CFI awards $854,098 to University of Montreal an...(complex drugs. Preventing kidney d...)

Dr. Shao-Ling Zhang, a researcher at the Centre Hospitalier de l'Universit de Montral's research centre (CRCHUM) and the Universit de Montral's Faculty of Medicine, and Dr. John S.D. Chan, a Universit de Montral researcher and chief of the Laboratory of molecular nephrology and endocrinology at the CRCHUM, received $223,405 from the CFI, $223,406 from the Government of Quebec and $119,218 from the private sector to investigate how to prevent kidney diseases in newborns.

"While maternal diabetes is strongly associated with major renal anomalies, it also appears to program offspring for other problems later in life, such as hypertension, kidney disease, and metabolic syndrome, a phenomenon called 'perinatal programming'," says Dr. Zhang. Adds Dr. Chan, "There is an urgent need to identify these genes in foetal kidney development and prevent subsequent chronic kidney and cardiovascular diseases in adulthood. The CFI infrastructure will prove essential in our bench-to-beside research to improve Canadian healthcare."

The CFI announced a total of $26,712,283 in new funds to support 117 projects at 29 institutions across Canada following a rigorous merit-review process. The CFI supports cutting-edge research infrastructure that helps stimulate various sectors of our economy associated with such capital projects. It is estimated that every dollar invested directly in research yields over $7 in economic benefits including spinoff jobs.

"The investments announced today at the Universit de Montral and its affiliated institutions will further enhance our country's reputation as a destination of choice for outstanding researchers," says Dr. Eliot Phillipson, CFI president and CEO.

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