AMRIC gets $300K injection for research projects

The Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association will provide the Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada (AMRIC) with more than $300,000 in grants to study C. difficile, acne, hip fractures, and medication management for people admitted to hospital.

“These research projects will not only answer some fundamental scientific questions but will also lead to better health for people in the north,” said Dr. Francisco Diaz-Mitoma, CEO and scientific director of AMRIC, in a release. “This shows how important research is to improving health care.”

AMRIC is the research affiliate of Health Sciences North.

The C. difficile research project will identify patients at greater risk of developing recurring C. difficile infections. Researchers will also study the effectiveness of bacteriotherapy, which uses other bacteria to fight C. difficile.

C. difficile is a bacterial infection that has become a growing concern for hospitals around the world. The bacteria’s spores are resistant to antibiotics and can flourish in a patient’s intestinal tract when the patient is being treated with antibiotics for other infections.

The acne research will look at how bacteriophages – viruses that only infect bacteria and are harmless to people – can help people combat acne vulgaris. Acne affects up to 80 per cent of teens and adults, and has become more resistant to conventional antibiotics.

A research project to study the effectiveness of a new medication management system to eliminate medication discrepancies when patients are admitted to hospital could lead to improved patient outcomes, AMRIC said. The medication monitoring system could be used as a model across Canada.

The final research project to benefit from Northern Ontario Academic Medicine Association funding will identify key care needs for seniors before, during, and after a hip operation, and develop individualized care plans for each patient.

“Finding better health outcomes is not always accomplished by looking through a microscope. Studying and improving current ways we deliver health care is core to good medical research,” Diaz-Mitoma said in a release.