University of British Columbia health scientists have received
$5.5 million in research grants from the Medical Research Council
of Canada (MRC)–the largest MRC funding awarded in Western Canada
this year and the fourth largest in Canada .
“The Faculty of Medicine is delighted by the recognition given
to its outstanding basic and clinical investigators,” says Dr. John
Cairns, dean of UBC’s Faculty of Medicine. “These MRC awards recognize
the researchers’ innovative achievements and show faith in their
future productivity.”
Research projects range from studies of posture and movement in
Parkinson’s disease to research on the effects of anesthetic on
the forebrain neurons and cover a variety of disciplines from medicine
and pharmaceutical sciences to chemistry and rehabilitation sciences.
Most of the funding is in the form of 25 operating grants which
support individual researchers’ efforts for a one- to five-year
period.
Four fellowship awards each for $90,000 over three years have also
been awarded. In addition, two five-year awards totalling $152,950
have been given to graduate students.
UBC faculty conduct 80 per cent of all research in the province.
Some108 inventions and 32 patents were issued in 1996.
The MRC is the major federal agency funding health research and
training at Canadian universities, research institutes and teaching
hospitals. It has offered $82 million in research grants at institutions
across Canada so far this year.
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