Canadian Arthritis Network - Today's Arthritis Research

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA INVESTS $90.5 MILLION IN HEALTH AND ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

OTTAWA, November 5, 2004 - The Honourable David L. Emerson, Minister of Industry, today announced a $90.5 million, four-year investment in seven Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE).

"With this major investment, the Government of Canada will enable Networks of Centres of Excellence to mobilize and apply intellectual and financial resources from across the country and focus them on issues critical to our health, industry and society," said Minister Emerson.

Dr. Tom Brzustowski, Chair of the Networks of Centres of Excellence Steering Committee and President of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), emphasized that, "Canada has a long tradition of university-based research excellence. Networks of Centres of Excellence, which create a critical mass of research capacity in complex areas, boost our capacity to solve important problems, attract and retain highly skilled people, and generate valuable intellectual property."

Today’s announcement establishes one new network and supports the work of six existing networks. Following a national competition, the NCE Selection Committee, made up of international experts with expertise in the health, social and natural sciences, selected AllerGen (Allergy, Genes and Environment Network) as its newest Network of Centres of Excellence from a field of five full proposals culled from 31 Letters of Intent.

AllerGen, hosted by McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, will receive $20,865,000
from 2005 to 2009.

Based on expert panel reports, detailed progress reports and strategic plans, the NCE Selection Committee also awarded funding for another seven years to four established NCEs. The first four years of funding will be disbursed. Funding for the remaining three years will be decided after mid-term reviews of the networks’ progress in the fourth year of their NCE grant.

The other networks due to receive a second cycle of funding are:

The Canadian Arthritis Network (hosted by Mt. Sinai Hospital, Toronto) $16,292,000
MITACS (The Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems hosted by Simon Fraser University, Burnaby) $21,603,000
The Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations (hosted by Université Laval, Que.) $16,972,000
GEOIDE (The Geomatics for Informed Decisions (hosted by Université Laval, Que.) $14,018,000

In addition, two other Networks of Centres of Excellence established since 1990 will receive research management funding to enable them to complete their knowledge, technology transfer and exploitation activities. The Canadian Genetic Diseases Network, based at the University of British Columbia and the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems managed by Precarn in Ottawa will receive $500,000 and $250,000 respectively.

Further details on these networks can be found in the attached backgrounder and on the NCE website (www.nce.gc.ca).