Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics

The Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics
Established 1996
Staff Over 200 staff, including 8 Faculty, 59 trainees, and 10 administrative team members
Location Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Website www.cmmt.ubc.ca

The Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT) is part of the University of British Columbia's Faculty of Medicine. The Centre is located at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) in Vancouver, Canada. Research at the centre is focused on discovering genetic susceptibility to illnesses such as Huntington Disease, Type 2 diabetes and bipolar disorder.

In 2008, the director and founder of the Centre, Dr. Michael Hayden, was named "Researcher of the Year" by the Canada Institutes of Health Research.[1] In 2011, he was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2011 for his contributions to Huntington's Disease research.[2]

Principal investigators within the Centre are involved in other initiatives. Dr. Daniel Goldowitz is the Scientific Director of NeuroDevNet, which is a Canada Networks of Centres of Excellence.[3] The life sciences research laboratory consists of over 200 staff, eight of whom are UBC faculty members. Four of the principal investigators at the Centre are Canada Research Chairs.[4]

Key achievements

Corporate history

CMMT’s development started in the early nineties with an informal discussion between CMMT’s current Director, Dr. Michael Hayden, and Merck Frosst. In 1992, a $15 million commitment over five years from Merck Frosst Canada provided the initial funding for CMMT. The following year, in 1993, UBC Board of Governors and Senate approved CMMT as the first Centre in the Faculty of Medicine. That same year, the province of British Columbia pledged $9 million to build a dedicated building for CMMT.

In 1998, the current CMMT building, located at the Child & Family Research Institute on the BC Children’s and Women’s Hospital site was completed and the Transgenic Core Facility was established. During 1999 and 2000, the Scientific Stores Core Facility and the DNA Sequencing Core Facility were established.

Since 2000, CMMT has further expanded its facilities and services, including the addition of a Bioanalyzer Core Facility in 2003, expansion of the Transgenic Core Facility in 2005 and the establishment of the Genotype and Gene Expression Core Facility in 2006.

Principal investigators

Areas of research

References

  1. Vancouver, The (2008-11-20). "Gene mutation study earns UBC prof health researcher of the year award". Canada.com. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  2. "The Governor General of Canada > Appointments to the Order of Canada". Gg.ca. 2010-12-30. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  3. "NeuroDevNet". Nce-rce.gc.ca. 2011-02-04. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  4. "Canada Research Chairs". Chairs-chaires.gc.ca. 2008-12-22. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  5. "Cure Found For Huntington Disease In Mice Offers Hope For Treatment In Humans". Sciencedaily.com. 2006-06-16. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  6. "Genotypic approaches to therapy in children". Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 1110: 177–92. September 2007. doi:10.1196/annals.1423.020. PMID 17911433.
  7. "Researchers Find Potential Treatment For Huntington's Disease". Medicalnewstoday.com. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  8. "Early-Life Experience Linked to Chronic Diseases Later in Life: UBC Research". http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  9. "Huntington's Disease: Discovery Of Mechanism In Brain Cell Injury Offers New Treatment Approaches". Medicalnewstoday.com. Retrieved 2011-03-05.
  10. "Stressed-out parents leave imprint on kids' genes, study says". vancouversun.com. Retrieved 2011-08-01.
  11. "Journal of Huntington's Disease". http://www.iospress.nl. Retrieved 2012-06-19.

External links