2003 Archives – NCEs in the News

1. AquaNet (Network in Aquaculture)

• The Vancouver Sun – October 28, 2003 – A study on farmed salmon will probably show that the fish is comfortably within North American government limits for the presence of toxins such as PCBs. Nevertheless, Professor Charles Santerre, speaking at the third AquaNet Scientific Conference, expects that environmentalists will attempt to use the report in a manner that supports the opposite conclusion.
• Canada NewsWire – October 23, 2003 – AquaNet III, held in Vancouver October 25 to 28, 2003, will bring together international experts on sustainability and safety and AquaNet’s leading and new scientists and sector partners to discuss their research.
• BioMedNet – June 3, 2003 – AquaNet researcher Dr. Tierry Chopin and colleagues have developed a system of bioremediation to clean up the effluent pollution in fish farms.
• The Victoria Times Colonist – May 1, 2003 – AquaNet approved $1.3 million to carry out 19 collaborative research and development projects that reflect the strategic shift of the network towards greater integration of environmental, animal production, and social and economic research aspects.
• Canada Newswire – February 26, 2003 – Aquanet sponsored an international workshop February 26-28 in Halifax to study current government initiatives and industry concerns in aquaculture policy and law, review Aboriginal title and rights issues in aquaculture, compare international experiences in aquaculture regulation, and develop recommendations on future research priorities and directions for law and policy reform.
• Canada NewsWire – February 11, 2003 – A multidisciplinary team of researchers has been awarded a grant from AquaNet – the Network of Centres of Excellence for Aquaculture in Canada – to contribute to a study on the flesh of farmed and wild salmon. The study will provide objective scientific information about the nutrient composition of, and possible chemical contaminants in, wild-caught and farm-raised salmon.
• CNNMatthews – February 6, 2003 – During a visit to Ottawa to discuss a wide range of fisheries issues of mutual interest to Canada and Norway, officials from both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding between AquaNet, the Network of Centres of Excellence for Aquaculture in Canada, and the Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research. Both countries are pursuing sustainable aquaculture industries supported by top-notch scientific research and development.

2. ArcticNet

• Le Devoir – October 25, 2003 – An article describes the themes addressed by the ArcticNet Network, including the opening to intercontinental maritime transport and the economic impact of environmental changes.
• Le Devoir – October 25, 2003 – The ArcticNet Network is mentioned in an article about the repatriation of researchers to Canada.
• Winnipeg Free Press – October 10, 2003 – Dr. Louis Fortier, ArcticNet Network Scientific Director, was mentioned in an article on the Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study (CASES) and climate change.
• Le Devoir – September 13, 2003 – Louis Fortier, ArcticNet Scientific Director, touches on several subjects related to research in the Arctic.
• Canada NewsWire – August 26, 2003; Le Soleil, Le Journal de Québec – August 27, 2003; The Telegram – August 31, 2003 – The Government of Canada will invest $25.7 million over the next four years into Arctic research with the creation of ArcticNet, a new Network of Centres of Excellence.
• Le Québec en direct, Le grand journal, First News, CTV News, TVA Québec, CFCF News, Québec ce soir, D’un soleil à l’autre – August 26, 2003; Matin express, Nouvelles régionales – August 27, 2003 – A series of TV interviews with Louis Fortier, ArcticNet Network of Centres of Excellence Scientific Director, about the $25.7 million federal government investment into Arctic research and the scientific mission of the CCGS Amundsen icebreaker.
• Le Soleil – August 25, 2003 – Louis Fortier, ArcticNet Network Scientific Director, was mentioned in an article on the Université Laval.

