EDUCATION REPORTER
The Ontario government will announce $25-million for stem-cell research this morning as part of an initiative to encourage collaboration among scientists across the province and around the world.
The announcement today at a stem-cell lab at the University of Toronto is part of a multimillion-dollar initiative to fund equipment and capital spending at universities and research hospitals across the province, say those familiar with the program.
The money will come from the Ontario Research Fund, $250-million earmarked for large and small capital projects by the province in the 2008 budget. The first grant from the fund - $10-million to Waterloo's Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics - was announced earlier this month.
Stem-cell research is at the leading edge of science and holds the promise for major breakthroughs in the area of regenerative medicine. Stem cells are the building blocks of every type of cell in the body and their special abilities offer the possibility to replace damaged cells, or even organs, and to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.
Today's announcement, to be made by Research and Innovation Minister John Milloy, will also include Japanese researcher Shinya Yamanaka, in Toronto to receive a Gairdner Award for medical research for his work on stem cells. Dr. Yamanaka discovered a way to reprogram the skin cells of an 81-year-old man, so they regained the abilities of embryonic stem cells.
This year's Gairdner winners will receive their awards tomorrow night and take part in a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the prize, begun by a Toronto businessman. To mark the occasion, the Gairdner Foundation is bringing together this year's recipients as well as previous winners, including 21 Nobel laureates.
The awards are often called the "baby Nobels" because 73 winners over the past 50 years also have received the Nobel Prize.
