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Fall 2008 |
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H
E A L T H T E C H N O L O G Y
Genetics
research centre gets $11 million
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Jonathan Carpenter Photo |
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Dr. Patrick Parfrey |
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The Canada Foundation for
Innovation (CFI) has announced it will provide $11.2 million to fund the
construction of the Newfoundland and Labrador Interdisciplinary Research
Centre in Human Genetics.
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By Jonathan Carpenter |
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The Canada Foundation for Innovation
(CFI) has announced it will provide $11.2 million to fund the
construction of the Newfoundland and Labrador Interdisciplinary
Research Centre in Human Genetics.
The new four-level facility will be
located near the Health Sciences Centre and managed jointly by Eastern
Health and Memorial University. The CFI agreed to fund 40 per cent of
the construction cost, which has an estimated price tag of $30 million.
Dr. Patrick Parfrey is the principle
investigator for the project. He says the new facility will connect
researchers from different disciplines studying diseases with a genetic
component. The co-principle investigators include Drs. Terry-Lynn Young
(molecular genetics), Proton Rahman (genetic epidemiology), Bridget
Fernandez (provincial medical genetics) and Daryl Pullman (medical
ethics). “What we’re trying to do is bring the clinical genetics
programs together with the research programs and develop a genetic data
management bank and infrastructure, which will allow for better
research,” says Dr. Parfrey. “We’ll be able to focus on the genetic
basis of monogenic and complex diseases and evaluate the application of
molecular genetics to the community in terms of identifying people
carrying high-risk mutations and intervening to prevent adverse disease
and adverse outcomes in those high-risk patients,” he adds. Researchers
plan to initially focus on cardiomyopathy, colorectal cancer, deafness,
blindness, neurological diseases and arthritis. Dr. Parfrey says that
the new facility will also enable researchers to evaluate the
genomics-related ethical, environmental, economic, legal and social (GE3LS)
issues associated with molecular genetic tests in the community. “I
think that it is not uncommon for particular organizations to focus
their facilities in excellence when it comes to research and this is one
area where we have an advantage in terms of the population resource and
the number of high-caliber people doing research in genetics,” says Dr.
Parfrey.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s relatively
homogeneous founder population is thought by many to make it an ideal
place to conduct genetics research. Although settlers have been arriving
to the island since the 16th century, approximately 90 per cent of the
province’s current inhabitants are descended from the nearly 30,000
immigrants, mostly English and Irish, who settled here in the mid 1800s.
According to Statistics Canada,
Newfoundland and Labrador has one of the lowest immigration rates in the
country, ranking slightly better than PEI and the northern territories.
The province also has the lowest retention rate of new immigrants at
just 36 per cent. Because immigration to the province has been limited
since the first settlement, most of the island’s inhabitants are
descended from the original group of settlers. That means there are
fewer genes in play, making it ideal for researchers who want to
identify causation of disease and the genes associated with specified
disorders. There are also a number of significant genetic disorders that
appear to be more prevalent within this population at unusually high
frequencies, with cases often localized to particular regions.
While local academic researchers have been
working on various genetic disorders for many years, the province has
lacked the technical infrastructure necessary to carry out much of the
work.
“The major impact that we hope to achieve
with this new facility will be the identification of mutations in
particular genes that will be used to improve health outcomes in the
community,” says Dr. Parfrey.
Other possible health benefits include
improved disease management options for patients with monogenic
disorders, new screening techniques, diagnostic tests, and various new
therapies and products.
Improving the province’s research capacity
will also provide a linkage to Memorial University’s Newfoundland and
Labrador Blood Disorders Education Network and will enhance the
curriculum within the faculty of medicine.
Dr. Parfrey says project planners are
looking to the provincial government to fund remaining $19 million
balance. He expects government will make an announcement in the coming
months about the province’s contribution.
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