Thank you very much. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today. I'll keep my comments brief.
I am a neuroscientist and a stem cell biologist and director of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the University of Calgary. The mission of the institute is to translate discoveries into innovative health care solutions for patients and families with neurological and mental health conditions.
My research in stems cells in particular has been relevant to the development of new novel therapeutics, and over the past five years some of the work that we have done in very fundamental, basic research is now being tested in patients, for stroke in particular, but we also have some work that is being proposed for testing in MS patients sometime in the next 12 to 24 months.
All of this work revolves around using safe compounds to try to activate people's own stem cells to improve neurological function. I should say, however, that it takes somewhere between 12 or 24 to 48 months before some of the very basic, fundamental findings are tested in small numbers of patients to ensure two things: one, that they are safe; and second, that they have a prospect of improving people's lives.
All of the individuals I know, including the patients who come to our clinics, the families of our patients, including individuals throughout our communities, are affected by neurological and mental health disorders, which is why it's absolutely critical that the federal government make important, strategic, carefully thought-through investments in research—both basic, fundamental, and applied research. I applaud this committee and this subcommittee for tackling this very important issue.
I can't speak with great knowledge about CCSVI, and you've already heard from many experts about it. The only thing I can say is that in many cases like this, it is very important that there be careful research before patient populations are subject to new treatments that have not yet been proven to be effective.
From what I understand from both the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada and the U.S. MS Society, there has been a call for proposals and there will be announcements of funding for new studies imminently. There will be cooperative studies throughout North America to test the validity of this diagnosis as well as experimental treatments.
I think it's also important to note that one of the leading MS centres in the United States, Stanford University, halted any further CCSVI treatment because of the unfortunate death of one patient as well as the heart attack of one of the other patients. This speaks to the importance of very careful, considered research, both at the basic and clinical level, to ensure the best for all individuals, patients, and families throughout Canada when there are new therapies such as CCSVI.
Thank you, Madam Chair.