Toward individualizing diagnoses and treatments on the basis of genetic profile differences
The first two research projects supported by the Pfizer-FRSQ Innovation Fund will investigate differences in the genetic code for inflammatory bowel disease and metastatic colorectal cancer. This research could lead to improved diagnosis and the development of individualized treatments for these diseases. These innovative projects are marshalling multidisciplinary teams of seasoned researchers from major Quebec research institutions. Created in March 2008, the Pfizer-FRSQ Innovation Fund has as its mission to fund Quebec research projects in human health.
Chosen by the Pfizer-FRSQ Innovation Fund's scientific review committee, which consists of internationally renowned experts, these projects will receive grants of $800,000 and $1,500,000, respectively, spread out over three years. The research project entitled "Integrative biology of genes associated with several inflammatory diseases: diagnostic and therapeutic improvements" is headed by Dr. John D. Rioux, Ph.D, associate professor of Medicine at Université de Montréal and at the Montreal Heart Institute and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Genetics and Genomic Medicine of Inflammation. Dr. Gerald Batist, codirector of Q-CROC (Quebec - Clinical Research Organization in Cancer), professor and holder of the Minda de Gunzburg Chair at the Department of Oncology, McGill University, and director of the Segal Cancer Centre, Jewish General Hospital as well as of the McGill Centre for Translational Research in Cancer, is directing the project entitled "Prospective study for identifying and validating biomarkers of therapeutic resistance in metastatic colorectal cancer".