June 22, 2017
Researcher Shahirose Premji receives CIHR funding for second time in a month
Shahirose Premji has received Canadian Institutes of Health Research funding in support of her work.
Greg Teckles
For the second time in one month, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) has awarded associate professor Shahirose Premji, RN, PhD, with funding in support of her work on mothers and preterm babies.
Premji was notified of the success of her Project Grant Fall 2016 competition, Psychosocial Distress During Pregnancy and Pathways to Preterm Birth: Building Evidence in LMIC to Guide Targeted Psychosocial Interventions, in late May. This study furthers Premji’s global health research into understanding the association between emotional distress of South Asian pregnant women and the increased risk of giving birth early in low and middle income countries (LMIC).
“Our study measures biological responses to emotional distress in Pakistani women in some of the most extreme socio-economic and cultural conditions,” Premji explains. “We follow these women to birth to determine if their babies are born early, before 37 weeks, and examine targeted psychosocial intervention to be responsive to the mental health needs of Pakistani women. Not only will our results benefit women in LMIC, but findings can help clinicians and the health care system in Canada more effectively manage mental health of Pakistani immigrant women.”
Understanding of psychosocial pathways to preterm birth will inform future research around how psychosocial interventions reduce risk.
One of the other five principal investigators on this grant is Nicole Letourneau, also from UCalgary’s Faculty of Nursing.
The CIHR Project Grant is in partnership with the Aga Khan University, Karachi campus and builds on the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Scholarship and Advanced Scholar programs.
CIHR Project Scheme Grants are designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes. Funding is available to both emerging and established investigators for research projects of one to five years. In the October 2016 competition, the University of Calgary received 30 awards for a total of $16,434,428.