Networks of Centres of Excellence

AllerGen’s Vision

AllerGen’s Mission

Table of Contents

AllerGen NCE Inc. is made possible through funding from Networks of Centres of Excellence Canada. Networks of Centres ofExcellence Canada is a joint initiative of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC), the CanadianInstitutes of Health Research (CIHR), the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC), and Industry Canada.

To create an enduring network of allergy and immune disease experts whose discovery and developmentefforts contribute to reducing the impact of allergic and related immune diseases nationally and globally.

To catalyze and support discovery, development, networking, capacity building, commercialization and knowledge translation that contribute to reducing the morbidity, mortality and socio-economic burdenof allergic and related immune diseases.

AllerGen NCE Inc.McMaster University1200 Main Street West, Room 3120Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning and DiscoveryHamilton, Ontario, Canada L8N 3Z5T. 905-525-9140 ext 26502F. 905-524-0611www.allergen-nce.cainfo@allergen-nce.ca

Message from the Board Chair and Scientific Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Highlights 2007 - 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Discovery and Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6The CHILD Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Examining indicators leading to asthma and allergy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Studying new ways to diagnose and treat food allergies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Managing allergic disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Connecting the mind and the body . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13Knowledge to action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14AllerGen’s Annual Research Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Network partners and collaborators . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Developing Highly Qualified Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18Financial summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21AllerGen researchers, trainees, committees and administration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

Special thanks to TOPIGEN Pharmaceuticals Inc. for the use of their photograph on the cover of the AllerGen Annual Report.The photo shows eosinophils present in a broncho-alveolar lavage in a rodent asthma model.

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Board of Directors 07-08

Lynton R. WilsonChair

April 2005 - Nov 2007Chairman of the Board, CAE Inc.

Dr. Judah DenburgScientific Director and CEO

AllerGen NCE Inc. atMcMaster University

Dr. Tony BaiProfessor,

University of British Columbia

Douglas Barber, PhDDistinguished

Professor-in-Residence,McMaster University

Dr. Zave ChadAllergist and Clinical

Immunologist

Kevin Fehr, PhDDirector, Basic Research

and Genetics,GlaxoSmithKline Inc.

Chaviva Hosek, PhDPresident and CEO, TheCanadian Institute for

Advanced Research

Thomas Kierans, MBAChair and Vice President

Social Sciences andHumanities Research Council

Dr. Eric LeithChair, Canadian Allergy,

Asthma and ImmunologyFoundation

Dr. Claude RoyGastroenterologist and

Professor Emeritus,Hôpital Ste-Justine

Mark Bisby, PhDConsultant

Aubrey Tingle, PhDPresident and CEO, Michael

Smith Foundation forHealth Research

Diana Royce, EdDManaging Director

ex officio

Danielle Arsenault NCE Programme Officer

ex officio

Elinor Wilson, PhDPresident and CEO,

Assisted Human ReproductionImplementation Office,

Health Canada

Graham Scott, CM, QCChair

CEO, Graham Scott Strategies Inc.

Kazimierz Borkowski, PhDVice-President, Medical Affairs,

AstraZeneca Canada Inc.

Dr. Deborah DanoffDirector, Office of Education,Royal College of Physicians

and Surgeons

Peter George, PhD President,

McMaster University

Frank Viti, MBAPresident,

Ingin Patient Marketing

Message from the Chair and Scientific Director

AllerGen NCE Inc. is now entering its fourth year of operation as Canada’sNetwork of Centres of Excellence in discovery, development and capacitybuilding to reduce the impact of allergic and related immune diseases. Weare proud to present herein AllerGen’s third annual report for the periodApril 1, 2007 to March 31, 2008, highlighting a year remarkable for itsachievements in each of the Network’s strategic priority areas. Led andimplemented by Canada’s leading life, environment, applied, social and clini-cal scientists, the allergy and asthma research and development effortsshowcased in this report are driven by cross-cutting collaborations and part-nerships within a programmatic research framework. In addition to invest-ments in strategic research priorities, AllerGen’s highly qualified personnel(HQP) training programme is strengthening Canada’s competitive advantagethrough investments in people.

