Genome Canada bails on its own Stem Cell Initiative
According to a Globe and Mail story this weekend, Genome Canada has pulled its funding support for an international effort to genetically characterize stem cells. Canadian researchers had initiated and were spearheading the project, which promised to be a major milestone in our understanding of how and why stem cells retain the ability to mature into the variety of cell types found in mature organisms. Dr. Michael Rudnicki, a UofOttawa professor and the senior scientists on the project, said that the head of Genome Canada, Dr. Michael Godbout, told him that the funding was being withdrawn because of the recent Conservative budget cuts to Genome Canada funding. Dr. Godbout maintains that the decision was not due to a lack of funds, but rather was because of “significant scientific and management issues”, despite the recommendation for continued support by a peer review committee. Thankfully, the Ontario government (which seems to understand that investing in this type of work might help mitigate some of the difficulties faced by the disappearance of the automotive industry) has agreed to provide $3.8-million for the project, and other funding sources are being sought by Dr. Rudnicki to maintain Canada’s leadership role in this ambitious and exciting project. Unfortunately, the provincial funding agencies are being forced to try to step up and fill the gaps left by the Conservative government’s cuts to research funding.
As an aside, kudos to Globe editorial staff, and especially science reporter Anne McIlroy for the great work they’re doing reporting on the Conservative cuts to science funding in Canada. They’ve broken important stories and have kept this issue on the front burner. The basic research community has a small voice and has generally been poor at lobbying the government and convincing the public of the value of its work (as pointed out by Preston Manning in a recent op-ed). The Conservative funding cuts, and widespread coverage by the Globe and Mail especially, have perhaps changed this, as more scientists seem to be taking an interest in participating in the public debate over research funding. At the blog Don’tLeaveCanadaBehind, over 2000 scientists have signed an open letter to the government suggesting improvements to the recent funding cuts, and the site is encouraging increased participation of researchers in the funding debate – a great idea.
Is there an online petition or some other venue for communally expressing support for increasing funding for research?
thank you
Hi Lori, you should check out http://dontleavecanadabehind.wordpress.com. They have an online open letter to government and a researcher forum. They were also profiled on the front page of the Globe and Mail today!