$7.5M fund to advance Alzheimer’s research in BC

Vancouver, BC – A $7.5 million fund has been created for research into Alzheimer’s disease. Partners in the fund are the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research(MSFHR), Brain Canada, the Pacific Alzheimer Research Foundation, and Genome BC.

Five new projects will be funded through this opportunity, each valued at up to $1.5 million.

MSFHR initiated the creation of the partnership with $1.5 million from British Columbia’s provincial government. The partnership’s goal is to advance research in the province into biological causes and therapeutic treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Genome BC is contributing $1 million to advance translational or clinical research with a genomics component into direct benefits for patients.

The Pacific Alzheimer Research Foundation is contributing $1.25 million for research focused on biological causes and therapeutic treatments for Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias.

Brain Canada will match the other partners’ contributions dollar for dollar with funds from the Canada Brain Research Fund, a public-private partnership between Brain Canada and the Government of Canada.

“MSFHR is proud to have initiated this partnership to accelerate discovery by BC researchers of new approaches to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of this devastating disease,” says Dr. Diane Finegood, MSFHR president and CEO.

This collaboration builds on recent work by the partners to support BC researchers in neurology. Last month, MSFHR and Genome BC contributed a total of $600,000 to two Brain Canada grants totalling $3 million awarded to UBC researchers (Dr. Neil Cashman and Dr. Terence Snutch) leading interprovincial teams investigating brain diseases including ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, epilepsy, and autism).

Applications will be reviewed by Brain Canada. A Request for Applications is available on the Brain Canada website and includes more information for researchers interested in applying for this grant. Deadline for letters of intent is February 10, 2014.