3. AUTO21 (Automobile of the 21st Century)

• Carleton NOW – December 2003 – AUTO21 is sponsoring a national project (co-lead by Ata Khan, professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Carleton University) which will research sensors and communication devices for the next generation of “smart” cars.
• Calgary Herald, Kitchener Waterloo Record, The Ottawa Citizen – November 13, 2003; Canada NewsWire – November 12, 2003 – AUTO21 is taking part in seven projects worth $6.5 million in new funding. Among the projects is one that will study the effects of vehicle technology on drivers, one that will examine composite acoustic materials for noise and vibration control, and one that will investigate fuel-cell components as an alternative to gas-powered engines.
• Canada Now (CBOT-TV) – October 8, 2003 – A television broadcast examined findings from a study that revealed driving with underinflated tires is bad for the environment. According to Peter Frise, AUTO21 Program Leader, the study estimates that Canadians could save about $500 million per year in fuel costs just by keeping their vehicle tires properly inflated.
• The Windsor Star – October 7, 2003 – The University of Windsor and St. Clair College, which opened its Ford Centre for Manufacturing Excellence, are seeing a sharp increase in applicants interested in automotive careers. Peter Frise, AUTO21 Program Leader and professor of mechanical engineering design at the U of W, is delighted with the interest which he believes will make the University of Windsor one of the premier engineering schools in the country.
• The Ottawa Citizen – September 12, 2003 – Anne Snowdon leads an AUTO21 research theme entitled “Vehicle Safety for Vulnerable Populations.” Although the theme covers the safety of everyone from drivers to auto plant workers, the well-being of children remains the special cause of Ms. Snowdon who would like to not only build a better car seat but also a better system for securing that seat in a vehicle.
• Le Soleil – August 18, 2003 – Dr. Tapan K. Bose of AUTO21 says that it may take several years before we start seeing the commercialization of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles because of high manufacturing costs.
• Canada NewsWire – July 31, 2003, Windsor Star – August 5, 2003 – AUTO21 awarded the highest honours and prizes to four teams from the Université de Sherbrooke, the University of Waterloo and the University of Windsor. As part of its annual conference, the competition was open to 220 professors and 250 student researchers from universities across Canada who participate in AUTO21’s 28 research projects.
• Le Nouvelliste – June 13, 2003 – During AUTO21 annual conference, Prof. Tapan K. Bose, an AUTO21 project leader, will present his team’s preliminary studies on the future servicing infrastructure for fuel cell vehicles in Canada.
• Canada NewsWire – June 12, 2003 – Dr. Andrew Howard, a project leader for AUTO21, is coordinating a team of researchers investigating whether vehicle restraint systems offer the best protection to children during a collision. Some of the findings will be presented on June 18, at the AUTO21 annual scientific conference.
• Canada NewsWire, Nouvelles Télé-radio, La Presse canadienne – June 12, 2003 – Many high-profile speakers as well as researchers and graduate students will gather in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, from June 16 to 18 for the AUTO21 annual scientific conference.
• The Windsor Star – May 16, 2003 – An article about the creation of a national automotive institute in Windsor mentions federal government funding as a way of coordinating, through AUTO21, automotive research conducted at 26 Canadian universities.
• The Ottawa Citizen – April 18, 2003 – AUTO21 hosted a two-day conference in Ottawa on the future of the automobile that brought together researchers, government administrators, auto industry representatives and private consultants. Program sessions dealt with such topics as labour markets, factors affecting parts suppliers, the location of manufacturing facilities, the role of standards, environmental issues and the technology that could be used in the next generation of vehicles.
• Hamilton Spectator – April 9, 2003 – Ford Motor Company is providing up to $200,000 to a Canadian-based research project under the direction of AUTO21. The contribution will support a team of 15 researchers working to reduce severe injury and death among young children involved in automobile crashes.
• Globe and Mail – January 13, 2003 – AUTO21 was one of the sponsors of a study that found that Canadian engineers and chartered accountants are lacking in such basic skills as communications, team building, report writing and preparing presentations.

