Canadian researchers receive grant for genome sequencing

Miami, FL – NTM Info & Research (NTMir), a Miami, Florida based not-for-profit organization, says that its first international research grant has been awarded to the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre to provide funding for “The Complete Genome Sequence of Mycobacterium avium intracellulare.”

NTMir is headed by Montreal native and former resident Philip Leitman. The McGill grant is the third study funded by NTMir in its innovative research initiative, Rapid Information Pilot Studies. The program provides guidance about pressing issues regarding pulmonary NTM host vulnerability, sources of infection, and clinical treatment issues.

“The McGill project fits very nicely within the objectives of our RIPS(TM) program,” says Mr Leitman. “The outstanding reputation of both McGill University and their principal investigator, Dr Marcel Behr, was a key consideration in awarding this research grant, as well as the urgent need for better understanding of the M avium intracellulare strain of NTM.”