Total grant amount: US$8.7 million

( Grand Challenge No. 10 - Discover drugs and delivery systems that minimize micro-organisms
Project Title: Novel Therapeutics that Boost Innate Immunity to Treat Infectious Diseases
The rampant and abundant infectious diseases existing around the world are major sources of illness that threaten people of every age, gender and race. The innate response of the immune system is the body's first line of defense against these infectious agents, and its success is seen through the body's maintenance and health. Dr. Finlay and his team hope to bolster this success by examining innate responses to various pathogens, in order to discover and develop new strategies, innovations, and drug therapies that will enhance and amplify these innate responses and, hence, help fight infectious disease. With this study, a database of innate responses to infectious agents will be collected and made publicly available.

History of CIHR Support:

Brief Biography of Dr. Brett Finlay:

Recipient of the Michael Smith Award in Health Research
Dr. B. Brett Finlay is a Professor in the Michael Smith Laboratory and the Departments of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and Microbiology and Immunology, University of British Columbia and the Peter Wall Distinguished Professor at the University of British Columbia. Hailed as a national treasure, Dr. Brett Finlay has made important contributions to the molecular understanding of Salmonella and pathogenic E. coli.. In 1997, Dr. Finlay discovered how the E.coli 0157:H7 bacterium binds to its host cell. He later developed a vaccine for cattle that is successfully destroying this strain of the bacterium, reducing the human toll of E. coli outbreaks such as the one that took place in Walkerton, Ontario in the summer of 2000. As an undergraduate, Dr. Finlay studied biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Alberta. In 1986, he completed his PhD in biochemistry and went on to become a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. In 1999, Dr. Finlay was the first Canadian to present the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Holiday Lectures, reaching 15,000 North American high schools. The author of more than 250 highly respected scientific articles; he is also a CIHR Distinguished Investigator. Dr. Finlay is co-founder of Inimex Pharmaceuticals Inc., a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and is the recipient of numerous awards, including four Howard Hughes Medical Institute International Research Scholar awards.