ARCHIVED - Health Research - Investing in Canada's Future 2003-2004
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Regional Profiles – Quebec
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) funded health research in Quebec
Quebec at a Glance
Health researchers in Quebec universities and hospitals are among the world’s best. This commitment to excellence is reflected in the proportion of CIHR funding that goes to investigators in Quebec — over $173 million in 2002-2004, up from $106 million three years previously, accounting for nearly 30% of CIHR’s total funding base.
Examples of CIHR-funded health research in Quebec
Dr. Johanne Desrosiers:
Home Care for Seniors
Université de Sherbrooke
Seniors who spend a short time in hospital after a stroke tend to return to their homes without the assistance they need. CIHR Institute of Aging researcher, Dr. Johanne Desrosiers, at the Université de Sherbrooke, is using both qualitative and quantitative methods to compare the services that are available with the needs of these seniors. Her research could lead to changes in the way services are offered to better meet the needs of seniors returning home after a stroke, thus reducing the number of elderly who need to move to an institution.
Dr. Pierre Haddad:
Traditional Medicine
Université de Montréal
The prevalence of diabetes in Aboriginal populations is high. Among the Cree population of Northern Quebec it has increased from 4.1% in 1989 to 12.5% in 2002. CIHR Institute of Aboriginal People’s Health researcher, Dr. Pierre Haddad, at the Université de Montréal, will lead a team of researchers who will explore ways to integrate traditional medicine with modern science in order to improve the health of the Cree of Northern Quebec. Together with Cree healers and Elders, this team will identify plants that have been used in traditional treatments to relieve diabetes symptoms. Laboratory tests and a clinical trial will be carried out to understand the effectiveness of these plants. At the same time, a survey will identify the most appropriate way to incorporate traditional yet standardized plant extracts into the Cree diet and lifestyle.
Dr. Daniel Sinnett:Childhood Leukemia
Centre hospitalier universitaire mère-enfant Sainte-Justine
Leukemia is the most common form of cancer in children and is also one of the most curable cancers, owing to advances in treatment. Nearly 80% of children with leukemia will survive the disease, compared with only 40% in the 1970s. CIHR Institute of Genetics researcher, Dr. Daniel Sinnett, at the Centre hospitalier universitaire mère-enfant Sainte-Justine (Montreal), and his team have identified an area of a human chromosome that contains a tumour-suppressing gene. ETV6, one of the genes in this area, codes for a transcription-regulating factor that is absent in a large number of children with leukemia. The team is now carrying out integrated DNA, RNA and proteins research with a view to understanding the role of ETV6 in the development of leukemia. This research will make possible the development of diagnostic tools, as well as more appropriate and more effective treatments for leukemia patients.
Corporate Profiles
Chronogen Inc. (Montreal)
With the increase in life expectancy in industrial societies, the study of aging is the focus of a large number of academic, health & welfare, and research institutions. In North America, the average lifespan has increased by 30 years over the course of the 20th century, and today, about 40 million people in North America are over 65 years old. Although many people enjoy a high quality of life as they age, they are nonetheless increasingly susceptible to a wide variety of diseases. This disease prevalence in the aged population, compared to younger age classes, indicates the existence of a strong time-dependent increase in the incidence of cardio and cerebrovascular disorders, neurodegenera-tive diseases, and cancer. With the discovery of genes that control aging and the need for a new approach to discover effective treatments, CIHR-funded researcher Dr. Siegfried Hekimi, professor of biology at McGill University, founded Chronogen Inc. headquartered in Montreal in 1998. The company’s mission is the commercialization of novel treatments for age-dependent diseases, with an initial focus on cardiovascular disorders and cancer.
Website: www.chronogen-inc.com
DiagnoCure Inc. (Quebec City)
Prostate cancer is the most frequent cancer in men and is usually curable when localised in the prostate. Over 200,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the United States alone. Bladder cancer is the most common tumor of the urinary system. It is estimated that 60,000 new cases of bladder cancer are diagnosed in the United States and Canada, where it is also estimated that approximately 650,000 individuals are in regular follow-up after initial treatment of bladder cancer.
CIHR-funded researcher Dr. Yves Fradet, at Université Laval developed a test to spot a genetic “marker” for prostrate cancer in urine, avoiding the need for painful biopsies. Dr. Fradet co-founded DiagnoCure Inc. in Quebec City in 1994. Today, DiagnoCure Inc. markets diagnostic tests for the detection of bladder and prostrate cancer and is developing tests to detect other cancers, including lung cancer.
Website: www.diagnocure.com
Gemin X Biotechnologies Inc. (Montreal)
In normal cells, events leading to a genetic abnormality typically cause that cell to be removed from the organism by a process called apoptosis, or cell death. Cancer cells, by contrast, can avoid apoptosis, and so instead continue to proliferate. Montreal-based, Gemin X Biotechnologies was, founded by CIHR’s Scientific Director of the Institute of Cancer Research, Dr. Philip Branton in 1999, as a result of his research on apoptosis. Dr. Branton, is an internationally renowned virologist with over 85 published scientific papers and review articles in prestigious journals to his credit and is currently a Professor of Oncology, Faculty of Medicine at McGill University. Gemin X Biotechnologies Inc. specializes in the discovery and development of novel small-molecule cancer therapeutics based on the regulation of apoptosis, the body’s natural ability to destroy injured or damaged cells.
Website: www.geminx.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.