# Canadian Institutes of Health Research

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; French: Instituts de recherche en santé du Canada; IRSC) is a federal agency responsible for funding health and medical research in Canada. Comprising 13 institutes, it is the successor to the Medical Research Council of Canada.
CIHR supports more than 15,000 researchers and trainees through grants, fellowships, scholarships, and other funding, as part of the federal government's investment in health research. The peer review process is a vital part of CIHR. Review by panels of peers from the research community ensures that proposals approved for funding by CIHR meet internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence.
Along with the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, and the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, the CIHR forms the major source of federal government funding to post-secondary research and are collectively referred to as the "Tri-Council" or "Tri-Agency".

## History

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) is the major federal agency responsible for funding health research in Canada. It was established by an Act of Parliament in April 2000 to create new knowledge according to internationally accepted scientific standards and translate this into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products, and a stronger Canadian health care system. It replaced the Medical Research Council of Canada, which had overseen Canadian medical research since 1969. CIHR reports to Parliament through the Minister of Health and Minister of Mental Health and Addictions.

## Governance

The CIHR Act outlines a framework for the organizational establishment of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), its governance infrastructure, responsibilities of the President and Governing Council and establishment of the CIHR Institutes.
CIHR is led by its President. Overall strategic directions are set by its Governing Council, which has a mandate to oversee the direction and management of the property, business and affairs of CIHR.
The Science Council (SC) is a management committee that develops, implements and reports on CIHR's research and knowledge translation strategy, in accordance with the CIHR Act and the overarching strategic directions set out by Governing Council. This includes approving funding for some research and knowledge translation initiatives.
Day-to-day management of CIHR is led by the Executive Team.

## President

Alan Bernstein was the founding president of the agency (2000-2007), followed by Alain Beaudet (2008-2017). Michael Strong, an ALS researcher, was announced as the new president in June 2018. In November 2024, Dr. Paul C. Hébert, from the University of Ottawa, was appointed as President of CIHR.

## Institute structure

CIHR consists of 13 institutes, each headed by a Scientific Director and assisted by an Institute Advisory Board. They work together to shape a national health research agenda for Canada. The institutes bring together researchers, health professionals, and policy-makers from voluntary health organizations, provincial government agencies, international research organizations, and industry and patient groups from across the country with a shared interest in improving the health of Canadians.
The work of the institutes embraces the four pillars of health research:
* biomedical;
* clinical;
* health services; and
* population health.
A major goal of the institutes is to forge relationships across disciplines to stimulate integrative, multifaceted research agendas that respond to society's health priorities while adhering to the highest ethical standards.

## Member institutes

Each institute focuses on a specific area of research.
* Institute of Aging
* Institute of Cancer Research
* Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health
* Institute of Gender and Health
* Institute of Genetics
* Institute of Health Services and Policy Research
* Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health
* Institute of Indigenous Peoples' Health
* Institute of Infection and Immunity
* Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis
* Institute of Neurosciences, Mental Health and Addiction
* Institute of Nutrition, Metabolism and Diabetes
* Institute of Population and Public Health

## COVID-19

In June 2020, CIHR provided $109 million in funding to 139 research teams across Canada for COVID-19 research. Over the coming months and years, CIHR provided additional funding for COVID-19 research, totaling $430 million by June 2022. CIHR also worked with domestic and global partners to fund research and ensure the alignment and coordination of Canada's research with the international response. On February 16, 2021, CIHR launched the CIHR-CEPI Leadership Award for Excellence in Vaccine Research for Infectious Diseases of Epidemic Potential, co-administered with the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The results were announced in April 2023 along with a $100 million investment from Global Affairs Canada to support CEPI's new five-year strategic plan to accelerate the development of vaccines.