A major accomplishment for AllerGen in this reporting period has beenprecedent-setting partnerships with the Canadian Institutes of HealthResearch, and with policy makers and patient organizations, culminating inthe official launch of the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development(CHILD) Study of gene-environment interactions contributing to the develop-ment of asthma and allergy in early childhood. The launch of the CHILDstudy responds directly to a key recommendation by Dr. Kellie Leitch, Advisorto the federal Minister of Health on Healthy Children and Youth, in herMarch 2008 report Reaching for the Top. CHILD study research will lead toclinical and environmental innovations that will improve the respiratoryhealth of Canadian children and youth. Moreover, the CHILD study positionsCanada as an international leader and partner with other major studiesunderway in Europe, India and the USA that are investigating the genetic,environmental and socio-economic factors leading to the development ofasthma and allergic disease.

Allergy and asthma gene association studies launched in 2005 have beencompleted, and these results are guiding the analysis of data in the CHILDStudy. In addition, AllerGen datasets are being shared with a European-basedglobal genetics consortium (GABRIEL), where they will be included as part ofmajor international genome-wide association studies. The AllerGen-GABRIELpartnership is one of the newest additions to AllerGen’s highly successfulInternational Partnership Initiative (IPI), supported by the NCE Programme aswell as by the lnternational Development Research Centre (IDRC). With IPIsupport, AllerGen has leveraged cutting-edge research, capacity building anddevelopment opportunities in genetics, respiratory disease surveillance, envi-ronmental exposure assessment, clinical trials and birth cohort studies forNetwork investigators and trainees, positioning Canada as a global leader inasthma and allergic disease research.

Dr. Judah DenburgScientific Director and CEO

AllerGen NCE Inc. atMcMaster University

Graham Scott, CM, QCChair

CEO, Graham Scott Strategies Inc.

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Judah DenburgScientific Director and CEO

AllerGen’s Clinical Investigator Collaborative is expanding the range of research and clinical trialcollaborations globally, testing novel therapies using Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) developed andlicensed with AllerGen support. With backing from the NCE IPI programme, additional European sites areplanned that will license AllerGen SOPs, expanding AllerGen’s clinical trial research and developmentcapacity.

In the area of developing HQP, AllerGen, in collaboration with the Canadian Society of Allergy andClinical Immunology, has launched a national initiative to increase the number of Clinical Immunologyand Allergy sub-specialists, addressing a critical gap for the ultimate benefit of Canadians. AllerGen hasalso expanded traineeships nationally and internationally in partnership with Canadian biopharmaceuticalcompanies and not-for-profit partners including Topigen Inc., the Canadian Lung Association, theCanadian Thoracic Society, and the Canadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Foundation. Many ofAllerGen’s trainees are moving rapidly into key positions nationally and internationally in clinical care,academe, health research, policy development and programme management.

As AllerGen investigators complete their research projects, intellectual property disclosures are increasingand Network investigators are providing policy and content leadership to national initiatives in the areaof asthma management, anaphylaxis and lung health in partnership with the Asthma Society of Canada,Anaphylaxis Canada and the Canadian Lung Association.

Network staff is working with researchers and partner organizations to enable development of a range oftools to help patients and healthcare providers use the best available evidence to better manage theirallergies and asthma. As highlighted in this report, AllerGen’s knowledge translation and policy develop-ment efforts in the area of food allergies and anaphylaxis in particular, have been singled out by theMinister of Health in a recent announcement heralded by the national media.

Finally, all of AllerGen’s achievements are facilitated by a highly engaged and experienced Board ofDirectors, excellent Network management and a dedicated and professional administrative centre team.

All in all, we are pleased to report that AllerGen is well networked, well-functioning, producing signifi-cant deliverables, building enduring legacies and doing so with increasing national and internationalrenown.

These achievements place AllerGen in a strong position for its Mid-Term Review by the Government ofCanada’s Networks of Centres of Excellence Programme in October 2008, and thus to contribute toachieving its ultimate goal - improving the quality of life for allergy and asthma sufferers.

Graham ScottChair, Board of Directors

Highlights 2007-08✓ National Birth Cohort Study Launched on the Impact of Genes

and Environment on the Origins of Allergic Disease andAsthma:Member of Parliament for Burlington, Ontario, Mike Wallace, rep-resenting federal Health Minister Tony Clement, officiallylaunched the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development(CHILD) Study on June 6, 2008, at McMaster University. AllerGenspearheaded this initiative and facilitated the associated net-working that resulted in the launch of this groundbreaking,multi-million dollar, multi-site birth cohort study of the impact ofearly life experience and environmental exposures on the originsof allergic disease and asthma in Canadian children. The CHILDStudy involves 5,000 Canadian families and a 54 person teamincluding investigators, research coordinators and technicians. Itis supported by AllerGen, the Canadian Institutes of HealthResearch (CIHR), policy, health and patient stakeholder organiza-tions.

