Earlier this morning, the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport announced a new Canada Excellence Research Chair in Genomic Medicine: Genes to Drug Targets for Next-Generation Therapies.
Dr. Vincent Mooser, who will be joining McGill this summer as the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Genomic Medicine, is a pioneer in using genomics-based tools and datasets to develop new target-based therapies to improve human health. Dr. Mooser is one of the few clinician-scientists with over 25 years of experience at the nexus of three domains: academia, the clinic and industry. This unique combination should fundamentally advance Canada’s ability to lead research in translating genomic-based discoveries into new therapeutic options for the treatment of patients afflicted by a number of common diseases.
As part of this program, the University will receive up to $10 million in federal funding over seven years to support research by Dr. Mooser and his team. An additional $15 million from other sources, including McGill University (approximately $10.5 million), Mitacs Inc, and CQDM (Biopharmaceutical Research Consortium), will be added to match the CERC funding.
Before becoming his CERC appointment, Dr. Mooser held various academic positions at Lausanne University, Switzerland, including Head of the Laboratory Department and the Clinical Chemistry Service at le Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) and Vice-Dean of Clinical Research at the Lausanne University Faculty of Biology and Medicine. He spent a distinguished decade within GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) R&D in Philadelphia and co-founded the CoLaus study – a population-based study to investigate the epidemiology and genetic determinants of cardiovascular risk factors and metabolic syndrome.
Read the Q&A with Dr. Mooser at the McGill Reporter. In this interview with the McGill Reporter, Dr. Mooser discusses the incredible potential of genomic research; its challenges and risks; and the vital partnership between academia and industry needed to develop and deliver new drugs to the market. He also discusses his ambitious vision for the new Canada Excellence Research Chair in Genomic Medicine, and what he hopes to build at McGill.
Video: Interview with Dr. Mooser
Video : Entrevue avec Dr Moser