Alberta Innovates- Health Solutions

Heritage researcher investigates chronic kidney disease

(Calgary, AB) Tuesday March 22, 2005... Heritage researcher and physician Dr. Brenda Hemmelgarn studies wants to find a better way to identify those with chronic kidney disease and get them the specialized care and treatment they need early in the course of their illness.

Dr. Hemmelgarn's research addresses why certain groups of people, including the elderly and First Nations' people, have a higher incidence of chronic kidney disease. She examines the differences between groups of people that may affect their access to treatments and specialized care for this disease. Dr. Hemmelgarn's ground-breaking research has earned her funding from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR). With the help of the Heritage Foundation, researchers like Dr. Hemmelgarn are improving the health and quality of life of Albertans and people around the world.

Dr. Hemmelgarn is one of 25 researchers at the University of Calgary who have been offered AHFMR funding this year. AHFMR funding provides salaries, equipment, laboratory start-up, and other support for top health researchers in our province. Over the past 25 years, AHFMR has invested more than $800 million in health research in Alberta.

A photo opportunity with a researcher and a kidney patient in a clinic will be available

• Dr. Brenda Hemmelgarn in an Assistant Professor in the departments of Medicine and Community Health Sciences in the faculty of Medicine at the University of Calgary.

• An estimated 1.9 million, or 1 in 15 Canadians have kidney disease; an estimated 1 in 5 Canadians over the age of 65 have kidney disease.

• Dr. Hemmelgarn is one of 54 researchers around the province who was successful in AHFMR's 2005 senior personnel competition. She has been offered an award as a Population Health Investigator. This year AHFMR is offering $40.7 million in grants to researchers at the universities of Alberta and Calgary.

• This year's competition includes successful applicants from a number of different university faculties including Medicine, Science, Engineering, Social Work, and Nursing.

• With the implementation of these awards, AHFMR will have contributed in excess of $800 million to the medical research community in Alberta.

• The 2005 awards include 33 offers to researchers who have received previous Heritage support.

• Heritage investigators have earned international acclaim for their pioneering work in areas such as: heart attack therapy, islet transplantation for diabetics, nerve regeneration, the cell biology of cancer, drugs for viral infections, electrical therapy for paralysed people, vaccines, and better understanding and treatment of arthritis.

• Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) currently provides funding for over 600 researchers and researchers in training at the province's three main universities. The foundation supports a community of researchers who generate knowledge that improves the health and quality of life of Albertans and people throughout the world. AHFMR's commitment is to fund health research based on international standards of excellence and carried out by new and established investigators and researchers in training. Total AHFMR funding over 25 years is in excess of $800 million. For more information, visit www.ahfmr.ab.ca