CIHR grant supports pan-Canadian harm reduction network led by PHS Associate Dean
March 19/2026
Backed by $2 million from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Professor Carol Strike and her team are launching a national harm reduction network to advance evidence-based strategies, inform policy, and enhance the health and safety of people who use substances nationwide.
Within Canada’s health system, supports for people who use substances remain fragmented and unevenly distributed, and are under growing pressure from an increasingly toxic drug supply, including fentanyl and other adulterants fueling overdoses and infectious disease. Professor Carol Strike, Associate Dean of Public Health Sciences at DLSPH, and Associate Professor Adrian Guta (DLSPH and the University of Windsor), are leading a research team to develop a national, community-based network designed to strengthen supports across Canada. The initiative is backed by a $2 million grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). “Securing this funding is profoundly meaningful to me as a researcher, as I have spent most of my career working at the intersection of HIV, sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) prevention, substance use health, and harm reduction,” says Strike. “This project represents more than a new study — it builds on decades of partnership, innovation and capacity building to address the rising challenges posed by the toxic drug supply, stigma and policy shifts that continue to shape HIV and STBBI risk across Canada.”
Strike’s approach includes three important focus areas that will maintain a self-reinforcing cycle: research and innovation, capacity building, and knowledge translation.
Research and Innovation
Strike and her team will establish a national research platform to monitor and analyze substance use–related policies across federal, provincial, and municipal jurisdictions. The platform will house a searchable policy database to generate timely interactive dashboards that make emerging trends clear and actionable. The initiative will also support the co-development of national standards, competencies, and performance indicators — equipping jurisdictions with practical tools such as implementation checklists, visual guides, and provincial scorecards. Among its signature outputs will be a Substance Use Health Bill of Rights and equity-focused policy analyses designed to strengthen accountability across systems.
Drawing on this foundation, the team will launch a secure, consent-driven Data Integration and Methods Lab to synthesize and compare data across regions while upholding Indigenous data sovereignty. The network will also map innovations emerging in rural, remote, and small communities to ensure that underserved populations are not only included, but leading change.
Capacity Building
To create a sustainable system, training is imperative. That is why Strike’s research team will be initiating a research buddy system where experienced peer investigators will provide hands-on mentoring on topics including ethics and digital tools to emerging community researchers. The team of researchers will also provide technical assistance to community organizations – especially to those led by people who use drugs and Indigenous-governed groups – so that they can learn how to write grant applications, govern and make data-informed decisions.
Strike and her co-researchers will provide open access, case-based modules for clinicians and harm reduction workers that will ensure these frontline practitioners have the tools and anti-stigma education necessary to provide safe care. Finally, the researchers will provide structured mentorship, workshops at the Annual meeting of the Canadian Association for HIV Research for trainees and people with lived experience, and support seed grants for new investigators from Indigenous and other racialized communities.
Knowledge Translation
At its core, the project is built around two-way learning: community knowledge will shape research, and research will strengthen community advocacy and frontline practice. The goal is not just to share information, but to drive meaningful, measurable improvements in substance use and HIV/STBBI care across Canada. Using a coordinated, multi-audience approach, Strike will ensure research quickly reaches the people who can use it. Real-time policy tracking and shared data systems will feed directly into easy-to-read briefs and webinars. Community-led storytelling and peer engagement will support people with lived and living experience, while practitioners will gain access to case-based learning and practical toolkits. Policymakers will receive timely analyses and focused briefings to inform decisions.
Strike says this nation-impacting project would not be possible without the strong partnerships and research that already exists. “The collaboration brings together researchers, clinicians, community leaders, policy organizations and people with lived and living experience from across multiple provinces, with extensive expertise in HIV, STBBI, harm reduction, substance use health, policy analysis and community-based research.” In addition to the many individuals that make this project possible, Strike credits the partner organizations that continue to contribute their complementary strengths. “Together, these integrated efforts aim to move beyond documenting gaps to actively strengthening and scaling a more connected, adaptive, and equitable system capable of responding to evolving HIV/STBBI and substance use risks across Canada.”