skyscraper_1
Oct 20, 2007, 6:14 PM
The $42-million Life Sciences Research Institute to be built in Halifax will become an advanced international centre for stem-cell research.
Researchers at the institute will help save lives of victims of conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and spinal cord injury.
But the institute will also act as an incubator for other research projects that will add spark to the life sciences and biotechnology sectors in Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, supporters of the project heard at a sod-turning Friday.
"We want to become the leading brain-repair centre in North America," said Dr. Ivar Mendez, a leading Canadian researcher and neurosurgeon.
The institute will begin to take shape in the spring at a site adjacent to the Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building on land donated by Dalhousie University.
It will be the first medical research facility built in Halifax since the Tupper building went up about 40 years ago.
The first tenant at the new institute will be the Brain Repair Centre, headed by Dr. Mendez.
"Stem-cell research is a critical area, and we are currently recruiting to advance important research already underway," Dr. Mendez said.
He said the institute will help the region attract and retain top-notch physicians and researchers.
Ottawa confirmed $15 million in cash for the project Monday, while the province is contributing about $9 million for various phases of the project. The institute will provide much-needed research space and add to the quality of available health care throughout Atlantic Canada, said federal ACOA minister Peter MacKay.
"This will benefit the economic growth of the Atlantic provinces by attracting new business, a highly skilled scientific workforce and new investment," he said.
Premier Rodney MacDonald said the institute will significantly advance work of the Brain Repair Centre and pave the way for future research and breakthroughs.
Dalhousie University, the Capital district health authority and the IWK Health Centre have established a partnership to manage the institute.
"It will create opportunities for new research to take place and provide an environment where ideas will be encouraged to move beyond the laboratory," said Dalhousie president Tom Traves. A sod-turning for the institute was staged inside the Tupper building because a parking lot occupies the spot where the new structure will be erected.
The five-storey building will provide space where brain-repair researchers can work together in a unique, open-space environment designed to encourage collaboration.
Dr. Mendez said this important research is being conducted in separate labs at Dalhousie’s medical school and health authority and IWK Health Centre facilities.
Planners are now determining which other research groups will occupy space in the building, but they have already decided to devote one floor to the development of commercially viable projects.
http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Business/967124.html
Researchers at the institute will help save lives of victims of conditions like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and spinal cord injury.
But the institute will also act as an incubator for other research projects that will add spark to the life sciences and biotechnology sectors in Nova Scotia and throughout Atlantic Canada, supporters of the project heard at a sod-turning Friday.
"We want to become the leading brain-repair centre in North America," said Dr. Ivar Mendez, a leading Canadian researcher and neurosurgeon.
The institute will begin to take shape in the spring at a site adjacent to the Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building on land donated by Dalhousie University.
It will be the first medical research facility built in Halifax since the Tupper building went up about 40 years ago.
The first tenant at the new institute will be the Brain Repair Centre, headed by Dr. Mendez.
"Stem-cell research is a critical area, and we are currently recruiting to advance important research already underway," Dr. Mendez said.
He said the institute will help the region attract and retain top-notch physicians and researchers.
Ottawa confirmed $15 million in cash for the project Monday, while the province is contributing about $9 million for various phases of the project. The institute will provide much-needed research space and add to the quality of available health care throughout Atlantic Canada, said federal ACOA minister Peter MacKay.
"This will benefit the economic growth of the Atlantic provinces by attracting new business, a highly skilled scientific workforce and new investment," he said.
Premier Rodney MacDonald said the institute will significantly advance work of the Brain Repair Centre and pave the way for future research and breakthroughs.
Dalhousie University, the Capital district health authority and the IWK Health Centre have established a partnership to manage the institute.
"It will create opportunities for new research to take place and provide an environment where ideas will be encouraged to move beyond the laboratory," said Dalhousie president Tom Traves. A sod-turning for the institute was staged inside the Tupper building because a parking lot occupies the spot where the new structure will be erected.
The five-storey building will provide space where brain-repair researchers can work together in a unique, open-space environment designed to encourage collaboration.
Dr. Mendez said this important research is being conducted in separate labs at Dalhousie’s medical school and health authority and IWK Health Centre facilities.
Planners are now determining which other research groups will occupy space in the building, but they have already decided to devote one floor to the development of commercially viable projects.
http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/Business/967124.html