Backgrounder
September 18, 2008
ONTARIO RESEARCH FUND
The Ontario Research Fund helps to attract and retain the best research talent from around the world by ensuring Ontario universities and research institutes have the equipment and infrastructure they need to remain at the forefront of global research excellence and scientific breakthroughs.
Today’s announcement will provide more than $21 million to support 14 institutions and 116 projects and involve nearly 1,000 health scientists and researchers across the province.
Lead researchers receiving funding include:
- Dr. Dorota Crawford (York University), who is working to develop more effective therapies for autistic children by studying what goes wrong in early childhood brain development, and specifically targeting the role of genes and environmental factors such as toxic substances, which may trigger autism in susceptible individuals
- Dr. Tak Mak (University of Toronto), who is pioneering new treatments for breast cancer by inventing new ways to block the growth and spread of cancerous tumour cells
- Dr. Duncan Stewart (University of Ottawa), who is using his world-leading expertise in blood vessel biology to build new methods of treating vascular disease, a leading cause of death in Canada
- Dr. Jamie Joseph (University of Waterloo), who is discovering new ways to transplant healthy insulin-producing cells to better treat people suffering from diabetes.
The funding is part of Ontario’s $3-billion Innovation Agenda, which is supporting world-class research and innovative companies in areas where the province already is, or can be, a global leader.
Ontario’s innovation priorities are:
- Tackling climate change through bio-based, environmental, alternative energy and clean technologies
- Advancing the digital universe through new information and communications technologies
- Conquering disease through life sciences, biotechnology, advanced health technologies and pharmaceutical research.
See also:
- News Release: Making Health Research Work For Patients
- Backgrounder: Inventing The Future Of Health Care
- Backgrounder: Lifes Sciences, Advanced Health Technologies And Pharmaceutical Research Projects
- Recipients
