Canada Foundation for Innovation announces more than $29.8 million to support Mount Sinai Hospital research

On June 18, 2009, the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) announced funding support of more than $29.8 million (Cdn) towards several leading-edge research projects at Mount Sinai Hospital’s Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute that will enable the most precise analyses of cancer and other diseases, and significantly accelerate efforts to develop new treatments.

The Lunenfeld was awarded a total of $29,890,267 through CFI’s Leading Edge Fund and New Initiative Fund (including the Infrastructure Operating Fund which supports operating costs of new infrastructure.) The funding will support Dr. Tony Pawson’s quantitative cell biology and proteomics project with $15 M ($32.3 M total estimated project); Dr. Lee Adamson’s integrated and regional platform for mouse models of human disease with $9.5 M ($20.6 M total estimated project); and Dr. Julia Knight’s clinical phenotyping and computational facility for the study of complex disease with more than $575,000 ($1.24 M total estimated project). Other Lunenfeld collaborations in stem cell and cell biology received CFI funding of more than $4.8 M (towards an estimated $10.2 M total project value.) In total, CFI is contributing $29.8 M towards various Lunenfeld projects with an estimated value of $64.4 M. All projects promise to advance genomic medicine.

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“The cells in the human body are extraordinarily complex. This generous funding from CFI will allow our renowned systems biology team to apply the very latest technologies towards probing the inner workings of normal and disease cells. This approach will reveal the many subtle molecular changes that characterize disease states, so that physicians of the future can personalize medicine according to the individual patient,” said Dr. Tony Pawson, Distinguished Investigator and project lead of one of three newly-funded projects at the Lunenfeld.

“This CFI funding will accelerate our globally-recognized program in developing new and more accurate models of human diseases by allowing us to use cutting edge technologies,” said Dr. Lee Adamson, Senior Investigator and successful project lead.

“I’m ecstatic that the excellence of our research has been recognized by CFI,” noted Dr. Julia Knight, the third project lead. “All three of our projects will help translate our discoveries in cancer, diabetes and other common disorders into significantly better healthcare for Canadians.”

“The CFI’s support of cutting-edge research infrastructure has transformed Canada’s research landscape and increased the country’s international competitiveness,” said Dr. Eliot Phillipson, President and CEO of the CFI. “Investments like these have allowed the Lunenfeld to become a destination of choice for some of the world’s top research talent.”