BACKGROUNDER 

April 24, 2007

PREMIER'S SUMMIT AWARDS IN MEDICAL RESEARCH

The Premier's Summit Awards provide extraordinary research support to a small number of outstanding medical researchers. It is designed to help attract or retain top researchers in Ontario, by enabling them to significantly expand their research programs. Funded by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, the program is administered by the MaRS Discovery District.

The winners profiled here are internationally recognized leaders in medical research. In every case, their work is having a major impact in their field. These researchers have made a substantial and distinguished contribution to medical science, and show promise to do even more.  Each of these winners will receive up to $5 million over a five-year period, with a $2.5 million contribution from the awards program matched by $2.5 million from their sponsoring institution.

Summit Award Winner: John E. Dick

Sponsoring Institution: University Health Network, Toronto

A pioneer in cancer stem cell biology
Dr. John Dick is a pioneer in the cancer stem cell biology field. His work has transformed the conventional view of the origin and nature of cancer, opened a new field of research and led to new insights into cancer therapy. He continues to lay the groundwork for innovative cancer treatments.

Dr. Dick's research on human leukemia has produced concepts that are now being applied to solid tumour biology. His discovery that leukemias are composed of both stem cells and more differentiated cells is a key insight into cancer development. His studies have provided evidence that cancer stem cells are key therapeutic targets.

His work to understand the fundamental biology of the cancer stem cell and translate it into clinical results offers great potential for cancer treatment. This award will help move his basic research program to develop new therapies specific to cancer stem cells.

Now in the prime of his career, Dr. Dick has amassed a distinctive publication track record, with more than 115 articles in leading peer-reviewed journals that include Nature, Science, Cell, and Nature Medicine. He has been recognized nationally and internationally with numerous awards that include the Michael Smith Award for Excellence, the Robert L. Noble Prize, and the William Dameshek Prize.

 

Summit Award Winner: Tak Mak

Sponsoring Institution: University Health Network, Toronto

A long list of research accomplishments
Often called the driving force of scientific achievement in Ontario, Dr. Tak Mak has a long list of research accomplishments, topped by his 1984 discovery of the T-cell receptor. His cloning of the T-cell receptor genes helped demonstrate how T-cells are able to recognize foreign substances and pathogens invading the human body. This led to new knowledge on how the immune system interacts with tumors, a prerequisite to designing vaccines against cancer.

Dr. Mak's research continues to make great strides in the battle against many diseases, including autoimmunity, inflammatory disorders, infectious diseases and cancer. He has also made great contributions in studying tumor suppressor genes. In 1999, his group identified interleukin 13 as a key factor in tumor cells that drive Hodgkin's lymphoma. His current research on restricting energy sources to tumors is producing critical new knowledge of cancer metabolism. Dr. Mak is director of the recently created Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research at the University Health Network.

In the last five years, he has published 180 articles in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Cell, Nature, Cancer Cell and Nature Immunology. Dr. Mak has received numerous accolades and awards, including the E.W. R. Steacie Prize from the National Research Council, the Gairdner Foundation International Award, and the very prestigious General Motors Research Foundation Alfred P. Sloan Prize, for outstanding basic science contributions to cancer research.

 

Summit Award Winner: Anthony J. Pawson

Sponsoring Institution: Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute, Toronto

Contributing to every aspect of biomedical research
Dr. Pawson has spent 25 years studying how cells grow and communicate with each other. His work contributes to every aspect of biomedical research, including immunology and cancer research. It is distinguished by his landmark discovery of protein interaction domains in the mid-1980s, which introduced an entirely new framework for understanding how cells work. His work has applications in numerous human diseases such as cancer that results from breakdowns in cellular communication. 

In particular, Dr. Pawson recognized the importance of tyrosine kinases, which transmit the commands to the hormones that regulate cell growth. His discoveries have helped develop new drugs that block cancer-causing tyrosine kinases signals, and therefore stop the growth of some kinds of cancers. His work has used a unique combination of biochemistry, genetics, cell biology and structural analysis to establish a key paradigm: protein interaction domains provide a unifying mechanism in regulating cell behaviour.

Dr. Pawson was among the first scientists to recognize the importance of systems biology, and has re-engineered his lab to address this challenging field. His associates at the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute form a team representing many of the leaders of systems biology in Canada.

Last year, Her Majesty the Queen named Dr. Pawson a member of the Order of the Companions of Honour for his services to genetic sciences and cancer research. Only nine Canadians have been offered entry into this distinguished group.

 

Summit Award Winner: Peter St George-Hyslop

Sponsoring Institutions: University of Toronto and University Health Network, Toronto

Increasing our understanding of Alzheimer's disease
Dr. St George-Hyslop has made a series of scientific discoveries that have vastly increased our understanding of Alzheimer's disease. He is a pioneer in using genetic and molecular information to gain insight into the causes of neurological diseases. Dr. St George-Hyslop was one of the first scientists to realize that identifying the genes that cause inherited forms of Alzheimer's disease would offer a powerful way of discovering how it operates biochemically.

