Canada’s major federal funding agency for health research is inviting members of the Memorial community to an interactive town hall.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is hosting an hour-long virtual meeting with Memorial on Tuesday, May 18, at 1:30 p.m.

President Vianne Timmons will join CIHR President Dr. Michael Strong for the event.

Researchers, research administration staff and post-doctoral fellows are invited to attend.

Joining Drs. Timmons and Strong will be Dr. Neil Bose, vice-president (research) and Dr. Robert Bertolo, professor, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, who is Memorial’s CIHR University Delegate.

Dr. Strong will provide updates from CIHR, including its 2021-31 strategic plan. The town hall also provides Dr. Strong the opportunity to learn more about the innovative work of Memorial researchers and the university’s research priorities.

How to participate

Attendees will have an opportunity to ask questions and share their perspectives.

Questions can be submitted in advance via email to president@mun.ca (please use subject line CIHR Town Hall) or live via the Q&A function.

If audience members would like to appear on screen to interact with Drs. Strong and Timmons directly, that can be arranged during the event through the Q&A function.

How to join

Members of the Memorial community who plan on attending this event should visit here to enrol in the course called “CIHR Town Hall.”

The link, which requires your MUN Login, will automatically enrol you and take you to the course site in Brightspace. This can be done at any point between now and the event start time.

On May 18, attendees should return to Brightspace prior to the 1:30 p.m. start time to join the event. There will be two options for joining the forum: a Webex link that will allow you to ask questions and join the conversation or a view-only YouTube stream for those who want to watch the event but not actively participate.

Please note the Webex event is limited to 1,000 participants. If that number is reached, all additional attendees will be directed to the view-only stream.

‘Grateful’ for support

“It is a privilege for Memorial to host the Canadian Institutes of Health Research for this open dialogue to hear important updates from the agency,” said Dr. Timmons.

“Our researchers are globally recognized for their innovative health-related discoveries and breakthroughs in areas ranging from genetics to hearing loss. We are grateful to CIHR for its ongoing support of this work, particularly as we intensify our research activities and attract new faculty and graduate students to Newfoundland and Labrador.”

For those who cannot attend the live event on May 18, it will be archived and available at a later date.