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The
vision of ASRA's Life Sciences Strategy is to create an environment
that supports healthy people in a healthy province. As a result
of ASRA and its leadership many key initiatives are taking place
in the province:
Alberta Life Sciences Institute (ALSI) The Alberta Life Sciences Institute (ALSI) focuses on life sciences opportunities at the convergence of the traditional sectors of health, agriculture, energy and forestry. The institute works collaboratively with other government departments, industry, stakeholders and research institutions to enhance and expand Alberta’s life sciences capacity.
Alberta
Synchrotron Institute (ASI), is a partnership of
the University of Alberta, the University of Calgary and the University
of Lethbridge, which will coordinate provincial access to the Canadian
Light Source, Canada's only synchrotron. This collaborative effort
will put Alberta in a competitive position to attract and retain
researchers. The institute will also inform Alberta firms about
manufacturing possibilities at the Canadian Light Source. Finally,
the ASI will be a liaison between researchers and industry to ensure
innovative academic discoveries are quickly transferred into commercial
and industrial applications.
Genome
Prairie is a key project to strengthen ongoing research
efforts in genomics. ASRA provided $2 million to Genome Prairie
to partner with the federal initiative to become a world leader
in genomic research. Genome Prairie is helping develop a strategic
infrastructure in Canada, establishing networks among academic,
government and industry researchers so they may collaborate on multidisciplinary,
leading edge genomics research.
Provincial
health research facilities In response to guidance
from ASRA, Alberta strengthened its growing reputation as one of
the world's leading centers of medical research with an investment
of $10 million to assist with further planning and development of
two new provincial research facilities. This provincial funding
from Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Advanced Education and Technology helped
draw additional funding from the federal government through the
Canadian Foundation for Innovation, and the Alberta Heritage Foundation
for Medical Research, as well as private and community partners.
Alberta
Research Council (ARC) supports Alberta's science
and technology mandate by using government investment for applied
research and development. Over the past year, the ARC achieved a
great deal in all of the building blocks of the life sciences sector.
AARI
has funded over 2000 research projects which have benefited the
agriculture and food industry and have solidified Alberta's position
as a global player in this industry. Currently AARI is fulfilling
the mandate of its strategic approach focusing on:
- Agri-food
and health - functional foods and neutraceuticals
- Basic
research on Genomics, Proteomics and Bioinformatics
- Environmental
Sustainability
- Non-food,
fibre and Industrial uses (including molecular farming)
- Primary
agriculture and food safety
- Value-added
processing
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