence on Partnership with Patients and the Public (CEPPP), Montreal, QC, Canada. The Patient Engagement and Empowerment Platform was founded on patient-driven priorities and developed in partnership with people with lived experience of heart failure.
Precision Health and Artificial Intelligence
The Knowledge Mobilization (KM) team is led by Dr. Brian Clarke of Providence Health, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
The team develops and creates content and tailors approaches in consultation with identified audiences: patients and families, healthcare professionals, the general public, government and policy makers, researchers, and industry and technology partners.
The Health Disparities, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Health Disparities, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion theme ensures diversity, equity and inclusion within the network.
Lead: Dr. Michael MCGillion, McMaster University.