Centre opens for cardiovascular and pulmonary research

Vancouver, BC December 8, 2003 The James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research, a UBC-affiliated, Providence Health Care-based research facility, has been officially opened.

The purpose of iCAPTURE is to link recent breakthroughs in genetic sciences to an understanding of how abnormal genes change the structure and function (phenotype) of cells, tissues and organs of the body to cause heart, blood vessel and lung disease.

"Heart, blood vessel and lung diseases cause suffering or death to millions of Canadians each year," says Dr Bruce McManus, scientific director of the Canadian Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health (ICRH) and co-director of the iCAPTURE Centre. "We need a better understanding of why some people develop serious health problems like asthma, heart attacks, emphysema and blocked blood vessels while others with the same known risk factors do not."

The total funding required to make iCAPTURE a reality was $17.4 million. This funding was provided by the Canada Foundation for Innovation ($6.5 million), BC Knowledge Development Fund ($6.5 million), UBC Blusson Foundation ($2 million), technology vendors ($1.2 million), the Heart and Stroke Foundation of BC & Yukon ($400,000) and the BC Lung Association ($400,000). Providence Health Care has also committed ongoing personnel funding of $1.5 million per year to run the centre.

The funding has allowed iCAPTURE to renovate 20,000 sq ft of additional research and educational space in St Paul’s Hospital, part of Providence Health Care. It will also allow researchers to take advantage of cutting-edge technology such as confocal, transmission electron and atomic-force microscopes. By providing such tools to phenotype the cells, tissues, and organs of individuals who are affected by cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases, iCAPTURE can help find ways to improve clinical care.