In 1995, the team led by Dr. St George-Hyslop discovered the presenilin genes as the site of mutations causing Alzheimer's disease. Five years later, they identified a key protein that causes nerve cell degeneration. This work also set the stage for the first generation of therapies for other neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's, motor neuron disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

One of the most cited authors in Alzheimer's disease research, Dr. St George-Hyslop has published more than 250 papers in leading journals that include Nature, Nature Genetics, Nature Medicine, and Science. A Fellow of the Royal Society of London, he has received numerous awards, including the Metropolitan Life Award for Medical Research (USA), the Michael Smith Gold Medal Award for Research Excellence (Canada), the Oon Prize for Medicine from the University of Cambridge (UK), the Howard Hughes Foundation International Scholar Award (USA), and the Giacchino da Flore Prize (Italy).

Premier's Summit Award Committee Members

The Premier's Summit Award program is administered by MaRS Discovery District, which established the Premier's Summit Award Committee. The Committee finalized program guidelines and oversaw program delivery.  Members are:

John Evans, President Emeritus, University of Toronto (Chair)

John Bell, Nuffield Professor of Clinical Medicine and Regius Professor of Medicine, University of Oxford

David R. Colman, Director, Montreal Neurological Institute

Brett Finlay, Peter Wall Distinguished Professor, Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia

Suzanne Fortier, President, Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada

Henry Friesen, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba. Former President of the Medical Research Council of Canada and its successor, the Canadian Institutes for Health Research

Sir Keith Peters, Regius Professor of Physic and head of the University's School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge. Currently President of the Academy of Medical Sciences (UK)

Phillip A. Sharp, Institute Professor, Center for Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Nobel Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, 1993

 

Sponsoring Institutions for Premier's Summit Award winners

 

MaRS Discovery District

MaRS is a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to maximizing the economic and social impact of innovation. MaRS does this by connecting and fostering collaboration between the communities of science, business and capital.

The MaRS Centre is located in Toronto's renowned "Discovery District" — Canada's largest concentration of biomedical research, spread across major teaching hospitals, the University of Toronto, and more than two dozen affiliated research centres.

The MaRS model uses place and partnerships to build a community in which innovators, entrepreneurs, scientists, professionals and investors can exchange knowledge, share best practices, and expand their networks. MaRS offers a broad range of educational programs and business services to address the needs of emerging and growth-oriented companies. Public outreach activities span both science and culture, while entrepreneurship programs for students reach a wide cross-disciplinary audience and create a culture that celebrates innovative ideas, entrepreneurship and commercialization.  

Website:  www.marsdd.com

 

 

Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute

The Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute of Mount Sinai Hospital, a University of Toronto affiliated research centre, was established in 1985. It is one of the world's leading centres in biomedical research. The institute has 125,000 sq. ft of laboratory space and an annual budget of $65 million (2004/2005).

The institute is committed to excellence in biomedical research and the training of young investigators. Over 200 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and clinical research fellows are being trained at the institute each year in research programs. Strong partnerships with industry and the clinical programs of Mount Sinai Hospital ensure that scientific knowledge is used to promote human health.

The research programs at the institute are focused on a number of interdisciplinary centres of excellence. The goal of these eight interrelated programs is to understand the function of genes and how genetic pathways and environmental factors lead to the development of human disease such as cancer, diabetes, hypertension, premature labour, depression and osteoporosis.

Website: www.mshri.on.ca

 

University Health Network

With an operating budget of more than $850 million, the University Health Network is one of Canada's largest teaching hospitals. University Health Network is made up of Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital and Princess Margaret Hospital. Each hospital retains its identity and name within the network.

UHN's research institutes comprise the Ontario Cancer Institute, Advanced Medical Discovery Institute, The Campbell Family Institute for Breast Cancer Research, Toronto General Research Institute and Toronto Western Research Institute.

Approximately 2,500 scientists, technical staff, students and trainees at University Health Network are working together to solve fundamental and applied research problems.

Primary funding for University Health Network comes from the Ontario Ministry of Health. Other funding sources include the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, patient services, grants and donations from individuals and corporations.

Website: www.uhn.ca

 

University of Toronto

Established in 1827, the University of Toronto is Canada's largest university, recognized as a global leader in research and teaching. U of T's distinguished faculty, institutional record of groundbreaking scholarship and wealth of innovative academic opportunities continually attract outstanding students and academics from around the world.

U of T has an operating budget of $1.187 billion, assets of over $2 billion, 11,807 full and part-time employees, and 70,143 students. It comprises 31 divisions, colleges and faculties on three campuses. This includes 75 PhD programs, 17 professional faculties, numerous research centres, ten affiliated teaching hospitals and Canada's largest university library system - the third largest research library in North America.

Website: www.utoronto.ca

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