Together, we achieved many successes in 2018, including publishing our research in high-impact journals and securing new research funding. These achievements were made possible through the hard work and dedication of the Krembil community. As such, I thank each of you for your important contributions over the past year.
Our Institute also experienced several noteworthy changes in 2018.
We recruited talented individuals to support our strategic research priorities. Senior Scientist Dr. Michael Reber and Scientist Dr. Milad Lankarany are leading new research programs in vision and neuroscience, respectively. Our new Senior Public Affairs Advisor, Heather Sherman, is promoting our scientific achievements—through press releases and stories—to the public. And Dr. Carrie-Lynn Keiski is helping our researchers develop grant applications.
The Krembil Brain Institute (KBI) was created to bring together neuroscience researchers and clinicians across the University Health Network. Its launch was followed by the release of a magazine describing some of the exciting research at KBI.
Krembil researchers established important partnerships to help convert their research findings into new treatments for disease. My Krembil-based company Treventis and French pharma company Servier inked a research agreement to develop a new treatment for Alzheimer disease. Likewise, MaRS Innovation and Evotec are partnering with Dr. Jeremy Sivak to develop a new treatment for glaucoma.
Not only was the Centre for Medicinal Chemistry and Drug Discovery operationalized in 2018, but it also achieved its first commercial success. The Centre was instrumental in securing Dr. Sivak’s partnership with Evotec and MaRS Innovation and will perform the project’s medicinal chemistry activities.
These changes in staff, structure and partners will help us move closer to our goal of developing new diagnostics and therapies to ease the suffering of those affected by arthritis or diseases of the eye and brain.
I look forward to working together in 2019!
Relentlessly yours,
Don Weaver
Director, Krembil Research Institute