Inaugural Canada Excellence Research Chair appointed to UBC: up to $10M towards research in Parkinson’s, neurodegenerative disorders in adults and children.
The University of British Columbia and its affiliated research institutes today welcomed Dr. Matthew Farrer as its first Canada Excellence Research Chair in Neurogenetics and Translational Neuroscience. Nineteen inaugural chairholders at 13 universities were announced earlier today in Toronto.
The Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) program was established by the federal government in 2008 to help build a critical mass of expertise in strategic areas. For each chair, universities will receive up to $10 million over seven years to support chairholders and their teams.
Farrer will join the UBC Faculty of Medicine from the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida and establish research teams and laboratories at the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT) at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) and at the Brain Research Centre (BRC) at UBC and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute. The teams will study the molecular origins of brain diseases and pioneer new strategies for early detection and improved treatments for Parkinson’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders in adults and children.
UBC Vice President Research and International John Hepburn was joined today by Member of Parliament Ed Fast, CMMT Director Dr. Michael Hayden and BRC Director Dr. Max Cynader in a welcoming ceremony at CFRI on Monday morning.
"We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Farrer to Vancouver to join an already stellar cluster of world-renowned brain and neuroscience researchers based here," said Hepburn. "The investment that the Government of Canada has made through the Canada Excellence Research Chair program will undoubtedly yield breakthroughs in knowledge and treatment for brain diseases and injuries."
Dr. Farrer has been a collaborator of Dr. Jon Stoessl, director of the Pacific Parkinson's Research Centre to which TRIUMF supplies key medical isotopes for brain scans of 1,500 patients per year. Acknowledging his long-time relationship with Dr. Stoessl and Dr. Vesna Sossi, Dr. Farrer noted that Vancouver is becoming a city of excellence in medical imaging and neurology.
It is estimated that 10 million Canadians – nearly one-third of Canada’s population – will be affected by brain disease, disorder or injuries at some time in their lives. The financial burden of treating these conditions is estimated to cost the Canadian healthcare systems $30 billion annually.
Ed Fast referred to the CERC program as a "magnet for talent" to attract the world's best researchers to Canada. Dr. Michael Hayden observed that, "The CERC chair is the 'Own the Podium' program for science."
The CERC national announcement is available at www.cerc.gc.ca.
-- By T.I. Meyer, adapted from UBC Newswire