ARCHIVED - Health Research - Investing in Canada's Future 2003-2004
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Regional Profiles – British Columbia
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded health research in British Columbia
British Columbia at a Glance
British Columbia has world-class health researchers at numerous public research institutions including the University of British Columbia, the BC Cancer Agency and the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics to name a few.
CIHR awarded $57 million in funding to research institutions in British Columbia in 2003-2004 an increase of over 110 % from three years before.
Examples of CIHR-funded research excellence in British Columbia
Dr. Anthony W. Chow:
Combatting Bio-terrorism
University of British Columbia
The need for intensified research to counteract infections, bio-terrorism, multi-drug resistant pathogens and the prevention of catastrophic food and water-borne outbreaks has never been more critical. CIHR Institute of Infection and Immunity researcher, Dr. Anthony W. Chow, at the University of British Columbia, and his team will integrate several mechanisms and approaches to the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of bacterial, viral, fungal and parasitic infections.
Dr. Michel Rejean Leroux:
Testing for BBS
Simon Fraser University
Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS) is a potentially fatal hereditary disease characterized by blindness, obesity, kidney dysfunction and learning disabilities. In November 2003, CIHR Institute of Genetics new investigators, Drs. Michel Leroux and Dr. Oliver Blacque from Simon Fraser University, co-published in the science journal Nature, their discovery of BBS8, the sixth gene linked to the development of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome. Research on BBS by Drs. Leroux and Blacque may help scientists develop tests to screen for and correct cellular defects potentially linked to the development of obesity, kidney disease and learning disabilities.
Dr. Susan Kennedy:
Potecting Farmers
University of British Colombia
Almost 1,000 workers are employed in the grain handling industries and many more are exposed to grain dust through flour exposure and farming. These workers are at risk for both asthma and chronic obstructive lung disease. CIHR Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health researcher, Dr. Susan Kennedy, at the University of British Colombia, and her team have studied lung disease in these workers for many years and have shown that the level of dust exposure is directly linked to the degree of lung disease. Unfortunately, it is still unknown what components of the dust are the most toxic and which workers are most at risk. Dr. Kennedy will be developing and testing new methods to measure early markers of lung disease to help identify those workers most at risk.
Corporate Profiles
British Columbia is a global leader in health research and is home to approximately 100 biotech companies, with Vancouver being North America’s third fastest growing biotech region, behind only San Francisco and Boston. The majority of biotechnology companies in BC have been spun-off from the province’s universities, affiliated teaching hospitals and public sector research institutions. Since the inception of the University-Industry Liaison Office (UILO) in 1984, UBC has spun off 91 companies. In that time, the UILO has raised more than $1.3 billion from private investors. The spun-off companies are collectively responsible for creating more than 2,100 jobs, including employment for over 175 recent university graduates.
Xenon Genetics Inc. (Burnaby)
Today’s explosion of genomic knowledge promises effective new medicines for previously untreatable diseases, and safer, more specific therapies to replace existing medications. Xenon Genetics Inc. a spinoff company of Dr. Michael Hayden from the University of British Columbia is emerging as a leading company in genomics based drug discovery. The annual payroll of Xenon is about 10 times CIHR’s total investment in the original research that led to its founding. Xenon is unraveling the genes involved in a variety of human diseases, including heart disease and neurodegenerative disorders.
Website: www.xenongenetics.com
QLT Inc. (Vancouver)
Age-related Macular Degeneration is the leading cause of legal blindness in people over the age of 50. Vision loss from AMD occurs in two forms: dry and wet. The wet form is caused by growth of abnormal blood vessels under the central part of the retina or macula. Visudyne, developed by Vancouver-based QLT Inc. is the only drug approved for the treatment of some forms of wet AMD. CIHR funded researcher, Dr. Julia Levy founded Quadra Logic Technologies (QLT) Inc. in 1981 along with three fellow University of British Columbia researchers – Jim Miller, John Brown and Tony Phillips. In 2000, Visudyne, a light activated drug to treat age related macular degeneration received full regulatory approval and it has since been used to treat more than 250,000 people worldwide.
Website: www.qltinc.com
About the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is the Government of Canada’s premier agency for health research. Its objective is to excel, according to internationally accepted standards of scientific excellence, in the creation of new knowledge and its translation into improved health for Canadians, more effective health services and products and a strengthened Canadian health care system.
For more information, visit: www.cihr-irsc.gc.ca.