IT and cancer stem cell research first to emerge from Canada-California partnership

Organizational challenges being addressed

Information technology and cancer stem cell research are emerging as the strongest contenders for initial research collaboration under the Canada California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP) (R$, October 18/06). But despite widespread enthusiasm for the ambitious initiative, a lack of coherence among the Canadian players is prompting backers to consider the creation of a small support office to coordinate federal efforts and monitor developments and the hiring of an expert to establish a governance structure and procedures.

Key members of the multifaceted initiative met in Ottawa earlier this week to assess progress to date and position the CCSIP model as a key element of the federal government's Global Commerce and pending S&T strategies. The impressive gathering included the presidents and VPs research from four of Canada's leading research universities (Univ of Toronto, McGill Univ, Univ of British Columbia and Univ of Alberta), national science advisor Dr Arthur Carty, the president/CEO and board chair of Genome Canada, and senior officials from CANARIE and the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT).

The California delegation was led by Dr Robert Dynes, president of the Univ of California (UC) and a key champion for moving the CCSIP forward. Dynes and other senior UC officials made the trip at the behest of Kevin Lynch, clerk of the Privy Council Office.

"I came here (to Ottawa) in May and visited Kevin Lynch and we talked about this. It's fair to say he was intrigued by the idea and he asked that I come back and bring a cadre of Canadian university presidents and other people including industry and funding agencies together," says Dynes. "We're trying to flesh this out in a little more detail — areas where we think we have a unique, specific advantage."

Dynes heads the world's largest publicly funded university system in the world, spanning 10 large campuses throughout the state. California is arguably the most innovative jurisdiction on the planet, teaming with large, globally competitive technology firms and countless smaller firms. The innovation system in place and synergies between government, industry and academia are highly effective. Yet there is growing awareness that international collaboration is the key to maintaining tech-based leadership and UC is being aggressive in forging those relationships.

CANADIAN INSTITUTIONS REQUIRE MORE COHERENCY

Canada also has a strong, internationally competitive academic research base and some global industry players, but compared to California its national innovation system is fragmented. That weakness is becoming increasingly apparent as CCSIP discussions move forward.

"Bringing the universities together to grab at opportunities without getting overwhelmed by administration is a challenge in Canada right now," says Dynes. "You want to bring critical mass together (but) in Canada, universities have not had a history of knowing how to work together."

Despite the lack of coherency within Canada's research community, there have been at least two impressive early breakthroughs and discoveries of enormous potential. Shortly after the first CCSIP summit last January in Los Angeles, CANARIE moved quickly with its California counterpart to establish a high-speed link between the state and Canada — a connection that is already being used for collaborative research in areas as diverse as neuroscience and digital media.

At the Univ of California San Diego (UCSD), researchers are receiving high-resolution images of brain slices transmitted by researchers at McGill Univ. The collaboration between UCSD's National Centre for Imaging and Microscopy Research and McGill's Brain Imaging Centre is bringing together world renowned scientists from opposing sides of the continent, made possible by the link through CAnet 4.

"When people step out into new terrain, new things happen and if bright people are watching they'll recognize that," says Dynes. "There are scientists at UC San Diego looking at a large and very high density set of brain maps from McGill, which is one of the leaders in the world."

CCSIP is also facilitating fruitful preliminary interaction between Canadian and US researchers in the area of cancer stem cell research. On the Canadian side, representatives from Genome Canada, the Stem Cell Network of Centres of Excellence, Univ of Toronto and Pfizer Canada have linked together to explore opportunities with counterparts at UC Los Angeles, Stanford Univ and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM).

They quickly discovered common, world leading strength in cancer stem cells and regenerative medicine and are exploring several projects including the collection and analysis of cancer stem cells from a large population. Preference appears to be for an project that could deliver an "early winner", with a truncated time between discovery and delivery and major gains for all involved.

"When we put the pieces together, the people that got together realized that ,between Canada and California, we have almost all the cancer stem cell researchers in the world," says Dynes. "There is a great deal of enthusiasm that they may have found a gold mine here just by putting these people together."

Dynes says that at this stage in CCSIP's evolution, it's critical to avoid concentrating too much on funding and to maintain maximum flexibility to allow collaboration to flourish. "Let's let research drive this thing," says Dynes, adding that the creation of a large fund for researchers to draw upon would be "a mistake". "It's identifying the really good ideas where we are in a unique position … I've always believed that if there are some dynamite ideas, it's going to be easy to get funding. … We have a governor and he's supportive of this. He believes, as I do, that California has to maintain its position as a world leader in innovation and the economy. The only way to do that is to be ahead in areas like the ones we've identified. I think the only limit is (the availability of enough) bright people."

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