Sixth round of recipients of Pfizer Cardiovascular Research Awards Program announced

Pfizer Canada is pleased to announce the sixth round of recipients of the Pfizer Cardiovascular Research Awards Program. The program, first launched in October 2005, was developed to fund and support cardiovascular research in Canada.

This year, Pfizer Canada is pleased to introduce one new partnership award: the Cardiovascular Health Network (CHN) - Pfizer Canada Grant for the Future. This award is a unique and innovative alliance between Pfizer Canada and the Cardiovascular Health Network of the Fonds de la Recherche en Santé du Québec (FRSQ) and will fund a young Quebec investigator's project (within five years of his/her first academic appointment). This year's recipient is Dr. Sébastien Bonnet, PhD, Assistant Professor at the Université Laval.

The Pfizer Cardiovascular Research Awards Program aims to fund and support independent cardiovascular research in the areas of basic, biomedical and clinical sciences, patient care enhancement, epidemiology and outcome research. All proposals are reviewed and selected by an independent committee of 22 Canadian cardiovascular experts, chaired by Dr. Jean-Claude Tardif, Director of Research, Montreal Heart Institute and professor of medicine at the Université de Montréal.

"As always, we are so pleased with the response from medical professionals interested in cardiovascular research and this awards program," says Dr. Tardif. "It shows a great level of commitment to this area of research from Canada's independent researchers, but also a commitment and dedication from Pfizer Canada to improve our understanding and treatment of cardiovascular disease in this country."

Award recipients were announced this week at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress in Edmonton, Alberta. The seven recipients are:

- Dr. Sébastien Bonnet, PhD, Assistant Professor, Université Laval; Cardiovascular Health Network - Pfizer Canada Grant for the Future; - Dr. Bernard Le Foll, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Toronto; - Dr. Nabil Seidah, PhD, Professor, Université de Montréal; The Jean Davignon Distinguished Cardiovascular Metabolic Research Award; - Dr. Jean Sévigny, PhD, Associate Professor, Université Laval; The Canadian Hypertension Society - Pfizer Award; - Dr. John Tyberg, MD, PhD, Professor, University of Calgary; The Kidney Foundation of Canada/Pfizer Canada - Cardio-Renal Research Award; - Dr. Rudiger Von Harsdorf, MD, Associate Professor, University of Toronto; and, - Dr. Dawei Zhang, PhD, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta.

Pfizer Canada is proud to support the innovators and ideas that make better health possible.

"Pfizer is dedicated to supporting outstanding research that may lead to improve the cardiovascular health and quality of life of Canadians," says Dr. Bernard Prigent, Vice President and Medical Director, Pfizer Canada. "It is part of our mission to continue to invest in Canadian research to generate scientific knowledge in the area of cardiovascular health."

The Pfizer Cardiovascular Research Awards Program is open to all researchers interested in cardiovascular disease, including physicians, academics and pharmacists.