✓ Nationally Networked Food Allergy ResearchProgrammes Launched:On July 23, 2008, the federal Minister of Health, Tony Clement,announced new regulations with respect to labelling allergenicfoods by Canadian food manufacturers and distributors as well asan AllerGen-Health Canada partnered food allergy prevalencestudy. This study will inform consumer protection and foodlabelling policies as well as patient information and disease man-agement tools used by healthcare providers and patient advocacygroups. Within AllerGen’s food allergy programme, researchershave also developed a clinical assessment algorithmic tool basedon the measurements of certain blood immune markers to moreaccurately predict peanut allergy in sensitized children andadults.

✓ AllerGen’s Nationally Networked Clinical Trials Group—theClinical Investigator Collaborative—Expands Internationally:AllerGen’s globally unique, multi-centred, pan-Canadian Phase IIclinical trials consortium has translated its proprietary StandardOperating Procedures (SOPs) and know-how into collaborativeresearch initiatives valued at over $6.3 million in partnershipwith Canadian and international biopharmaceutical companies. Inaddition to eight new studies in development, the ClinicalInvestigator Collaborative (CIC) is in the process of establishingcollaborating sites with international partners in order to expandcapacity to offer the CIC’s rapid testing of promising new thera-peutics and early stage compounds in allergic asthma globally.These clinical trials enable partner organizations to assess themerit of further research and development in new therapeutics,while providing unique research opportunities on the mechanismsof action of a variety of innovative compounds.

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The AllerGen - GA2LEN collaboration has enabled AllerGen’s genetics and environmentresearchers to partner with a pan-European asthma and allergy consortium called GABRIEL.Through this partnership, three Canadian cohorts from British Columbia, Manitoba andQuebec comprising AllerGen’s genetic association studies, have been included in an interna-tional research study funded by the Wellcome Trust involving over 150 European scientistsfrom 14 countries. This initiative will constitute the largest study ever undertaken of geneticassociations for asthma. Participation in this study is positioning Canadian researchers at theforefront of international developments in this field.

AllerGen’s partnership with GARD enabled AllerGen’s leadership in the establishment of theRespiratory Global Research And Training (GReAT) Network in Toronto at The Hospital for SickChildren. Launched by AllerGen at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) conference in Torontoin May 2008, this international Network will act as a data repository for international respi-ratory disease surveillance, outcomes monitoring and program evaluation, and as a researchand training resource for respiratory researchers involved in the collection, processing andanalysis of global trends, gaps and solutions to improve respiratory care.

✓ International Research Partnerships Leverage Millions for Allergy and Asthma Research:In early 2007, AllerGen was awarded networking funding to foster collaborative research partnerships andcapacity building initiatives with five international allergic disease research organizations, including theGlobal Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA2LEN) and the Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Disease (GARD).

Network Facts 07-08Research Projects and Strategic Initiatives: 39Researchers: 187Partner Organizations

Industry: 35University: 28Federal/Provincial Agencies: 24Hospitals: 23Research Institutions: 26Not-For-Profits/NGOs: 40

Researchers by Province N=187

AllerGen is dedicated to improving the quality of life for people suffering from allergic and relat-ed immune disease.

The Network strives to meet its mandate by supporting innovative research that leads to the dis-covery of the causes of allergic disease and the development and commercialization of new ther-apies, tools and services to more effectively diagnose, prevent and manage allergies and asthma.

In 2007, AllerGen integrated its five original research themes into three cross-cutting pro-grammes of research—Programme A: Gene-Environment Interactions, Programme B: Diagnosticsand Therapeutics, and Programme C: Public Health, Ethics, Policy and Society. Six nationally net-worked programmatic research thrusts have emerged within this programme structure. They are:

• Genetics and Gene-Environment Interactions in Allergy and Asthma• The Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study • Biomarkers, Immune Monitoring and Drug Discovery• Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis • Mind-Body Interactions and Allergic Disease• Occupational Asthma

In addition, AllerGen provides seed funding for strategic initiatives to catalyze new investigativeteams and programmes of research and development. These projects are directly aligned with itsknowledge translation and exchange (KTE) priorities. AllerGen’s strategic initiatives have beencatalyzing the development of public policy and supporting the development of patient educationand allergic disease management tools.

Arising from AllerGen’s investment in a series of strategic initiatives and networking activities, aresearch thrust in Allergic Disease Management and Surveillance is emerging.

