An investment in the future of paediatric research at SickKids

By Alena Boczek

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Canada’s Minister of Health, visited The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) to announce a $12 million investment in childhood cancer research. Over five years, the investment from The Government of Canada, through the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), will support four new research teams in partnership with the Garron Family Cancer Centreat SickKids, C17 council, the Canadian Cancer Society, theCancer Research Society, the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario.

Two of the research teams to receive this funding are led by SickKids principal investigators, Drs. Shinya Ito andPaul Nathan. Dr. Ito’s team will study how childhood leukemia treatment affects brain function, while Dr. Nathan’s team will research cardiotoxicity and evaluate the importance of genetic differences between individuals in determining who is at greatest risk of developing heart disease as a result of exposure to chemotherapeutic agents.

“As Canada’s leading paediatric academic health-care centre, SickKids sees firsthand the devastating impact cancer can have on children and their families,” says Mary Jo Haddad, SickKids President and CEO. “Through the funding from this important initiative, SickKids researchers can continue improving cancer treatments for Canada’s children and youth that will enhance the quality of life for paediatric cancer patients.”

For more information on this investment visit the CIHR website for the official news release and a detailed fact sheet.


Original content via SickKids.ca