Madam Chair, thank you for the invitation to appear before your committee.
It’s a pleasure for me to be here for the first time as president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, or CIHR.
Research excellence is an issue close to my heart and fundamental to CIHR’s work. Nine months ago, I accepted this role because the mission of CIHR—to improve the health, well-being, and prosperity of Canadians through research excellence—is a mission I deeply believe in. As a clinician-researcher for 33 years, I have seen first-hand how research transforms lives and health systems.
Cancer care and outcomes have dramatically improved over my lifetime. This is quite personal to me. I lost my first wife to breast cancer. It turns out that during her battle a new class of anti-estrogen medications called aromatase inhibitors became available just when she needed them. Thanks in part to excellent Canadian research, these treatments gave her more time and gave our then 10-year-old daughter eight more years with her mother.
We are now at a critical moment in human history where scientific discoveries will transform our daily lives.
Twenty-five years ago, when CIHR was created, Canadian scientists joined the human genome project. It took thousands of scientists and billions of dollars to map just one genome. Today, not only can we map a whole genome over a weekend with less than $100 but we can now edit that genome and remove disease-causing sequences using gene editing technologies called CRISPR, CRISPR-Cas9, to potentially cure diseases, including sickle-cell disease and cystic fibrosis.
This means we now have the power to transform life. Imagine now, if we couple this foundational transformation in human biology with artificial intelligence. In health and life sciences, this powerful combination will accelerate discovery at unfathomable rates. These powerful forces will generate new foundational and fundamental insights. They will affect health and health care, as well as all aspects of our social fabric. This convergence will require all of society, including our best scientists, to be at the forefront of this new revolution.
Are we ready to act boldly and together? Are we willing and ready to overcome the barriers and unlock the power of our health data, from our genome to health records, to serve the public good? Are we ready as a country to invest in being bold leaders. Canada has some of the best scientists in the world, whether they're from the two other agencies or our own and which we fund. Canada has some of the world's best scientists, I believe we can move ahead and remain global leaders. However, we are sadly falling behind.
As the global research landscape explodes, there's a clear imperative to strengthen Canada's science to grow our economy as well as to protect our sovereignty and security. My vision of research excellence is captured in three words, “collaboration for impact”. For me, it means fostering partnerships, building problem-focused networks, and consortia across sectors and jurisdictions that integrate diverse disciplines and perspectives to tackle major societal problems affecting all of us, including the most vulnerable. This also means that equity must be a foundational principle.
Without enabling all Canadians to benefit from our many discoveries, we risk tearing at Canada's social fabric as well as worsening health and economic outcomes. Research excellence alone will not suffice.
CIHR has the bold ambition and the funding approaches to continue supporting research excellence. We have a discovery fund that supports the best and most original science, and many mission-driven funds that target priority areas like primary care and mental health, brain health, pandemics and the opioid crisis.
As my colleagues have already told you, both approaches rely on rigorous peer review in accordance with international standards.This is how we produce impactful research that continues to change lives.
At this pivotal moment, we must not only provide all necessary resources to our top scientists, but also improve the commercialization of discoveries made right here in Canada. Otherwise, we risk enriching other countries instead of our own—as was the case with mRNA vaccines and Ozempic.
In summary, through our unwavering commitment to excellence, CIHR aims to maximize the impact of research on the health, well-being and economic prosperity of Canadians from coast to coast to coast.
Thank you. I would be pleased to answer your questions.