Discovery & Development

AllerGen’s Goal: To catalyze and support innovative research that contributes to the discovery of thecauses of, and ways to prevent, control or eliminate allergic and related immune diseases.

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AllerGen’s Genetics and Gene-Environment Interactions teams are looking at theeffects of the environment on a person’s genetic makeup and the associated develop-ment of allergic disease and asthma.

• Working on the guiding principles of collaborative research, Programme A investi-gators have created a platform to share data nationally and internationally andcontribute to our understanding of the genetic basis of allergic disease and asthma.Principal investigators Drs Peter Paré and Tom Hudson have led teams, expandedsince 2005 to include many new investigators across the country, that are nowincorporating genetic data from three Canadian and one Australian cohort studiesto aid in the discovery of genes linked to asthma and allergy. Their work has aidedin the identification of new gene associations and has also rigorously validated sev-eral previously identified genes.

• Principal Investigators Drs Denise Daley, and Scott Tebbutt, have worked togetheron the development of a database and a website that enable research, clinical andlay audiences to learn about genetics through three-dimensional online animations.Daley’s team collected data from Network-supported research projects, analyzingand cross-referencing the information with seven additional electronic databases.The resulting dataset provides a summary of information that will enhance ourunderstanding of the genetics of asthma. The database (www.genapha.ca) has thepotential to enhance future research by facilitating virtual experiments where userscan identify and test multiple hypotheses using AllerGen resources.

Examining the genetics of allergic disease

Programmatic Project:Genetics and Gene-EnvironmentInteractions in Allergy and Asthma

Develop and implement an allergen-gene environment database resource

D Daley, University of BritishColumbia

Validation of genetic associations inasthma and allergy in Canadianfamilies

P Paré, University of BritishColumbia

Environmental effects on allergicairway disease

Jeremy Scott, University of Toronto

Strategic Initiative:

AllerGen AnimationsS Tebbutt, University of BritishColumbia

Pan-Canadian study of gene-environment interactions in theetiology of occupational asthma

N Cherry, University of Alberta

Programme A Gene-Environment Interactions

Programme B Diagnostics and Therapeutics

Programme CPublic Health, Ethics, Policy and Society

AllerGen’s integrated research programme is led by six internationally recognized research leaders who coordinatethe identification and completion of strategically important research opportunities undertaken by AllerGen in col-laboration with research partners from across sectors. Research results from these unique R&D relationships aimto improve the health of Canadians and reduce the socio-economic burden of allergic and related immune diseases.

Jeff BrookEnvironment Canada

Peter ParéUniversity

of British Columbia

Dean BefusUniversity of Alberta

Paul O’ByrneMcMaster University

Allan BeckerUniversity of Manitoba

Susan ElliottMcMaster University

AllerGen Research Leaders

On June 6, 2008, AllerGen, in partnership with CIHR, launchedthe Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development Study.

Led by Dr. Malcolm Sears, CHILD Study Director, and DeputyDirector Dr. PJ Subbarao, a team of principal investigators fromacross multiple disciplines and spanning the Network’s threeprogrammes of research will investigate the genetic and environmental factors that influence the development of asthma and allergies in children.

Specifically, AllerGen researchers will look at the roles of pre-natal and early post-natal indoor and outdoor environ-mental exposures; viral infections; chronic family stress in theearly years of life; genetics; diet in early life; early life lungdevelopment and growth; maternal smoking; and socioeco-nomic status in the development of asthma and allergic disease. The CHILD Study will examine whether breast feedingleads to, or protects children from the onset of asthma andallergy. Gender-specific issues will also be studied to under-stand why boys are more likely to suffer from asthma as children, but girls are more likely to develop asthma as theyenter their teens and adulthood. The first of 5,000 recruits forthe CHILD Study was born in Vancouver, BC on August 29,2008. Recruits will be followed for five years during thisnational six-year study.

Results from this national study will provide a better under-standing of why allergy and asthma are an increasingly com-mon problem in children, and will lead to the development ofnew therapies, medications, prevention and management

strategies to control these chronic illnesses. CHILD Studyresults will also fill a knowledge gap by supplying relevant evidence-based data that legislative and regulatory decision-makers can use to support new health and environment poli-cies, programmes and regulations, as well as regulations gov-erning home and building construction. As a longitudinalstudy, AllerGen investigators also have an opportunity to buildupon and expand the CHILD Study to answer questions aboutother immune-related diseases.

