Minister of Research and Innovation John Wilkinson announced a new $100 million fund for gene-related research.
The scientists, many of them world leaders in their fields, braved the bright lights of the news conference to show support for the new fund, something they say is critical to keeping Ontario on the cutting edge of biomedical research.
“It’s a sizeable investment and one that will really make a difference,” said Janet Rossant, a senior scientist and chief of research at the Hospital for Sick Children. “It does signal that Ontario understands the importance of investing in research.”
Wilkinson said his ministry is directing funds to an area in which Ontario is already considered a world leader in a bid to recruit and retain top talent. “We are not going to cede our leadership position,” Wilkinson told reporters. “We’ve been gaining in this province for many years and we don’t want to lose that.”
The $100 million investment is to be distributed through a competitive, peer-reviewed process, with priority given to projects that are “collaborative, transformational and internationally significant.”
