Innovation Anthology #562:

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It’s ten years since one mad cow in Alberta changed the beef industry for Canada.

That incident sparked a lot of scientific activity, including the establishment of the Centre for Prion and Protein Folding Diseases at the University of Alberta.

Dr. David Westaway is a professor and the Centre’s director.

As he explains, over the last decade researchers have made a connection between what causes spongy brain in mad cows, and other diseases. These include Chronic Wasting Disease in deer and elk as well as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and various dementias in humans.

DR DAVID WESTAWAY: All of these diseases seem to employ prion-like mechanisms and that wasn’t really foreseen. And the other thing that has happened is that there is a line of research what we might call the regular prion protein. but it has a benign precursor that we all have in our brain cells. What was unexpected is this benign precursor molecule may also feature in the chain of events in Alzheimer’s disease.

Promising discoveries in Dr. Westaway’s lab indicate there may be a way to interrupt the development of Alzheimer’s and other prion related diseases.

Thanks today to Alberta Innovates Health Solutions

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I’M CHERYL CROUCHER

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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: 2013-06-04