McMaster opens Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/bust.jpg” caption=”McMaster President Peter George, left, and Michael DeGroote admire a portrait sculpture honouring DeGroote for his $105 million donation, part of which helped build the new centre for learning and discovery. Photo credit: Chantall Van Raay”]McMaster today celebrated the official opening of the Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery, a $71-million building that will house more than 250 scientists, put Canada on the international research map and speed the discovery of new medicines.
The opening highlighted a new medical discovery complex that puts Canada on the international map of advanced gene-based therapeutics research into treatments for breast cancer, HIV/AIDS, West Nile, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, SARS, and other life-threatening and disabling diseases.
What's unique about the complex is that it brings together a number of specialized teams that will work collaboratively to speed the discovery of new medicines – to shorten the timeline between laboratory research and patient medicines and treatment.
This 'bench to bedside' focus will be supported by having the following expertise under one roof:
- the Centre for Functional Genomics, which seeks to discover gene function
- the Centre for Gene Therapeutics, which develops new gene-based vaccines and conducts human clinical trials
- the Institute for Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Research, which conducts research into how to target cancer cells
- the Robert E. Fitzhenry Vector Laboratory, which produces the delivery agents used to transport gene therapies into patients
- Allergen, which focuses on asthma and allergy research
- the headquarters for a North American-wide study on West Nile virus
To watch a tribute in honour of Michael DeGroote, click here.
“I think the DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery at McMaster, will be one of those hallmarks of education and research, and ultimately clinical advance, that benefits Canadians and members of the world community for generations to come,” said Peter George, president and vice chancellor, McMaster University.
“This new centre puts McMaster at the leading edge of finding cures and treatments for some of the most disabling and life-threatening diseases,” says John Kelton, dean and vice-president of McMasters Faculty of Health Sciences, and dean of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. “The facilities will also help in building a world-class team in immunology and virology, and I fully expect that there will be some Nobel Prize winners as a result of the work that will be done here.”
The centre, constructed over the past two years, was made possible by a $26-million contribution from Michael DeGroote and his family part of a $105-million gift to the Health Sciences faculty, and the largest single donation by an individual to any institution in Canada. Other funding came from the provincial and federal governments, as well as private donors.
“My family and I are proud our gift will support health care, research, patient care, and education at McMaster University for generations to come,” said Michael DeGroote. “Research polls tell us that health and health care are the most prominent concerns for Canadians. I am pleased we can invest in new discoveries in health care and in the delivery of health care. It is important that medical students will be right there to take part in tomorrow's medical discoveries.”
The synergy of bringing various scientific disciplines together is also reinforced in the design of the building. Many laboratories are 'open concept', encouraging greater collaboration. There are common lunchroom areas where scientists, researchers, and students can plug in their laptops and gather to talk. An atrium and roof skylights create a relaxed, collegial environment.
Scientists will also have access to top-line equipment, including a robotic microscope – one of only three in the world – that can make up to one million measurements in 'reading' the responses of cells to drugs and other stimuli.
“Nowhere else in Canada – and in very few other places in the world – do they have this scientific talent, state-of-the-art equipment, and infrastructure dedicated to gene-based medicine all located in a single building,” notes Jack Gauldie, head of the Centre for Gene Therapeutics.
The multi-disciplinary approach means that investigators at the Institute for Cancer and Stem Cell Biology Research, headed by Mick Bhatia, will use the Centre for Functional Genomics, led by John Hassell, as the basic platform for their cell and gene studies. In turn, the two research arms will work with the Centre for Gene Therapeutics as it studies gene manipulation that might lead to vaccines against cancer and infectious diseases.
The Robert E. Fitzhenry Vector Laboratory will provide the vector agents used in delivering gene therapies. Vectors are essentially a disabled common cold virus that has been injected with DNA. The Fitzhenry laboratory is the first Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) university lab in Canada. GMP regulations ensure the identity, potency, and purity of pharmaceutical products.
The DeGroote centre will also develop natural synergies in research on the body's immune system as it relates to viruses, cancers and infectious diseases. Viral investigation is fundamental to creating vaccines. Molecular virologists study how a body responds to viruses to learn how they can fortify the human immune system. The vaccines they develop can then stimulate the immune system so it repels or at least manages an infectious disease.
All this research holds great promise for personalized medicines, in which scientists use a patient's own genetic material in developing vaccines and other treatments to stimulate the immune system. It also allows scientists to tailor specific drugs to individuals. McMaster is in clinical trials now with a cell-based vaccine aimed at strengthening immune system protection in breast cancer patients and is looking at trials for a vaccine to fight lymphocytic leukemia.
“You can't get excellence when you don't have the equipment and the infrastructure. That's what the DeGroote gift is doing,” said Bhatia.
“Without the DeGroote money,” said John Hassell, a breast cancer researcher who heads the Centre for Functional Genomics, “we wouldn't have anywhere near the faculty and staff we ultimately will have to pursue this research area. These developments have led to the creation of what will be a real vibrant research enterprise.”
While applied research is a prime element of the DeGroote centre, the building is also home to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine and includes lecture halls, classrooms with high- technology equipment to enhance the learning experience, space for intensive care units for Hamilton Health Sciences hospitals and a three-storey atrium with a winter garden.
Photos are available on McMaster's website at:
http://fhs.mcmaster.ca/media.htm.