CHILD Study funding

To date, AllerGen support has been used to leverage more than$6 million in additional funding. To fully realize the potentialof the study and fully analyze the collected data, CHILD inves-tigators are seeking additional partners. Contributors thus farinclude:

AllerGen NCE Inc.: $6 millionCanadian Institutes of Health Research: $6 millionCanada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: $250,000Childhood Asthma Foundation: $250,000

Health Canada and Environment Canada have contributedexpertise from their respective agencies to the development of this study.

AllerGen representatives are actively meeting with potentialpartners from government, non-profit and industry sectors tosecure additional funding.

Mini-CHILD: AllerGen seed funds pilot birth cohort projectIn 2007, eight AllerGen investigators located in Ontario and British Columbia pooled their expertise across several disci-plines—immunology, environment, psychosocial, epigenetics and genetics—to initiate the Mini-CHILD project. This projectaddressed specific questions about the onset and development of allergic and related immune diseases that has providedmuch of the groundwork for the launch of the CHILD Study. The Mini-CHILD project has piloted recruitment procedures,use of new diagnostic tools, indoor environment inspections, psychosocial assessments and traffic-related air pollutionmodels, resulting in the testing and refinement of effective protocols and methods to be implemented in the CHILD Study.

Mini-CHILD has recruited 97 infants and their families at Vancouver hospitals and will follow them for one year.Approximately 1/5 of the families enrolled in Mini-CHILD will be offered the opportunity to enrol in the CHILD Study.

Understanding the causes of allergy and asthma

Malcolm Sears, MB, ChB,FRACP, FRCP(C)

Director, CHILD Study

PJ Subbarao, MD, MSc,FRCP(C)

Deputy Director, CHILD Study

The Canadian Healthy InfantLongitudinal Development Study

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Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development StudyA Canadian longitudinal birth cohort study of asthma and allergy in childhood

M Sears, McMaster University

CHILD Study Site LeadersPJ Subbarao, Ontario The Hospital for Sick Children,recruiting at Mount Sinai Hospital A Becker, Manitoba University of Manitoba, recruitingat St. Boniface General Hospital and Winnipeg HealthSciences CentreP Mandhane, Alberta University of Alberta, recruitingat Grey Nuns Community Hospital, MisericordiaCommunity Hospital, Royal Alexandra Hospital, and theSturgeon Community HospitalS Turvey, British Columbia University of BritishColumbia, recruiting at BC Women’s Hospital & HealthCentre and the BC Children’s Hospital

AllerGen’s Clinical Investigator Collaborative(CIC) continues to expand Canada’s globalleadership in allergic asthma drug testingand discovery.

Led by Canadian clinician-scientists, the CICundertakes research in partnership withpharmaceutical companies to enhanceunderstanding of the mechanisms of actionof never-before-tested compounds and newcombinations of anti-inflammatories underevaluation for the treatment of asthma andallergic disease. Located at five sites acrossCanada, the CIC has developed proprietaryPhase II trial protocols that efficiently deter-mine at a very early stage in clinical devel-opment, if a molecule merits continueddevelopment and testing in later phase trials.At the same time, this research providesAllerGen investigators with the opportunityto examine the causes, onset and persistence

of allergic asthma. CIC investigators arelooking to expand their trials under licenseto additional sites in Sweden and theNetherlands, thanks to relationships fosteredthrough AllerGen’s International PartnershipInitiative.

To date, the CIC has undertaken seven stud-ies with a value of over $6.3 million, witheight new trials pending or under develop-ment. Pharmaceutical and biotechnologycompanies partnering with the CIC include:

• Alexion Pharmaceuticals, U.S.• Boehringer Ingelheim, Canada• Genentech Inc., U.S.• IVAX Research Inc., U.S.• MedImmune Inc., U.S.• Schering Plough, U.S. • TOPIGEN Pharmaceuticals Inc., Canada• Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc., U.S.

