$3 Million in Health Funding Targets Microbial Impact on Immune System, Asthma

UBC microbiologist Brett Finlay has been awarded $3 million in funding from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and Genome British Columbia to investigate the impact intestinal microbes have on the human immune system.

The support is part of seven grants totaling $15.5 million announced today in Toronto by federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq.

"We are surrounded by microbes and yet we know relatively little about them,” says John Hepburn, UBC Vice President Research and International. “The emerging field of microbiomics will contribute new knowledge to improve the health of Canadians and people around the world. We’re grateful for this significant investment from the federal government and Genome BC."

Finlay’s project will also examine potential connections between intestinal microbes and asthma. It is supported by $2.5 million from CIHR and $625,000 from Genome BC. Finlay is a professor at UBC’s Michael Smith Laboratories. His team consists of researchers from UBC and the Child and Family Research Institute.

The UBC portion of the funding also includes support for UBC researcher Deborah Money. Money’s project will use the latest genome sequencing tools to determine what contributes to a healthy balance of microorganisms in the vagina, and how an imbalance may be associated with preterm delivery, genital tract infection and overall reproductive health. It is supported by $1.7 million from CIHR and $581,000 from Genome BC.

Money is a professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at UBC’s Faculty of Medicine and executive director of the Women’s Health Research Institute (WHRI) at BC Women’s Hospital & Health Centre, an agency of the Provincial Health Services Authority. Her team consists of researchers from UBC, WHRI, National Research Council and the Universities of Saskatchewan, Western Ontario, Guelph and Toronto.