Government to contribute more than $800,000 for health genomics research project.

Joan Burke, Minister of Education, announced today that the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will contribute $803,000 towards a research project on human genetic diseases in Atlantic Canada. The Atlantic Medical Genetics and Genomics Initiative (AMGGI) is centred at Memorial University, led by Dr. Terry-Lynn Young, and Dalhousie University, led by Dr. Mark Samuels, in partnership with Genome Atlantic. Genome Canada, through Genome Atlantic, has committed $3.28 million. A total of $9.2 million will be invested in the project with remaining contributions provided by a range of regional innovation and health research partners.

"This investment by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will enable ground-breaking research programs that will benefit the future health of our population," said Minister Burke. "We are committed to enabling world-class genomics research right here in Newfoundland and Labrador. The AMGGI project will generate tangible socio-economic benefits, by improving health care and disease management for affected individuals and families in Atlantic Canada."

Government funding is provided through the Department of Education under Minister Burke, the Department of Innovation, Trade and Rural Development under acting Minister Trevor Taylor and the Department of Health and Community Services under Minister Tom Osborne.

A significant component of the research project is designed to investigate the genetic origins of childhood onset genetic disorders. Lynn Sparkes, executive director of the Janeway Children's Hospital Foundation, announced their contribution of $400,000 to the project. This research will lead to improved clinical care and prognostic information for affected families and for those institutions who work with children of these families, including health care and educational providers.

Minister Burke and Ms. Sparkes were joined by Dr. Steven Armstrong, Vice President Research and Business Development of Genome Atlantic, Dr. James Rourke, Dean of Medicine from Memorial University, AMGGI researchers Dr. Terry Lynn Young and Dr. Daryl Pullman of Memorial University, and Dr. Chris Loomis, Vice President (Research) Memorial University of Newfoundland.

According to Dr. Armstrong, "Our collective investment in AMGGI will enable the research team to carry out a project large enough in scope to yield a meaningful impact on the research capacity in Atlantic Canada. It is well positioned to produce socio-economic impact through innovations in the diagnosis and management of a series of genetic diseases that create challenges for many Atlantic Canadian families and burden our regional the health care system".

The AMGGI project brings together molecular biologists, clinical researchers, genetic diagnostic laboratories and ethics researchers in a pan-Atlantic effort to identify gene mutations that cause inherited diseases in communities throughout the Atlantic Provinces. Once identified, the genes will be the basis for new genetic tests that can be used in the early diagnosis of the diseases. AMGGI will also contribute to the development of public policy guiding the integration of genetic tests into the health care system.

"Our research will pinpoint the genes that are the root causes of many genetic diseases that affect Atlantic Canadians, and contribute to our overall understanding of the function of the 25,000 genes in the human genome," said Dr. Terry Young, Assistant Professor, Faculty of Medicine at Memorial University and co-principal investigator of AMGGI.

"This research will lead to improved methods for the early diagnosis of genetic diseases, an essential element in the effective treatment of many of these debilitating conditions," said Dr. James Rourke, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

A brief project description is attached. A more extensive description of the project is available on the Genome Atlantic web site: www.genomeatlantic.ca

Media contact:

• Jacquelyn Howard, Communications, Department of Education, (709) 729-0048, 689-2624
• Jill Murrin, Director of Communications, Genome Atlantic, (902) 421-5683
• Deborah Inkpen, Communications Coordinator (Research), Office of the Vice-President (Research), Memorial University of Newfoundland, (709) 737-4073
• Sharon Gray, Communications Co-ordinator, Health Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, (709) 777-8397

2006 06 16                   10:10 a.m.