AHFMR News

Peter Lougheed receives Champion of Health Research award

(Edmonton, AB) Wednesday November 22, 2006... Former Alberta premier the Honourable Peter Lougheed has been awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award: 2006 Champion of Health Research by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The award will be presented at an awards dinner tonight in Ottawa hosted by CIHR.

"Peter Lougheed is not only one of Canada's most prominent political figures; he is also a man driven by foresight," said Dr. Alan Bernstein, President of CIHR. "Peter had a vision for Alberta and this vision led to the creation of the Alberta Foundation for Medical Research [AHFMR] in 1980. The Foundation has helped Alberta's best and brightest health researchers excel both nationally and internationally. It is for this lasting contribution that CIHR is recognizing Peter with the CIHR Distinguished Leadership Award.

While premier, Mr. Lougheed's government transferred $300 million in revenue from the province's natural resources to help create AHFMR, the first provincial health research foundation of its kind. In 2005, Premier Ralph Klein's government enriched the AHFMR endowment with an additional $500 million. AHFMR has provided more than $850 million in funding to health researchers in the province, attracting top research talent and expertise to Alberta, and putting the province on the map both nationally and internationally.

In 2005, the year of AHFMR's 25th anniversary, the Foundation created the Lougheed Prize to honour Mr. Lougheed. The $100,000 Prize will be awarded to the first recipient, a biomedical or clinical researcher, in Spring of 2007. A similar prize was also created to honour Premier Klein.

"Albertans are indebted to Mr. Lougheed for his incredible vision in creating the Foundation," said AHFMR president and CEO Dr. Kevin Keough. "AHFMR is a remarkable legacy, supporting health research to improve the lives of Albertans and people around the world."

Please call Dwayne Brunner, AHFMR Communications, at (780) 423-5727 for further information.