Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine
Tuesday December 5, 2017 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Speaker’s Lounge CB-216-N, Centre Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario.
This event is by Invitation only.
To see information and pictures from past events, see the Health Research Caucus section under ‘Advocacy’ in the navigation
Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine
Treating a chronic disease or debilitating illness that impacts our personal health and wellbeing can be all-consuming. Every day millions of Canadians are unable to work, drive a car or care for family members because their poor health is holding them back from leading the active and productive life they wish to live.
Some turn to the internet looking for treatments or potential cures that can be accessed in Canada or around the world. They spend thousands of dollars being treated with unproven stem cell treatments that have been marketed, often by celebrities, as life changing.
There is real hope despite the many false stem cell treatments that do exist. Through stem cell research and regenerative medicine safe, reliable and effective therapies can and will be widely available in the coming decades.
Building Canada’s stem cell and regenerative medicine research sector has been the raison d’être of the Stem Cell Network (SCN) since its inception in 2001. In just over 16 years SCN has forged a national community that has transformed stem cell research in Canada, brought research to the point where regenerative medicine is changing clinical practice and established an outstanding international reputation. SCN has pushed the boundaries of what was a basic research area towards translational outcomes for the clinic and marketplace. By the end of 2016, SCN had provided over $90 million for innovative translational research. This funding has benefitted 160 world-class research groups and more than 2,500 trainees from across Canada. SCN has catalyzed 18 clinical trials and 16 start-up companies. SCN investigators have leveraged upwards of $100 million in partner contributions while SCN has incubated several international and Canadian research networks and organizations.
Co-Hosted by 1
Guest Speakers
Dr. Lauralyn McIntyre MD, MHSc, FRCPC
Dr. McIntyre is an Intensivist at the Ottawa Hospital, Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Ottawa and a Scientist with the Clinical Epidemiology Program at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute. She is the ICU Research Chair at the Ottawa Hospital and a member of the Canadian Critical Care Trials and Translational Biology Groups. Dr. McIntyre’s research interests focus on resuscitation, transfusion, and the use of stem cells in the critically ill. She has conducted observational studies, surveys, meta-analyses, and clinical trials that examine fluid resuscitation in the septic shock setting as well as the use of red blood cells, fresh frozen plasma, and transfusion alternatives in the critically ill. She is the lead investigator on a transitional program of research that aims to examine the safety and optimal dose of mesenchymal stem cells for the treatment of septic shock.
Mr. Timothy Caulfield BSc, LL.B., LL.M., FRSC, FCAHS
Timothy Caulfield is a Canada Research Chair in Health Law and Policy, a Professor in the Faculty of Law and the School of Public Health, and Research Director of the Health Law Institute at the University of Alberta. His interdisciplinary research on topics like stem cells, genetics, research ethics, the public representations of science and health policy issues have allowed him to publish over 350 academic articles. He has won numerous academic and writing awards and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the Trudeau Foundation and the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He contributes frequently for the popular press and is the author of two national bestsellers: The Cure for Everything: Untangling the Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness and Happiness (Penguin 2012) and Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything?: When Celebrity Culture and Science Clash (Penguin 2015). Caulfield also has a strong social media presence and the host and co-producer of the documentary TV show, A User’s Guide to Cheating Death.
from left to right: Mr. Keith Serry, Stem Cell Technologies; Mr. Hugh Scott, Innovative Medicines Canada; Ms. Carol Hughes, Vice-Chair, Health Research Caucus; Professor Timothy Caufield, University of Alberta (guest speaker); Mr. John Oliver, Chair, Health Research Caucus; Deborah Gordon-El-Bihbety, President and CEO, Research Canada; Dr. Lauralyn McIntyre, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (guest speaker); and Ms. Marilyn Gladu, Vice-Chair, Health Research Caucus.
Thank You to Our Event Sponsors
Innovative Medicines Canada is the national voice of Canada’s innovative pharmaceutical industry. We advocate for policies that enable the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative medicines and vaccines that improve the lives of all Canadians. We support our members’ commitment to being valued partners in the Canadian healthcare system.
STEMCELL Technologies is Canada’s largest biotechnology company. We offer more than 2,500 specialized products supporting global research on regenerative medicine, tissue engineering, gene therapy, immunotherapy and advanced therapies for cancer and other diseases. Driven by our love of science and our passion for quality, we are Scientists Helping Scientists.
