CALGARY, ALBERTA--(Marketwired - Sep 26, 2013) - As one of 19 university and hospital partners across Canada conducting leading heart and stroke research, the University of Calgary will receive a minimum of $25 million for research projects over the next 10 years. This is part of the $300-million funding announcement made by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada in June.
"The University of Calgary is honoured to be among this esteemed group chosen to be part of the Heart and Stroke Foundation Research Leadership Circle," says Elizabeth Cannon, president of the University of Calgary. "The Heart and Stroke Foundation's long-term funding commitment benefits our research through a greater ability to plan our programming, to recruit and retain expertise, and to collaborate on research that contributes to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and stroke."
"We are delighted to enhance our partnership with Heart and Stroke," says Dr. Todd Anderson, a clinician-researcher at the University of Calgary and director of the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta. "Research support from the Foundation will enable University of Calgary researchers and our collaborators across the country to make even greater contributions to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease and stroke."
Dr. Todd Anderson is one of many scientists at the university who has been funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation. His current research interests are in the evaluation and treatment of endothelial dysfunction in humans. Endothelial dysfunction is a condition in which the inner lining of blood vessels does not function normally and can lead to serious conditions such as heart attacks.
The University of Calgary is a leader in both stroke and cardiovascular research. In the past, funding from the Heart and Stroke Foundation has supported researchers at the University's Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, department of Cardiac Sciences and Clinical Neurosciences and the Calgary Stroke program.
Every seven minutes someone dies from heart disease and stroke. That's nearly 69,000 people annually. These diseases are also a major drain on the Canadian economy, resulting in spending of more than $20.9 billion annually in physician services, hospital costs, lost wages and decreased productivity.
"Simply put, there's an urgent need to save more lives faster and that's why the Foundation has brought together the Research Leadership Circle," said David Sculthorpe, CEO, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. "This $300-million commitment will allow our partners an unprecedented ability to plan major research projects, foster greater collaboration and attract even more of the world's best researchers within and outside of Canada to fight these insidious diseases."
About the University of Calgary
The University of Calgary is a leading Canadian university located in the nation's most enterprising city. The university has a clear strategic direction to become one of Canada's top five research universities by 2016, where research and innovative teaching go hand in hand, and where we fully engage the communities we both serve and lead. This strategy is called Eyes High, inspired by the university's Gaelic motto, which translates as 'I will lift up my eyes.'
For more information, visit ucalgary.ca. Stay up to date with University of Calgary news headlines on Twitter @UCalgary and in our media centre at ucalgary.ca/news/media.
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Heart and Stroke commits $25 million in funding to University of Calgary