First in Canada: pediatric applied micro-analytics research centre to be established in Montreal Français
The NRC and CHU Sainte-Justine at the forefront of precision medicine for pediatric diseases
MONTREAL, July 19, 2017 /CNW/ - CHU Sainte-Justine and the National Research Council of Canada (NRC) are joining forces by creating a new state-of-the-art centre to provide breakthroughs in pediatric precision medicine.
Combining their nanofabrication and health science expertise, numerous researchers from both the NRC and CHU Sainte-Justine research laboratories are coming together to detect and target specific cancers and other pediatric diseases using next-generation technologies. This new Innovation Centre in Applied Micro-Analytics for Pediatric Medicine (I-CAMP) is the first of its kind in Canada and is being established at the CHU Sainte-Justine hospital.
"By bringing together multidisciplinary expertise, including engineers, biomedical researchers and clinicians, we are creating an innovative ecosystem to tackle the challenges associated with pediatric diseases", said Dr. Fabrice Brunet, President and CEO of the CHU Sainte-Justine. "In this era of precision medicine, our ultimate goal is to diagnose disease more rapidly and intervene more efficiently."
One of the main objectives of this initiative is to tackle cancer, which remains the main cause of disease-related death in children in Canada. The Centre will target different cancers such as leukemia, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in children in Canada, and improve methods to detect cancer cells and accelerate discoveries in pediatric oncology. And there are plans to expand these efforts in other areas of pediatric precision medicine, such as preterm birth.
"Together we will focus on improving methods of detection, discovery of novel biomarkers including therapeutic avenues, as well as attracting other ecosystem players to broaden the pool of expertise for this unique initiative," said Iain Stewart, President of the National Research Council of Canada. "Our vision is to enable clinicians to test these jointly developed innovations, such as lab-on-a-chip, to improve the health of children."
Over the next five years, highly qualified NRC personnel and CHU Sainte-Justine postdoctoral fellows, and graduate students will work and train together at the Centre which will open in the fall 2017.
Associated Links
SOURCE National Research Council Canada
Media Relations Team, National Research Council of Canada, 613-991-1431, 1-855-282-1637 (24/7), [email protected], Twitter: @nrc_cnrc; Mélanie Dallaire, Executive advisor - External communications, CHU Sainte-Justine, 514 345-7707 (phone), 514 415-5727 (pager), [email protected]
Share this article