Ford government scraps funding for stem cell research
2019-05-16 from cbc.ca
The Ford government plans to stop all funding to an institute that supports Ontario scientists at the cutting edge of stem cell research.
Provincial officials have told the Ontario Institute for Regenerative Medicine (OIRM) that its $5 million in annual funding from the province will cease next March.
The Toronto-based institute provides grants to help Ontario researchers turn their their stem cell discoveries into treatments that are both medically and commercially viable.
The government's decision to terminate the funding is "extremely short-sighted and uninformed," said Bernard Thébaud, a neonatal researcher who received funding from OIRM to explore the use of stem cells in preventing complications from premature birth.
"If [the government] would do a careful analysis, they would realize this is a worthwhile investment," said Thébaud, a senior scientist at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and professor of pediatrics at the University of Ottawa.
Read more here