I have spent a good part of my career at the intersection of the academic, public and private sectors, where things happen. As my term as vice-president of research and innovation at McGill University approaches, I have reflected on our achievements and the means used to achieve them.
What I remember above all is that progress inevitably requires collaboration between universities, businesses and governments, but also between countries and disciplines. This has been seen in many fields, including artificial intelligence, biodiversity, energy storage and neuroscience.
The rapid development of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 — made possible by previous mRNA research, including that of Nahum Sonenberg of McGill University — is a compelling example of the rapid progress that scientists around the world can achieve by working together, with financial support from the public and private sectors.
Over the past seven years, the McGill University research community and I have worked to intensify the University’s collaborations, particularly in genomic medicine.
Genomic research holds great promise for the fight against a number of diseases, including cancer. Many challenges remain, particularly in translating discoveries into effective treatments. And it is through collaboration that we will overcome them.
In this area, two of McGill University’s main partnerships have been with Japan. Indeed, we have established a joint doctoral program with Kyoto University, and we maintain an important relationship, in the same country, with the RIKEN Center for Integrated Medical Sciences. None of these partnerships would have been possible without the visionary support of Rémi Quirion, Quebec’s chief scientist, who understood their potential and who accepted that the Quebec Research Funds, which he directs, finance them.
McGill University launched the Victor-Phillip-Dahdaleh Institute for Genomic Medicine last year with a $30 million gift from the entrepreneur and philanthropist and his wife, Mona Dahdaleh. The Institute conducts cutting-edge research into the development of innovative diagnostic tools, targeted treatments, pharmaceuticals and vaccines, as well as frameworks and data sharing mechanisms for implementing these innovations.
The University has long been a pioneer in this field, since Charles Scriver, whose work led to the establishment of screening programs for congenital diseases in newborns and the creation, in 1972, of the group in medical genetics from McGill University.
Furthermore, last year, the Dahdaleh Institute enabled McGill University to obtain a $165 million grant from the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. Thanks to this grant, one of the largest in the history of the University, we will be able to realize the From DNA to RNA (D2R) program, dedicated to the research of RNA treatments, particularly for groups poorly served. To this investment were added funds from the private and public sectors as well as universities, community partners and non-profit organizations from four continents, for a total of $191 million.
The Dahdaleh Institute, in partnership with RIKEN, Kyoto University, Fondation Pasteur Japan and UK Biobank, is organizing the International Symposium on Genomic Medicine, Therapeutics and Health to be held from April 8 to 10 in Tokyo. Among the lead organizers is Mark Lathrop, who directs the Dahdaleh Institute and the D2R program.
The Symposium program is at the cutting edge of science. In particular, we will discuss computer discoveries allowing the use of massive databases which will shed light on the cause and effect links between certain genes and certain diseases. The broader objective of the Symposium is the deepening of scientific collaborations between academia and the private sector, across continents, disciplines and generations.
International partnerships are part of McGill University’s DNA. By attracting the brightest minds, they improve the research ecosystem of the University and of Montreal. Without these crucial partnerships, the University would not be able to establish links between Quebec — and Canada as a whole — and the rest of the world.
A recently established European Union program, Horizon Europe, offers new opportunities for collaboration. McGill University participated in 38 projects of its less ambitious predecessor, Horizon 2020, making the University the program’s largest Canadian collaborator, along with the University of Toronto.
These institutional partnerships are not concluded overnight. They require the vision, ambition and commitment of researchers as well as the support of universities, philanthropists, governments and public funding organizations.
Threatening the funding of McGill University means threatening its essential role in creating economic and scientific ties that benefit Quebec.
It is absolutely necessary to continue to encourage and maintain these partnerships.