Genome Canada: Quebec Wins Big

Researchers from Quebec are big winners in a contest organized by Genome Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) after having been awarded 60% of the federal funds granted during this Canada-wide competition aimed at selecting the best genomics and personalized health research projects. Of the seventeen projects selected for funding, eight are managed by researchers from Quebec while four additional projects managed elsewhere in Canada feature collaborations with Quebec researchers. "Quebec is receiving as much funding as Ontario and British-Columbia combined. This is unprecedented," commented Mr. Guy Breton, Rector of Université de Montréal, whose institution and affiliates will be the site for five projects to be undertaken over the next four years thanks to funding of $55M. Two projects proposed by researchers from Université Laval are also among the winners, with each being awarded $11M. A researcher from McGill University was granted $5M. The Quebec Government will be contributing a total of $34.2M to these grants.