Stem Cell Network appoints new leaders

Renowned scientists Dr. Michael Rudnicki & Dr. Janet Rossant
to lead national network of stem cell researchers

April 1, 2005

 

Dr. Michael Rudnicki has been appointed the Scientific Director of the Stem Cell Network, succeeding founding director Dr. Ron Worton, who is retiring from the post. The Stem Cell Network, one of Canada's Networks of Centres of Excellence, brings together more than 70 of the country's leading researchers.

Dr. Rudnicki, Senior Scientist and Director of Molecular Medicine at the Ottawa Health Research Institute and Canada Research Chair in Molecular Genetics, takes on the new role as of today. He will be joined by one of Canada's leading stem cell researchers, Dr. Janet Rossant of the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, who assumes the post of Deputy Scientific Director. She succeeds Dr. Connie Eaves from the B.C. Cancer Agency, who is also retiring from her position after four years of dedicated service.

Dr. Rudnicki, whose laboratory is responsible for the milestone identification of the Pax7 protein that triggers stem cell specification into muscle cells, takes on the scientific leadership of the cross-Canada network of scientists, researchers, clinicians and ethicists bolstered by the federal government's renewed commitment of $5.3 million in annual funding, announced yesterday at a news conference in Montreal.

An Ottawa native, Dr. Rudnicki earned his PhD at the University of Ottawa and did post-doctoral work at the prestigious Whitehead Institute in Cambridge. Mass. After taking on teaching and research roles at McMaster University during the 1990s, he returned to Ottawa in 2000 to become Senior Scientist and Head of Molecular Genetics at the Ottawa Health Research Institute. Named the Institute's Researcher of the Year in 2003, his work has been frequently published in the world's leading scientific journals. Recruited to Ottawa by Dr. Worton, Dr. Rudnicki's move into the leadership role assures a seamless transition for the Network. Dr. Worton will carry on as CEO and Scientific Director of the Ottawa Health Research Institute.

"Dr. Worton has been a mentor to me, so it's reassuring to know he will be close by for counsel as I take up the work he has spearheaded so effectively for more than four years."

Dr. Rossant, a founding member of the Network and a 2004 Killam Prize winner, has done pioneering work in the study of stem cells from the early embryo and stem cell lineage decisions. A University of Toronto professor, she directs the Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute's Centre for Modelling Human Disease and was chair of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research working group on stem cell research.

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The Stem Cell Network brings together more than 70 leading scientists, clinicians, engineers, and ethicists from universities and hospitals across Canada with a mandate to investigate the immense therapeutic potential of stem cells for the treatment of diseases currently incurable by conventional approaches. Headquartered at the University of Ottawa, the Stem Cell Network is one of Canada's Networks of Centres of Excellence funded through Industry Canada and its three granting councils.

Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) are unique partnerships among universities, industry, government and not-for-profit organizations aimed at turning Canadian research and entrepreneurial talent into economic and social benefits for all Canadians. An integral part of the federal government's commitment to promoting innovation, these nation-wide, multidisciplinary and multisectorial research partnerships connect excellent research with industrial know-how and strategic investment.

The NCE program is managed jointly by the three federal granting agencies - Science and Engineering Research Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council - in partnership with Industry Canada. For more information, please visit www.nce.gc.ca