UBC Receives $10M to Research Brain, Childhood Diseases

July 18, 2007

Vancouver – The Province is investing $10 million in two University of British Columbia research projects that will fight childhood infectious diseases and brain disease in the general population, Premier Gordon Campbell announced today.

“More than six million children die each year from preventable, infectious diseases, and nearly one in three Canadians will be affected by a disease, disorder or injury of the brain,” said Campbell. “Funding vital research like this supports a healthier population, here in B.C. and worldwide, and furthers our province’s international reputation for leading-edge research, particularly in the area of human health.”

The Centre for Understanding and Preventing Infection in Children received $3.2 million toward the creation of a world-class research centre that will bring together a team of scientists from different disciplines to focus on childhood infectious diseases. It will develop preventative strategies to safeguard the lives of millions of children around the world.

The Brain Research Centre at UBC Hospital received $6.8 million to expand its Translational Research Facility, which will use innovative technology to better diagnose brain diseases and develop therapies to more effectively treat and cure them. Ten million Canadians of all ages – nearly one in three – will be affected by a disease, disorder, or injury of the brain. The centre is a partnership between the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute and UBC.

One centre neuroscientist is studying the effect of exercise on brain damage caused by prenatal exposure to alcohol. As part of his ongoing studies, he will use a video game that children affected with fetal alcohol spectrum disorder can play while it tests their spatial and sensory memory. Two other team members working in the area of dementia recently discovered a genetic cause for one form of this disease. They are now developing screening tests for families.

“We are living longer and healthier lives in this province, and inevitably, our aging population will be affected by brain diseases with increasing regularity,” said Campbell. “The Brain Research Centre is studying diseases like Alzheimer’s; stroke, which is the third leading cause of death in Canada; and depression, which causes the greatest economic impact of any disease in Canada. All of this is important to British Columbia’s social and economic future.”

“Far-sighted provincial government research investments like these represent our society’s best hope in advancing health knowledge for all age groups,” said UBC President Stephen Toope.

Since 2001, a total of 494 projects and over $316 million in funding have been approved by the provincial government under the British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund. This funding has leveraged $340 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and another $266 million from other non-provincial government sources, for a total investment in British Columbia’s research infrastructure of over $923 million.
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