Dr. David Huntsman, genetic pathologist, director, and co-founder of OvCaRe
Health Minister Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid has announced an investment of $48 million to support the ongoing work of the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research (MSFHR). This is great news for BC researchers – including those at Vancouver Coastal Health, many of whom are current and past recipients of MSFHR funding.
Dr. MacDiarmid recognized the contributions of BC researchers in her announcement, including Dr. David Huntsman, genetic pathologist and director of the Ovarian Cancer Research (OvCaRe) Program of BC – a collaboration between VCH Research Institute and BC Cancer Agency. OvCaRehas received support from MSFHR since its inception 10 years ago, and has become a prototype of the clinically-focused, multidisciplinary, and multi-institutional research the Foundation has sought to foster in BC.
Dr. Huntsman is one of many VCH researchers who acknowledges the role of the Foundation in supporting BC researchers to compete on a national and international level. He says, “When I look at my own career, the OvCaRe team, and many of the outstanding health research successes that have occurred in BC over the past 10 years, it is hard to imagine how they could have happened without the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research. The announcement is great news for BC as it means we will continue to contribute to a better understanding of many diseases and find solutions to both local and global health problems.”
OvCaRe is a global leader in ovarian cancer research with ongoing projects tackling the major challenges of the disease, including a province-wide ovarian cancer prevention program and the first detailed analysis of genomes of several subtypes of this cancer.
For more information visit MSFHR at www.msfhr.org. For more information on VCH Research visit www.vchri.ca.