APOGEE-Net was created in 2003 to support policy making in the area of genetics thanks to funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
APOGEE-Net is a knowledge network involving 33 people from different horizons: researchers from various disciplines from five Canadian universities (McGill University, Université de Montréal, Université Laval, Dalhousie University, Memorial University), researchers from institutions with a mandate to assist decision–making and promote knowledge transfer (AETMIS, INSPQ, CSBE–Commissaire à la santé et au bien-être), representatives from governmental bodies involved in policy making in genetics (Québec, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland and Labrador) and four citizens.
The originality of the network largely resides in the active involvement of decision makers and in the special role played by organizations with an institutional knowledge transfer function.
Objectives
The primary objectives of the network include:
- producing transdisciplinary research;
- research and receptor capacity building; and
- knowledge transfer.
The group’s scientific activities are centered around three broad research themes:
- genetics and health services;
- genetics and public health;
- genetics and public information.
One of APOGEE-Net’s objectives is to train a new generation of individuals willing to contribute to the development of evidence-based health policies in the field of genetics.
In that context, APOGEE-Net offers each year several training awards for master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral students whose interests coincide with the network’s aims. APOGEE-Net awards are tied in with a highly original training program.
Activities
Twice a year, the network holds a meeting with all of its members and training-award recipients. These meetings offer the opportunity to launch research projects and to present and interpret research findings. They are also occasions for participants to share information, which enables knowledge transfer and promotes transdisciplinary research.
APOGEE-Net frequently invites guest speakers to take part in these meetings, which helps maintain and strengthen the ties between the network’s members and other actors in the field of genetics.
Priority research questions
Six priority research themes were identified by the members of APOGEE-Net during a collective priority-setting exercise held in the spring of 2004:
- Population-based genetic screening criteria
- Public involvement in decision making
- Models of service organization and professional roles and responsibilities
- Impact of introducing new genetic technologies on health care services
- Analysis of the current process for introducing new technologies and roles and responsibilities with respect to the technology transfer process
- Implementation of policies on genetic material and information management