4. Canadian Arthritis Network (CAN)

• The Vancouver Sun – December 8, 2003 – The Canadian Arthritis Network and the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis have awarded $1.5 million to Dr. John Esdaile, Scientific Director of the Arthritis Research Centre, for a five-year research project under CIHR’s New Emerging Team (NET) Grants program.
• PRNewswire – December 2, 2003 – The Canadian Arthritis Network and ChondroGene Limited have entered into a new research collaboration in which ChondroGene will make its proprietary technology and tools available to CAN researchers and will gain access to CAN’s research activities at academic institutions across Canada.
• Canada NewsWire – November 18, 2003 – Dr. Ed Keystone announced the launch of the Canadian Rheumatology Research Consortium (CRRC), a national network of academic and community rheumatologists. Its establishment was supported by the Canadian Arthritis Network.
• Canada NewsWire – November 17, 2003 – The Canadian Arthritis Network and the Institute of Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis have awarded $4.4 million for three osteoarthritis research projects under CIHR’s New Emerging Team (NET) Grants program.
• Dow Jones, Canada NewsWire – October 28, 2003 – The Canadian Arthritis Network funded an independent clinical study examining discriminant validity and reliability of several osteoarthritis biomarkers.
• The Globe and Mail – October 9, 2003 – Mr. Sydney Jackson, Chair of the Board of the Canadian Arthritis Network, announced the appointment of Dr. Robin Armstrong and Mr. Jeff Davis to its Board of Directors.
• Globe & Mail – March 25, 2003 – Mr. Sydney Jackson, Chair of the Board of the Canadian Arthritis Network, announced the appointment of The Honorable Pat Carney to its Board of Directors. Senator Carney began working with the Arthritis Society in 1989 and is a founding member of The Arthritis Research Centre of Canada.
• Business Wire – March 4, 2003 – CAN collaborated with BioSyntech on some of the research that gave rise to the development of a novel cartilage repair product, which will soon be marketed internationally. Delivered arthroscopically, the product effectively fills cartilage defects and has demonstrated reproducible cartilage regeneration in multiple animal trials.
• The Montreal Gazette – February 26, 2003 – Robin Poole, scientific director of the Canadian Arthritis Network, has developed a simple blood test that measures chemical "biomarkers" of arthritis. The test detects the presence of the enzyme that destroys the lining between bones, and will make it easier and faster for doctors to predict whether a patient is likely to develop the disease and to assess its progress.
• Canada NewsWire – February 11, 2003 – Dr. Robin Poole, Scientific Director of the Canadian Arthritis Network, has been named the co-winner of the Carol Nachman Prize for 2003 for outstanding research in rheumatology. Dr. Poole will receive the award for his innovative work on the way in which osteoarthritis develops.
• Canada NewsWire – February 3, 2003 – The Canadian Arthritis Network, a member of the Networks of Centres of Excellence, and the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health and Arthritis, are contributing $2.5 and $3.0 million respectively for osteoarthritis research. These funds will be specifically directed to support a number of new teams of researchers who will be working to develop tools for evaluation of osteoarthritis, the best prevention strategies, the most effective models of care, and new treatments.

5. Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network (CBDN)

• Saskatoon StarPheonix – December 16, 2003; Resource News International – December 15, 2003 – The Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network is part of a group involved in funding the research to develop a vaccine that could prevent outbreaks of E. coli infection in cattle. The idea to vaccinate cattle instead of children occurred to Dr. Brett Findlay, a microbiologist at UBC, who has been studying the disease for years.
• Canada NewsWire – October 6, 2003 – The Canadian Bacterial Diseases Network is taking part in the New Emerging Team (NET) grant program. Health Canada announced more than $30 million to fund the program, which will include 23 health research projects across Canada.
• Canada NewsWire – April 16, 2003 –Thanks to technology developed through CBDN-funded research by Dr. Anthony Schryvers at the University of Calgary and Dr. Andrew Potter of the Veterinary Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan, a multiparty license and a collaborative research agreement were signed with Bioniche Animal Health Canada Inc. for the commercial development of a vaccine to prevent disease in cattle caused by the bacterium Haemophilus somnus.

