McMaster receives $13.7 million from Ontario Research Fund

[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/swinson_richard.jpg” caption=”Dr. Richard Swinson leads one of four research teams at McMaster who will receive grants from the Ontario Research Fund. “]So much of the research done at McMaster exists on a scale that cannot be seen with the naked eye. And while the research might not be “seen,” it certainly will be heard about in the months and years to come.

The labs, equipment and computer software needed to support cutting-edge research represents a significant portion of a researcher's budget.

Through the Ontario Research Fund (ORF), the McGuinty government has invested more than $13.7 million in four projects that will use diagnoses that are virtual to provide better treatment for people with anxiety disorders; new technologies to fight superbugs; the power of 'good' bacteria to combat intestinal disease; and miniaturized health devices that can be swallowed to aid in early-stage cancer detection.

The funding announcement was made last month.

Dr. Richard Swinson is the lead researcher for the Ontario component of the Canadian Cyberpsychology and Anxiety Virtual Lab, a satellite facility that will combine virtual reality with advanced telecommunications to provide better treatment for those with anxiety disorders.

Swinson, a professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioural neurosciences, notes that virtual reality therapy has been a powerful tool as a treatment for anxiety disorders.

For example, people with phobias such as a fear of heights or being terrified by snakes can surmount their fears by interacting with a computer using programs that simulate these circumstances safely. Virtual reality therapy can take place with the psychiatrist in the room. If distance or access is a barrier for the patient, the therapy can take place using videoconferencing.

The grant from the Ontario Research Fund will allow the purchase of computer and video equipment to further explore more complex disorders such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The McMaster site joins the central facility located at the Universite du Quebec and shares the expertise from researchers in British Columbia, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

“What we want to do is build on why virtual reality therapy is interesting,” says Swinson. “While 60 to 70 percent of patients with anxiety disorders do get help, those with severe OCD have rates that are much lower. As a national group, we can research collaboratively to develop treatment for non-responsive patients.”

In contrast to the Virtual Lab that will provide high-tech and distance psychotherapy on an intimate clinical scale, the Centre for Microbial Chemical Biology provides a vision of more than 12,000 square feet of labs and equipment all under one roof.

“Your jaw is going to drop,” says project leader Gerry Wright, professor and chair, biochemistry and biomedical sciences, and Canada Research Chair in Molecular Studies of Antibiotics. “The Centre will be Ontario's answer to infectious diseases — this funding will allow us to lay the groundwork for state-of-the-art, communal labs that will do microbial research to combat drug resistant bacteria.”

The Ontario Research Fund will also provide more than $4.2 million to the Micro- and Nano-systems Laboratory, where project leader Jamal Deen, professor of electrical and computer engineering and Canada Research Chair in Information Technology, will collaborate with internationally recognized Canadian scientists to develop a series of revolutionary miniaturized health devices.

The Systems Biology Centre of Host-intestinal Bacterial Relationships in Health and Disease will receive more than $1.6 million to pay for equipment to build on McMaster University's internationally recognized Intestinal Disease Research Program.

The Centre, led by Dr. Andrew MacPherson, Canada Research Chair in Mucosal Immunology, will support cutting-edge research into the complex mix of bacteria within the intestine, developing the growing science that studies how intestinal bacteria can be used to combat disease.

Through the Research Infrastructure program, the province matches the funding commitment made by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) announced in November 2006. Project funding is shared among the CFI (up to 40 percent), the province (up to 40 percent) and the research institutions and industry partners (at least 20 percent).

The funding below will leverage investments from 61 industry and other partners.

Centre for Microbial Chemical Biology: