AHFMR News
AHFMR honours 20 and 25 year University of Alberta researchers
(Edmonton, AB) Wednesday, October 05, 2005... The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Researcher (AHFMR) is honouring two researchers at the University of Alberta who have received Heritage funding for 20 years and three others who've received continuous support for 25 years.
U of A researchers Dr. Dean Befus and Dr. Jon Meddings have both been funded by AHFMR for a total of 20 years through personnel or other research support programs. The researchers will be honoured at a brief formal program today at the Timms Centre at the University of Alberta. The program will be part of a larger reception to celebrate the Foundation's 25th Anniversary. As well, Drs. Tessa Gordon, Linda Reha-Krantz, and Diane Taylor are being recognized for their 25 years of continuous support as researchers.
The work of these researchers in areas from inflammation of the stomach to respiratory diseases demonstrates the quality of research and the advances in knowledge that can be made possible through long term support and funding from organizations like AHFMR. They are joining a significant number of other researchers around the Province who have been honoured since 2000 - when the first 20 year awardees were recognized.
"AHFMR has supported health research in Alberta for twenty five years and that long-term commitment has brought about tremendous advances," says Dr. Kevin Keough, President and CEO of the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. "Our system supports excellence in an extremely competitive environment. Securing Heritage support is not easy; maintaining that support for a quarter of a century, as these researchers have, is quite an achievement."
Remarks from LeRoy Johnson, MLA for Wetaskiwin-Camrose, Chair of ARC, and Vice-Chair of ASRA
Keynote Address: Preston Manning: "Research and Politicians - Bridging the Communications Gap"
| What: |
20 & 25 year recognition for researchers: Dr. Dean Befus, Dr. Jonathan Meddings, Dr. Tessa Gordon, Dr. Linda Reha-Krantz, and Dr. Diane Taylor |
|
| When: | Wednesday October 05, 2005 | |
| Time: | 4:00 PM to 6:00 PM | |
| Where: |
University of Alberta - Timms Centre 87th Ave. and 112 St. (NE Corner) |
Please call Dwayne Brunner, AHFMR Communications Coordinator, at (780) 966-1518 for further information.
Backgrounder
Dr. Dean Befus - 20 years of AHFMR funding
Dr. Dean Befus's work focuses on the basic mechanisms of allergic inflammation, He is the director of the Alberta Asthma Centre and the AstraZeneca Canada Inc. Chair in Asthma Research at the University of Alberta.
Dr. Jon Meddings - 20 years of AHFMR funding
Dr. Meddings researches whether leaky guts ultimately lead to Crohn's disease. He measures permeability in people in high-risk groups: those with relatives who already have the disease. He is the Chair of Medicine at the University of Alberta.
Dr. Tessa Gordon - 25 years of AHFMR funding
Dr. Tessa Gordon studies peripheral nerve cells and the repair of injured nerve cells. Her work examines why repair fails to occur in spite of the capacity for regeneration in the peripheral nerve system. Using motor nerves, Dr. Gordon is able to measure the effects of injury on specific areas of tissue. She also studies a number of chemical factors involved in injury repair in an effort to decipher their communications.
Dr. Linda Reha-Krantz - 25 years of AHFMR funding
Each time one of our cells divides, the genetic information carried in DNA molecules must be copied. Dr. Reha-Krantz studies the copying mechanism, which is done by DNA polymerases. These studies provide fundamental information about cancer and aging as well as providing assays to develop chemotherapeutic drugs.
Dr. Diane Taylor - 25 years of AHFMR funding
Dr. Diane Taylor studies bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Her work focuses on the genetics and the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance of Helicobacter pylori. H. pylori affects approximately half of the world's population. It can cause the development of stomach ulcers, dyspepsia, and even gastric cancer or a type of lymphoma of the stomach.
The Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR) supports more than 600 researchers and students at the Province's three 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.