6. Canadian Genetic Diseases Network (CGDN)

• PRNewswire – November 26, 2003 – An article about lipoprotein lipase (LPL) gene therapy mentions Professor Michael Hayden, of the University of British Columbia, as a collaborator in a study sponsored by Amsterdam Molecular Therapeutics B.V. of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
• Canada NewsWire – November 3, 2003 – A study supported by the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network suggests that some individuals may be naturally resistant to malaria. The findings will be published in the December issue of Nature Genetics.
• Canada NewsWire – June 9, 2003 – A study supported by the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network and the Stem Cell Network, among others, led to the discovery of a new class of human stem cells that rapidly grow when implanted in the bone marrow of mice. These findings are important because they could have far-reaching implications for the development of more effective cancer therapies.
• Canada NewsWire – April 10, 2003 – The Canadian Genetic Diseases Network took part in a study, supported by Genome Canada, in which the complete DNA sequence of human chromosome 7 was compiled, and nearly all the genes on this medically important portion of the human genome were decoded.
• The Edmonton Journal – April 3, 2003 – The Canadian Genetic Diseases Network and the CIHR Institute of Genetics launched a joint program called "Gene Researcher for a Week." The program places aspiring young scientists into top laboratories to acquire first-hand experience of genetic research.
• Moncton Times & Transcript – March 18, 2003 – Meaghan Trenholm, a high school student from New Brunswick, was one of 16 students across Canada who participated in the National Gene Research Program, a pilot project launched by the Canadian Genetic Diseases Network and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Genetics. The program brings budding scientists interested in genetic research to the Canada’s top laboratories.
• WhiteHorse Star –  February 28, 2003 – CGDN is one of the sponsors of a study published in the journal Science that could lead to new treatment for congestive heart failure. Earlier studies in animals had suggested that the protein phospholamban, or PLN, played a key role. Now, by studying four generations of a family in which the heart disease was common, researchers have shown that an abnormal form of the protein molecule was the primary culprit in humans as well.

7. Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations (CIPI) –

• Canada NewsWire – November 12, 2003 – The first biophotonics primer and workshop in Canada, BioLIGHT 2003, will be held November 13 to 16 in Gatineau, Québec. The event, organized by the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations and Vitesse Re-Skilling Canada Inc., targets academic and industry researchers and technology executives and managers.
• Maclean’s – September 8, 2003 – CIPI student François Légaré among outstanding young Canadians mentioned in an article devoted to Canada’s talented under-30s.
• Saint John Times Globe – January 3, 2003 – Article about Dr. Li-Hong Xu and his wife, both members of CIPI, who are studying the application of laser technology to pollution detection and monitoring. Other applications being explored include automotive emission sensing and explosives detection.

8. Canadian Institute for Telecommunications Research (CITR) – IEEE Communications Magazine - July 2003 – An article in IEEE Telecommunications Magazine entitled “Collaborative Research in Telecommunications: A Canadian Experience” features the Canadian Institude for Telecommunications Research and includes biographies of Drs Biranda Prasada and Maier Blostein.

9. Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network

• The Edmonton Journal – May 21, 2003 – Sixteen-year-old Christopher Plewes will be researching dyslexia this summer as one of 183 high-school and university students to be awarded a summer job as a researcher under the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research. He will be supervised by Christian Beaulieu, a researcher with the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network.
• Moncton Times & Transcript – April 30, 2003 – The Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network is funding a study by Pierre Cormier, a researcher from the Université de Moncton, on phonological awareness in young children enrolled in language immersion schools. This study seeks to understand how children in kindergarten and grade one who are enrolled in French immersion programs learn, and will help to establish a standardized literacy test for them.
• Moncton Times &Transcript – March 7, 2003 – The Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network awarded grants totalling $60,936 to Jean Saint-Aubin, a psychology professor at l'Université de Moncton. Saint-Aubin will use one of the grants to develop a core facility to help researchers in the network who are studying the development of bilingualism.
• Kitchener Waterloo Record – February 24, 2003 – Dr. Mary Ann Evans, a psychologist at the University of Guelph whose research is funded by the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network, has discovered that how a parent reads with a child, particularly how the parent responds to a child's errors in reading, can affect his or her performance. The best strategy seems to be self-correction, where the parents suggest that the child try the word again or take another look at it instead of just supplying the word themselves.
• New Brunswick Telegraph Journal – February 24, 2003 – Professor Jean Saint-Aubin of the Université de Moncton has received grants from the Canadian Language and Literacy Research Network to develop a facility to assist researchers studying the development of bilingualism and to use specialized equipment to study literacy.

10. Canadian Network for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics (CANVAC)

• An article about the CANVAC press release “SARS, Taiwan – and Canada?" appeared in the Montreal Gazette – December 19, 2003.
• Canada NewsWire – June 10, 2003 – Two Networks of Centres of Excellence – the Canadian Network for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics and the Protein Engineering Network – are members of the newly created Canadian SARS Research Consortium (CSRC). The consortium is a voluntary association of funding participants and investigators that coordinates, promotes and supports Canadian research on SARS and newly emerging infectious diseases.
• The National Post – May 12, 2003 – Mention of the Canadian Network for Vaccines and Immunotherapeutics (CANVAC) in an overview about the importance of vaccine research.

11. Canadian Stroke Network (CSN)

• Sault Star – 26 June 2003; Canada NewsWire, Sudbury Star – June 25, 2003 – A new pilot project has been launched allowing stroke specialists in Toronto to examine patients in North Bay and Sudbury. Telestroke will connect neurologists in Toronto with northern patients through two-way video conferencing and allow a quick consultation on a patient’s condition in the critical hours after a stroke. The program’s $630,000 start-up costs are being covered by the Canadian Stroke Network.
• The Guardian – July 11, 2003 – A team of researchers at the University of Prince Edward Island will be working with laboratories at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, the University of Toronto and the University of British Columbia on a project funded by the Canadian Stroke Network. The national program is aimed at developing a family of drugs for the prevention of brain damage caused by stroke.
• Halifax Chronicle-Herald – May 29, 2003; Fredericton Daily Gleaner, The Halifax Daily News – May 30, 2003 – Antoine Hakim, Scientific Director, announced that the Canadian Stroke Network is launching a two-year project aimed at finding ways to bring new advances in stroke knowledge out of the medical journals to patients. Renee Lyons of the Atlantic Health Promotion Research Centre leads the project which will examine everything associated with strokes including risk factors, prevention and rehabilitation.
• The Kingston Whig-Standard – April 1, 2003 – Two Networks of Centres of Excellence – the Canadian Stroke Network and the Stem Cell Network – have launched a joint $1.5-million project that will link twenty-five medical researchers in eight Canadian cities in order to learn how the brains of stroke patients may repair themselves with stem cells from their own bodies.
• The Ottawa Sun – March 28, 2003 – The Heart and Stroke Foundation's Centre for Stroke Recovery was inaugurated at the Ottawa Health Research Institute. The new institution will combine its resources with Toronto's Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care and Sunnybrook & Women's College Health Sciences Centre in the aim of streamlining stroke research into the next decade.
• The Kingston Whig-Standard – January 10, 2003 – A chemical in the saliva of vampire bats that keeps the blood they drink from clotting is the key ingredient in an experimental drug to treat people who have just suffered a stroke. In Canada, a substance called tissue plasminogen activator, or TPA, is used in up to 10 per cent of stroke patients, according to CSN scientific director Dr. Antoine Hakim.