Clinical trials consortium attracts international clients

Clinical InvestigatorCollaborative

Principal Investigators

P O'Byrne and G Gauvreau,McMaster University

L-P Boulet, Université Laval

D Cockcroft, University ofSaskatchewan

M FitzGerald, University ofBritish Columbia

I Mayers, University ofAlberta

Mini-CHILD: A pilot programme

RecruitmentT Kollmann, University of British ColumbiaS Turvey, University of British Columbia

Development of objective measurement of airway inflammation and lung function in infants

P Subbarao, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

Genetics: AllerChip: Development, validation and implementation of a microarray genotyping tool for allergy and asthma research

S Tebbutt, University of British Columbia

Environmental assessment of home environment in Mini-CHILD participants

T Takaro, Simon Fraser University

Environmental assessment of land use regression models for NO2 exposure

R Allen, Simon Fraser University M Brauer, University of British Columbia

Environmental assessment of molecular genetic character-ization of microbes in outdoor and indoor air and dust

J Scott, University of Toronto

Psychosocial AssessmentE Chen, University of British ColumbiaM Kobor, University of British ColumbiaG Miller, University of British Columbia

AllerGen’s Goal: To catalyze and facilitate the development of new research platforms, tools,processes, products and services arising from discoveries, and promote their commercialization,their use and their influence on public policy.

Examining indicators leading to asthma and allergyBiological indicators asthma and allergy: An AllerGen Research PlatformEstablishing indicators of asthma and allergic disease, developing methods to effectively monitor the severity of asthma and developingnew medications to treat disease are priorities for AllerGen’s Biomarkers, Immune Monitoring and Drug Discovery team. This platform includes nine Network projects.

Principal Investigator Dr. Stuart Turvey, leads the biomarkers researchteam and notes that AllerGen investigators are initially taking a broadapproach to biomarker discovery, examining different traits of genes,blood and urine as possible indicators of disease.

“We can’t easily take lung samples to test for asthma. We must gaininsight into the processes of the body from accessible and relativelynon-invasive means, like a urine or blood test so we have cast a broadnet to see what are likely to be the most robust and reproducible bio-markers of allergic disease,” said Turvey.

Once identified, AllerGen’s integrated approach to research will allowthese potential biomarkers of allergic disease to be tested in AllerGen’sflagship research projects, the Clinical Investigator Collaborative and the CHILD study.

What is a biomarker of disease?

A biomarker is something that can bemeasured and used as an indicator of anindividual’s health. Diagnostic biomark-ers can be a characteristic of someone’sanatomy, genes, cellular and molecularprocesses, proteins or metabolites.

Biomarkers can be used to:

• diagnose presence, severity and prog-nosis of disease,

• determine an individual’s potential todevelop a disease,

• an individual’s response to therapiesand medicines to treat disease

• monitor the effectiveness or predictthe toxicity of therapeutics

Development of an adaptive immune phe-notyping platform for identification of bio-markers correlating with the developmentof allergic disease and clinical efficacy following therapeutic intervention

M Larché, McMaster University

Ontogeny and genetic polymorphisms ofthe innate immune system intersecting inatopy

T Kollmann, University of BritishColumbiaS Turvey, University of British Columbia

Biomarkers: Intracellular CytokineProduction

B Mazer, McGill University

Hemopoietic stem cells as biomarkers ofatopy, airways inflammation, and sourcesof ‘epigenetic’ memory

J Denburg, McMaster University

Non-invasive diagnostics: Metabolomicsfor the various phenotypes of asthma

D Adamko, University of Alberta

Role of mast cells and eosinophils in aller-gic inflammation and fibrosis of the lung

K McNagny, University of BritishColumbia

Environmental impact on the epithelialimmune barrier in asthma

T Bai, University of British Columbia

Regulation of lung mucosal immuneresponses by heterologous exposure tomultiple infectious and allergic agents

M Jordana, McMaster University

Study of the pathogenesis and reversibilityof airway damage and repair during chronic mucosal immune responses toenvironmental allergies

J-P Lavoie, Université de Montréal

Programmatic Project: Biomarkers, Immune Monitoring and Drug Discovery

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Food allergy is a major international health problem. Canadian data reveals thatabout 1.5% of Canadian school-aged children suffer from peanut allergy.AllerGen’s commitment to addressing the serious and prevalent problem of foodallergy resulted in the development of AllerGen’s Food Allergy and Anaphylaxisprogrammatic projects, which examine the clinical and social implications ofthese conditions.

• Principal Co-Investigators Drs. Ann Clarke and Susan Elliott, are leading theSurveying Canadians to Assess the prevalence of common food Allergies andAttitudes towards food labelling and Risk (SCAAALAR) team, which is survey-ing 3,000 households across Canada to determine the percentage of Canadiansdirectly or indirectly affected by peanut, tree, fish, shellfish and sesame aller-gies. The study will also examine the effectiveness of labelling policies by thefood industry, looking at such things as whether people avoid foods carryingwarnings or understand precautionary labelling on foods. Results from thestudy will provide data that will assist policy makers to assess the need forhealth and education resources for the prevention, diagnosis and managementof allergic diseases. Research findings will also help industry develop clear andsafe food labelling practices. Results from the SCAAALAR study are expected in2009.

