The nine projects - encompassing an array of health-related disciplines - met with IHDCYH goals by supporting the Strategic Research Priority theme through a focus on Developmental Trajectories of Children and Youth. As one of 13 CIHR institutes, IHDCYH works to ensure the best start in life for all Canadians and the achievement of their potential for optimal growth and development.

Both The Network and IHDCYH share common goals in the advancement of early development, childhood health research, and knowledge transfer. The generous grant came at an opportune time, allowing the two organizations to jointly fund nine high-quality, peer-reviewed research projects in 2004-2005 focused on advancing child health.

"This joint funding arrangement between IHDCYH and The Network in support of quality health research is a great example of partnership in action," says Scott Wells, Network Manager of Fund Development. "Our willingness to combine our resources in pursuit of common goals will further strengthen language and literacy development and early learning for children in Canada."

The nine research projects fall into the following five areas and disciplines. Each one is focused on advancing child health by seeking ways to improve and sustain language and literacy development and early learning in children through novel research approaches, assessment and treatment interventions.

• Genetics of language and literacy problems:
  
  
  • Ginette Dionne, Laval University, School of Psychology.
  
  
• Hearing impairment and central temporal processing disorders (four projects):
  
  
  • Richard Seewald, The University of Western Ontario, National Centre for Audiology.
  • Jos Eggermont, University of Calgary, Department of Physiology and Biophysics and Dennis Phillips, Dalhousie University, Department of Psychology.
  • Andrée Durieux-Smith, University of Ottawa, Faculty of Health Sciences.
  • Prudence Allen, The University of Western Ontario, National Centre for Audiology.
  
  
• Dyslexia, dysarthria and other speech and language intelligibility and learning problems (two projects):
  
  
  • Megan Hodge, University of Alberta, Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology.
  • Laurel Trainor, McMaster University, Department of Psychology.
  
  
• Vision and literacy development:
  
  
  • William Bobier, The University of Waterloo, School of Optometry.
  
  
• Cognitive neuroscience:
  
  
  • Raymond Klein, Dalhousie University, Department of Psychology.

The Network values its vital partnership with IHDCYH. Through partnerships such as this one, The Network is well positioned to utilize combined resources and synergies to advance early learning and children's language and literacy development in Canada.