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$15 million allocated to new projects, infrastructure and attracting world-class recruits

June 17, 2009

Prion diseases affect animals and humans.  They can be infectious and cause fatal neurological disease.

 

Edmonton – Recent investments by the Alberta Prion Research Institute (APRI), and the Alberta Ingenuity Fund (AIF), which total nearly $15 million, have been committed to support new research infrastructure, university and industry-led research projects, and the recruitment of new prion researchers to Alberta.  Support from APRI and AIF has attracted additional funding from industry and other provincial and federal agencies, amounting to $26 million, for basic pre-commercial research and development across the province.   

 

Honourable Doug Horner, Minister of Advanced Education and Technology (AET), was on hand at the University of Alberta to make the announcement.

 

“We’ve begun to realize the range of social, economic and health benefits for Albertans that are waiting to be discovered through prion research,” said Doug Horner, Minister of Alberta Advanced Education and Technology. “For instance, researchers have found that there may be common factors between prion diseases and other human diseases such as autism and Alzheimer’s. Not only can this research help us find solutions to global social and health issues, but it will also enhance the growth of Alberta’s Next Generation Economy.”

 

Building provincial capacity in prion research has led to the recruitment of experts Drs Valerie Sim, Debbie McKenzie and Judd Aiken, to the Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases at the University of Alberta.  Industry projects aimed at basic and pre-commercial research involving partnerships with industrial collaborators – Sanimax and ChemRoutes Corporation, have received funding from various partner including : AIF’s nanoWorks Program, the National Institute for Nanotechnology, APRI, PrioNet Canada and the University of Alberta.  These effective partnerships between industry and provincial and federal agencies allows for optimal investments in the area of prion research. Another key aspect of this announcement is the funding towards the new bio-safety level 2 laboratory, at the University of Calgary, which will allow APRI funded researchers to study different forms of prions.          

 

“APRIs immediate goal is to unravel the mysteries associated with of prions. But the end result is more than just answers.  In working to achieve our goals, we are building research capacity and expertise here in Alberta” said Dr. Kevin Keough, interim Executive Director of APRI.  

The Alberta Prion Research Institute is a $35 million initiative that supports top researchers working on solutions to the serious scientific and socioeconomic challenges associated with prions, the proteins that cause diseases such as Creutzfeldt-Jakob-Disease (CJD) in humans, BSE in cattle, and CWD in deer and elk.

 

A backgrounder and a detailed list of the funding announcements are attached. 

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Contact:   Lyanne Foster, Communication Manager

   Alberta Prion Research Institute

   780-702-2724 or lyanne.foster@prioninstitute.ca