Media

OTTAWA, February 16, 2010  —  University of Ottawa president and vice-chancellor, Allan Rock, accompanied by Dr. Anthony Krantis, director of the Centre for Research in Biopharmaceuticals & Biotechnology (CRBB) at the University of Ottawa and professor at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, will be leading a mission to Japan from February 13 to 20, 2010 promoting the Global Network for Brain Reconstruction.

The purpose of the mission is to bring together leading researchers and bioscience specialists from Canada, and two world renowned research intensive centres in Japan to formalize their partnership in a global network designed to respond to academic, research, and sectoral needs of mind and brain research. The Global Network for Brain Reconstruction is an international excellence cluster linking leading research laboratories, clinical centres and industrial firms from Japan, Canada and Germany. The Global Network encompasses an integrated suite of engineering and life science tools, technologies and expertise that will allow the application of advanced techniques for interrogating nerve circuits and modeling brain reconstruction to develop treatments for neurological and psychiatric diseases that have not been possible before.

Along will President Allan Rock and Dr. Anthony Krantis, the mission will include the following participants:

Don Aldridge is the general manager, Research & Life Sciences at IBM Canada Ltd. In 2003, he established IBM’s Life Sciences unit in Canada, working with medical researchers in universities and research hospitals. Under his guidance the Global Network for Brain Reconstruction has collaborated closely with IBM’s multidisciplinary neuro-computational team that includes expertise in neuroscience, mathematics, physics, engineering, and computer science.

Danica Stanimirovic is the director of the NRC-IBS neurobiology program at the National Research Council of Canada, a strategic partner in the Global Network. Dr. Stanimirovic established and led the NRC’s Cerebrovascular Research Group, was appointed director of the NRC’s neurobiology program in 2001, and has led large-scale national and international collaborative initiatives. Danica Stanimirovic is also an adjunct professor at the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Ottawa.

Geoff Mealing is a senior research officer in the neurobiology program at the Institute for Biological Sciences of the National Research Council of Canada. Mr. Mealing is an associate member of the uOttawa Centre for Research in Biopharmaceuticals & Biotechnology (CRBB) and a core member of the Global Network for Brain Reconstruction. He has led the development of intellectual property related to neuronal bio-chip interrogation devices and drug screening technologies. Geoff Mealing leads the NRC’s neurochip project developing multiport and multiarray biochips that the Network partners will use for their brain modelling studies.

Bill Cheliak is vice-president of business development at Neurodyn Inc. and served as director in a variety of institutes at Natural Resources Canada and Forestry Canada before entering the private sector where he led three biotechnology companies prior to working with Neurodyn Inc. Dr. Cheliak is also co-founder of BNC Pharma, a specialty consulting firm that assists companies in the Pharma and Biotech industries. Dr. Cheliak is assisting the Global Network in identifying industrial applications and partnerships for in vivo testing of potential diagnostics and therapeutics.

The Global Network for Brain Reconstruction mission will seek to sign formal agreements with Japanese research institutions who possess a clear understanding of R&D interests; obtain strategic support of senior level Japanese officials for the building of long‐term partnerships and implementation of research projects; plan bilateral workshops which will lead to long‐term projects for knowledge building, capacity development, product discovery and commercialization; identification of new R&D partners within the academic and research community; and identify appropriate companies with a potential interest in Global Network projects.

The University of Ottawa, one of Canada’s top research-intensive universities, is dedicated to forging collaborative research on pressing global issues. We are committed to excellence and encourage an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge creation that attracts the best academic talent from across Canada and around the world.