• The Canadian Group on Food Allergy Research (CanGoFAR), led by Dr. JeanMarshall, is a nationally networked, interdisciplinary team of world classCanadian allergy researchers aiming to develop better methods to prevent,diagnose and treat food allergies.

Covering the full spectrum of food allergy research, from the genetics of foodallergy through to clinical management, CanGoFAR investigators are focusingon understanding fundamental issues that determine how food allergies devel-op and on finding new ways to prevent sensitization to foods and induce foodtolerance. CanGoFAR researchers are also examining methods to accuratelyand safely diagnose food allergy and determine the potential allergenicity offoods, functional foods and nutraceuticals.

AllerGen’s networking opportunities have enabled Canada’s scientific and clinical experts to engage in this coast-to-coast collaboration, involving both private and public sector partners. This initiative is a unique opportunity forCanadian researchers to aid industry and policy makers by providing evidence to support the establishment and imple-mentation of effective guidelines for food labelling that protect consumers with food allergies and sensitivities.

• Using data from AllerGen’s CanGoFAR study, Principal Co-Investigators Drs Catherine Laprise and Andrew Sandford arefocusing on the identification of genetic risk factors for peanut allergy and the individual traits that lead to peanut sen-sitization. Their project, Identifying Genetic Risk Factors of Peanut Allergy, aims to develop novel therapeutic approachesthat will advance understanding of the molecular nature of this condition. This research aims to fill a knowledge gapleading to a global breakthrough in the development of personalized medicine with respect to food allergy diagnosis.

Sabrina’s Law was enacted in Ontario in January 2006 and requires every school board in the province to establish andmaintain an anaphylaxis policy. While Ontario chose to take a legislative path, other provinces— British Columbia,Alberta, Quebec and Newfoundland—have chosen alternative modes of regulation. Spearheaded by Dr. Lisa Cicutto,AllerGen’s Sabrina’s Law project aims to investigate perceptions and experiences of students with anaphylaxis and theirparents, regarding ‘school’ as a safe place and of the necessary steps to create ‘safe’ schools. This project is undertaken in partnership with Anaphylaxis Canada, the Universities of Toronto and Alberta, and McGill, McMaster and Memorial Universities.

Programmatic Project:Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis

Identification of genetic predictors ofpeanut allergy

C Laprise, Université du Québec àChicoutimiA Sandford, University of BritishColumbia

Canadian Group on Food and AllergyResearch

J Marshall, Dalhousie University

Surveying Canadians to assess theprevalence of common food allergiesand attitudes towards food labelling andrisk

A Clarke, McGill University HealthCentreS Elliott, McMaster University

Evaluation of the implementation andeffectiveness of statutory and regulatory school-based policies foranaphylaxis risk reduction

L Cicutto, University of Toronto

Building continuity of support for allergic children with asthma and/oranaphylaxis and their families

M Stewart, University of Alberta

Studying new ways to diagnose and treat food allergies

AllerGen-supported training centre builds global capacity to monitor and improve respiratory health

Research conducted across AllerGen’semerging team of allergic disease management and surveillance toolsresearchers includes:

The Roaring Adventures of Puff: A school-based asthma education program

A Becker, University of Manitoba

The development, implementation and evaluation of strategies to promote well-being of children and youth with allergies and/or asthma

L Cicutto, University of TorontoA Clarke, McGill University Health CentreM Stewart, University of AlbertaS Waserman, McMaster University

Changing practice for prevention and earlydetection of occupational asthma and aller-gic diseases in the primary care setting

D Lougheed, Queens University

Strategic Initiative: AllerGen e-learning: An e-learning certificate course on food allergy and anaphylaxis geared toward teachers and K-12 school staff

A Levinson, McMaster University

Strategic Initiative: The Respiratory Global Research and TrainingNetwork (GReAT Network)

T To, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto

Strategic Initiative: Severe Asthma Network

D Vetharayagam, University of Alberta

Managing allergic disease

Supported by AllerGen’s International Partnership Initiative (IPI), a program toenhance Canadian allergy and asthma researchers’ global collaborations,AllerGen Principal Investigator Teresa To has applied her extensive experiencein designing respiratory disease surveillance systems to launch the RespiratoryGlobal Research and Training (GReAT) Network, located at the ResearchInstitute of the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. The GReAT Network is aninternational repository for chronic respiratory disease prevalence data. Dr. Tohas also designed and launched a training programme to help national andinternational health decision-makers use this information to monitor andimprove respiratory health.