12. Canadian Water Network (CWN)

• Canada NewsWire – November 6, 2003 – Mr. Bill Borland, Chair of the Board of the Canadian Water Network, announced the appointment of Mr. Paul Glover and Mr. Ron Nielsen to its Board of Directors.
• The Globe and Mail – October 17, 2003 – Mr. William Borland, Chair of the Board of the Canadian Water Network, announced the recent appointment of Dr. Mark Servos as Scientific Director of the Network.
• Saint John Times Globe – March 24, 2003 – Strong leadership and community involvement are two of the most important factors in a community's ability to manage water resources, according to Rob de Lo', a Canada Research Chair in water management at the University of Guelph. He spoke at CWN’s first national symposium, which brought together water researchers from all over Canada to discuss critical water issues.

13. Geomatics for Informed Decisions – GEOIDE – Commerce – November 26, 2003 – The GEOIDE Network is mentioned in an article about the importance of geomatics.

14. Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems (IRIS)

• The Vancouver Sun – November 10, 2003 – As part of a project funded by the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, Kenji Okuma, a graduate computer-science researcher at UBC, has developed software that allows computers to track the trajectories of NHL hockey players.
• Canada NewsWire – November 3, 2003 – The Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, along with the Canadian Space Agency, announced the creation of the CSA-IRIS Cooperation Program that will provide funding to investigate new research opportunities in advanced intelligent systems technologies in space telerobotics and telemedicine.
• The Kingston Whig-Standard – September 17, 2003 – Several researchers and professors from Queen’s University received funding from IRIS as part of a program created to help retain Canada’s top academic researchers who are in their first five years of their careers.
• National Post – September 9, 2003 – Precarn Inc., a not-for-profit Canadian organization that manages the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems, awarded more than $400,000 in funding as part of a program to keep young researchers in Canada.
• National Post – August 2, 2003 – Paul Johnston, vice-president, operations, of Precarn Inc., has been appointed chairman of the executive committee of the International Federation of Robotics in Paris. Precarn is a not-for-profit Canadian organization that runs the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems.
• Halifax Chronicle Herald – June 9, 2003 – Aqua, a 60-centimetre-long robot, was one of many examples of robotics and intelligent systems on display at the 13th annual Canadian Conference on Intelligent Systems, held in Halifax this week. The undersea robot project, still in the development stage, received $500,000 from the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Systems.
• The Ottawa Citizen – April 17, 2003 – IRIS has awarded Professor Gabriel Wainer of Carleton University a $35,000 grant to develop intelligent system models that one day may be able to measure traffic flow in a city, and automatically adjust traffic lights to ensure the fastest movement of cars.
• Canada Newswire – April 9, 2003 – IRIS is one of the sponsors of a new Web site creation and management tool developed by Palomino System Innovations Inc. at York University. Called WebPal, the new software creates and manages a Web site that looks professional without requiring the user to have technical or Web expertise.

15. Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures (ISIS Canada)

• OnManitoba – August 2003 – Aftab Mufti, ISIS Canada Scientific Director, says new laboratory facilities at the University of Manitoba, will allow the network to further integrate the fields of civil engineering and electronic sensing.
• Winnipeg Free Press – August 1, 2003 – Aftab Mufti, president of Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures, was mentioned in an article about structural health monitoring.
• Winnipeg Free Press – May 16, 2003 – Aftab Mufti, president of Intelligent Sensing for Innovative Structures, was mentioned in an article about structural health monitoring (SHM). SHM consists of implanting high-tech sensors at various points throughout bridges in order to monitor their performance.

