Health researchers in Alberta awarded a total of $22M

Edmonton, AB – March 29, 2004 – The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) has announced $22 million in personnel awards for 40 health and medical researchers in Alberta. The funding provides salaries, equipment, laboratory start-up, and other support for top health researchers in the province.

At the University of Alberta, awardees include Dr Sita Gourishankar who is a practicing physician researcher – specializing in kidney transplantation. At the University of Calgary, awardees include Dr John Wallace who is carrying out research into pain and inflammation in the intestines. And at the University of Lethbridge, Dr Jeffrey Kleim, a returning awardee, is investigating therapies that could capitalize on how areas in the brain adapt in order to develop improved therapies to aid recovery for stroke patients.

AHFMR senior personnel awards are awarded to researchers in annual competitions and applications are peer-reviewed by scientists from around the world. With the new awards, to be implemented July 1, 2004, the organization says it will be funding more than 600 researchers and researchers-in-training at the province’s three main universities with a total of $240 million.