The BC Proteomics Network has received renewed funding from the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR), totaling $1.6 million over a five-year term.
The second phase of MSFHR funding will enable the platform to build on its foundation of providing support for proteomics research and education, and to become a leader in promoting proteomics-based technologies to impact the clinical practices and health systems in the province. The new funding will also help the platform work towards attaining financial sustainability in order to serve B.C. and Canadian researchers well into the future.
“The Technology/Methodology Platform program is one example of how MSFHR supports collaboration and data sharing to create a more streamlined research infrastructure,” said Diane Finegood, MSFHR president and CEO. “In its first five years, the BC Proteomics Network has established B.C. as a national leader in this emerging field and I look to following its progress in the coming years.”
During its first phase of operation, beginning in 2007, the BC Proteomics Network has established itself as a key driver of proteomics research and education in B.C. Proteomics is a rapidly emerging high technology science which involves the large scale analysis of proteins in a cell, tissue or organism, and has a demonstrated importance in clinical research and diagnostic medicine. The network has unified the province’s proteomics resources and established B.C. as a national leader in this emerging field.
Gregg Morin, Assistant Professor in the Department of Medical Genetics, and Chris Overall, a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, are the two Co-Leaders of the network, which is based at the Biomedical Research Centre on UBC’s Vancouver campus.
“We thank the MSFHR for this new funding and are excited about the opportunity to grow proteomics resources in the province with the expectation of an improvement in healthcare practices over the next 5 years,” said Christoph Borchers, Scientific Director of the BC Proteomics Network.