16. Mathematics of Information Technology and Complex Systems (MITACS)

• Information Highways – November/December 2003 – MITACS is funding a project under the leadership of Dr. Jeannette Janssen, a graph theorist at Dalhousie University, that will help develop a focused crawler to be used to build a personalized browser – a browser that will automatically gather pages that you are interested in – and focused search engines that will only index content on a particular topic.
• RE$EARCH MONEY – December 1, 2003, Volume 17, Number 18 – November 26, 2003 – Leading Canadian mathematicians, scientists, and industry representatives will be on hand to present case studies and cutting-edge mathematical solutions to business challenges in the data mining field, as part of MITACS Quebec Interchange held in Montreal, November 13 and 14.
• IT Business.ca – November 13, 2003 – MITACS scientific director Arvind Gupta is interviewed in ITBusiness.ca.
• Hamilton Spectator – September 9, 2003 – Mathematicians from around the world gathered in Banff, Alberta for a conference organized by MITACS. The goal of the meeting was to come up with ways to use mathematical modelling to fight severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
• Research Money – June 9, 2003 – An increasing number of Canadian firms are turning to mathematics research to gain competitive advantage and this, in turn, has had a profound impact on MITACS. More than 70 firms, as well as hundreds of university and high school students, attended the MITACS annual conference in Ottawa to learn more about leading-edge mathematics research.
• The Victoria Times Colonist, National Post, The Vancouver Sun, The Edmonton Journal, The Ottawa Citizen – May 1, 2003; The Sault Star – May 3, 2003 – Dr. Arvind Gupta, Scientific Director, announced that MITACS is launching a project to develop a statistical model to better predict and control the spread of infectious diseases like SARS. Dr. Jianhong Wu, Canadian Research Chair in Applied Mathematics at York University, leads this new project team which includes experts from across the country.
• Halifax Chronicle Herald – March 25, 2003 – "Mathematics is the basis for the other sciences, the language that the other sciences use to talk about things," according to Arvind Gupta, a Simon Fraser University professor and scientific director of Mitacs. Mr. Gupta made the comments during a recent conference at Dalhousie University. Mitacs is a network of 250 scientists and 400 students working on 31 research projects in collaboration with 75 organizations nationwide.

17. Mechanical Wood-Pulps Network – Canada NewsWire – January 30, 2003 – The Pulp and Paper Technical Association of Canada (PAPTAC) recognized the Mechanical Wood-Pulps Network of Centres of Excellence at its awards ceremony today “for its vital role in linking academic research in the pulp and paper industry in Canada since 1989.” Technologies commercialized from Network-supported research have generated over $30 million in sales, created some 35 jobs and initiated ongoing university-industry collaboration.

18. Micronet – The Windsor Star – October 21, 2003 – University of Windsor student Mitra Mirhassani’s master thesis was judged best in Canada by Micronet. The paper proposes a schematic for a machine that could be used to spot forged passports or counterfeit money.

19. Protein Engineering Network of Centres of Excellence (PENCE Inc.)

• Medical Post – December 9, 2003 – The Protein Engineering Network is sponsoring research to find a cure for the adult form of Tay-Sachs disease.
• Canada NewsWire – May 28, 2003 – The Protein Engineering Network has launched 7 national projects to study the structure and function of SARS proteins. This initiative will coordinate leading researchers from across Canada to conduct research for the development of new therapies and vaccines against SARS.
• Canada Newswire – April 9, 2003 – Helix has been awarded two additional patents for its Molecular Sensing Technology and Heterodimer Protein Technology. These technologies are being used in the development of protein-based tools and biochips, and can lead to the discovery of new biopharmaceutical products and diagnostics. PENCE and the University of Alberta are two of the supporters of Helix’s research.
• Calgary Herald – February 13, 2003 – Last month, PENCE awarded a three-year, $300,000 supported chair for protein sciences research to University of Calgary proteomics researcher Justin MacDonald. MacDonald said the appointment will help him set up a laboratory and collaborate with the top proteomic scientists in Canada.

