Partnership Pays Off

Northern Exposure by Emmet Pierce, San Diego Business Journal, August 16, 2010. Excerpt:

An example of San Diegans collaborating with Canadians is the work that has taken place at the UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center in cooperation with research at the University of Toronto. The partnership has enabled San Diego researchers to acquire a $20 million grant to develop drugs to be used against leukemia stem cells, Barr says.Dr. Catriona Jamieson, director of the stem cell research program at the Moores center, said scientists from Toronto and San Diego share "a deep and abiding interest in cancer stem cell biology." The Canadian consulate in San Diego was instrumental in helping to create a relationship in which both institutions would benefit, sharing information and applying for funds to support their research.

"The idea was to establish a Canada-California cancer stem cell initiative and obtain connections with Canadian funding agencies, particularly Genome Canada and the Ministry of Health," she said.

Jamieson added, "The most important thing is it allows people with disparate abilities and backgrounds to work together on the same problem."

Barr said the University of Toronto also was able to secure a $20 million research grant because of the collaboration, "so the team is greater than the sum of its parts."