Innovation Anthology #111: President and CEO

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Huntington’s disease is an inherited, neuro-generative disorder that usually manifests in a patient’s 30’s or 40’s.

The mutant gene that causes Huntington’s was identified several years ago. And pharmocologist Dr. Simonetta Sipione was part of a group in Milan, Italy that recently discovered a link between Huntington’s and cholesterol.

Now at the University of Alberta as a Heritage Scholar, Dr. Sipione is trying to understand why the production of cholesterol is impaired in the brains of Huntington’s patients.

DR. SIMONETTA SIPIONE: So impairment of the production of lipids may be a very important and relatively early event in the development of the disease. So right now, we are specificially looking at how cells in Huntington’s brains communicate with each other and how we can restore normal communication by modulating the amount of these special lipids and cholesterol that are important for cell to cell communication.

As Dr. Sipione explains, it will still take a cocktail of new drugs to treat Huntington’s patients.

Thanks today to the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research.

FOR INNOVATION ANTHOLOGY, I’M CHERYL CROUCHER

NOTE:  The former AHFMR is now called Alberta Innovates Health Solutions

Guest

Bob Mroz,

HY-TEK Bio, Dayton, Maryland, United States,

Sponsor

Alberta Innovates Health Solutions

Alberta Innovates (formerly Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions)

As the newly formed Alberta Innovates corporation, we still fund top quality, internationally competitive health research and innovation activities to improve the health and wellbeing of Albertans. We provide leadership for Alberta’s health research and innovation enterprise by directing, coordinating, reviewing, funding and supporting research and innovation.

Working with our many partners  in the health system, we ensure that research achieves innovation in care, policy and practice, and that the needs of patients and clinicians influence research.

Our background

Alberta Innovates consolidation was launched November 1, 2016.

Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions

Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions was established as part of the Alberta Innovates system by an Act of Legislation of the Government of Alberta. It is a agency  of the Government of Alberta. We receive a yearly allocation from the Ministry of Health and report through the ministry to the people of Alberta.

Our Mandate and Roles document reflects our role and responsibilities and outlines the government statues and regulations with which we comply.

Alberta’s Health Research and Innovation Strategy (AHRIS) sets out Alberta’s health research agenda for the coming decade to ensure our considerable investments in research align with our priority—to improve the health of Albertans.

Program Date: 2008-02-26