20. Stem Cell Network (SCN)

• National Post – December 8, 2003 – The Stem Cell Network and the Foundation Fighting Blindness launched a two-year project aimed at finding ways to use stem cells to treat and possibly reverse some of the world’s most devastating eye diseases and injuries such as macular degeneration.
• National Post – December 8, 2003 – Dr. Lynn Megeney, a scientist at the Ottawa Health Research Institute, is leading a team of researchers as part of a Stem Cell Network-supported project that could lead to the world’s first stem cell-based therapies for heart disease.
• The Ottawa Citizen – November 2, 2003 – An article on stem cells mentions several researchers from the Stem Cell Network, namely Scientific Director Dr. Ronald Worton and scientists Drs. Lawrence Rosenberg, Ivar Mendez and David Lillicrap as well as Paul Morley, deputy scientific director of the Canadian Stroke Network.
• The Kingston Whig-Standard – April 1, 2003 – Two Networks of Centres of Excellence – the Canadian Stroke Network and the Stem Cell Network – have launched a joint $1.5-million project that will link twenty-five medical researchers in eight Canadian cities in order to learn how the brains of stroke patients may repair themselves with stem cells from their own bodies.
• Halifax Chronicle Herald and CTV News – January 3, 2003 – A study funded by the Canadian Stroke Network and the Stem Cell Network, among others, has demonstrated that a naturally occurring hormone called prolactin prompts stem cells in the brain to produce new neurons in the brain's olfactory bulb. The discovery is important because prolactin may have significant potential for generating new brain cells.

21. Sustainable Forest Management Network (SFM)

• Canada NewsWire – September 26, 2003, PR NewsWire – September 25, 2003 – John W. Weaver, President and CEO of Abitibi-Consolidated Inc., made a presentation entitled ‘Partnerships in our Forests: The Canadian Approach to Sustainability’ at the XII World Forestry Congress on September, 26 2003. The speech focused on several initiatives including the Sustainable Forest Management Network.
• Canada NewsWire – September 22, 2003 – A new book, Towards Sustainable Management of the Boreal Forest, launched in conjunction with the XII World Forestry Congress, summarizes seven years of peer-reviewed ecological, economic, and social research conducted by the Sustainable Forest Management Network.
• Canada NewsWire – May 21, 2003 – An article recently published by SFM Network’s Principal Investigator, Sue Hannon and Graduate student, Jeff Hoyt looks at forest management practices and their effects on the migration of the three-toed and black-backed woodpeckers.
• The Edmonton Journal – April 6, 2003 – Working with the Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, two SFM researchers, Cliff Hickey and David Natcher, have developed a template for development that preserves the community's traditional lifestyle without seriously compromising the economic integrity of forestry operations. The approach sets up a number of ground rules that industry and aboriginal communities must accept before any development takes place. They say their approach could be used in oil and gas developments as well.
• CNN Matthews – March 24, 2003 – The social science journal Human Organization reports that the Little Red River Cree Nation (LRRCN) of northern Alberta and SFM researchers have developed six criteria and 62 indicators to measure success toward achieving two objectives: protecting the LRRCN traditional way-of-life and providing economic self-reliance from forestry operations within LRRCN treaty lands. This research was undertaken to inform an ongoing cooperative management planning process between this First Nation, two forest companies and the Government of Alberta.
• Agence France-Presse (AFP) – March 18, 2003 – A report published March 16 by a team of researchers from the Sustainable Forest Management Network said Western Canada will be dominated by prairie rather than forest by the year 2060 because of increased forest fires brought on by global warming. The west is considered particularly vulnerable and a major impact on forestry operations is forecast.
• Calgary Herald – March 16, 2003 – As global warming continues over the next century, island forests in the prairies will be destroyed by fire, disease, insect infestation and arid conditions. This is a microcosm of what will happen to boreal forests all across Canada. The Sustainable Forest Network’s Mike Flannigan said Western Canada is particularly vulnerable and his team predicted that by 2040 to 2060, the incidence of extreme fire episodes in Western Canada will increase, with implications for health, recreation, the forest industry, aboriginal communities, and greenhouse gas emissions. Eastern Canada will begin to see the same dramatic fire incidents by 2080.

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