Canada is a leader on the global stage when it comes to effective disease sur-veillance and thanks to AllerGen, To will build on Canadian leadership in thecollection and analyses of international data, as well as educating individuals,especially those from developing countries, about standardized methods ofdata collection.

More than 50 nations worldwide are interested in participating in the GReATNetwork, which has been endorsed by the World Health Organization’s (WHO)Global Alliance Against Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD). To creditsAllerGen for providing the seed funding necessary to secure WHO and GARDsupport. “The GReAT Network is unique,” said To. “Its strength is in monitoringdisease and measuring outcomes. Our data will help determine where improve-ments in disease diagnosis, management and treatment are needed so that wecan improve the lives of patients.”

After spending three months at the WHO in 2007, To understands the limita-tions of international data distributed by that organization. The WHO focuseson distributing information about disease symptoms and risk factors. TheGReAT Network will fill a knowledge gap by translating surveillance data intouseable information for decision makers, enabling officials from developingnations to identify areas to spend their chronic respiratory disease manage-ment dollars, resulting in the greatest possible impact on their affected popu-lations. To is using the expertise she gained through the creation of the OntarioAsthma Surveillance Information System (OASIS) to develop knowledge trans-lation tools in the form of report cards to distribute the results of the GReATNetwork’s analysis.

Measuring the impact of chronic respiratory diseases world-wide requires that standard methods of data collection andmanagement be used. Initially, the GReAT Network will ‘clean’submitted data so that it is useable, but training internation-al researchers and healthcare workers to standardize theirdata before submission will enable the Network to providemore timely analysis of global trends. International traineeswill have the opportunity to attend one- to three-month datacollection training sessions in Toronto. Currently, healthagencies and researchers in Turkey, Georgia, China, Mexicoand Brazil are planning to attend training sessions in Canadaoffered by the GReAT Network.

(left to right) Christine Hampson, President, Asthma Society of Canada; DianaRoyce, Managing Director, AllerGen; Teresa To, Director, GReAT Network; NancyGarvey, Asthma Program Coordinator, Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care(Ontario); Jean Bousquet, Chair, Global Alliance Against Chronic RespiratoryDisease; Diane Lougheed, AllerGen PI (Queen's University); Alvaro Cruz, ChronicRespiratory Diseases Department, World Health Organization

AllerGen

132007-2008

Throughout history, primitive and advanced cultures the world overhave linked individuals’ mental health to their physical state.Investigators in AllerGen’s Mind-Body Interactions and Allergic Diseaseresearch programme are examining the connection between brainactivity and its potential to trigger asthma and allergies. Researchsuggests that stress, depression, psycho-social state and socio-eco-nomic status can potentially cause the onset of asthma or trigger arelapse in affected individuals.

AllerGen Research Leader and Principal Investigator Dr. Dean Befusleads the Mind-Body research team, which encompasses six projectscutting across two of AllerGen’s three programmes of research.

What is a Mind-Body connection?

To study how the mind and body interact, one must understand thatthe body is an integrated system made up of organs and smaller sys-tems that are in constant communication through different bi-direc-tional pathways.

Scientists examine the effects of differentchronic and acute stressors at varioustimes during life—from the womb throughto adulthood—to determine if and howthose stressors affect the physical well-being of an individual. AllerGen investiga-tors are looking at multiple pathways that,once stimulated, may result in the onset ofallergic disease or trigger an attack.

For example, AllerGen investigators study-ing Neuroendocrine regulation of allergicreactions in animal models and their trans-lation to humans have identified a nervepathway in an animal model that uses ahormone to reduce the effects of an asth-ma attack. Working closely with AllerGen’sClinical Investigator Collaborative, thisteam, led by Befus, is hoping to identifythis same pathway in humans and poten-tially reproduce the asthma-reducingresponse through drug therapy.

AllerGen investigators examine interactions among the nervous, endocrine and immune systems during allergic responses

Programmatic Project: The Mind-Body Interactions and Allergic Disease

Perinatal stress and programming of allergic responses

J Bienenstock, McMaster UniversityP Arck, McMaster University

Neuroimaging and environmental suggestibility in asthma

G MacQueen, McMaster University

Stress allostatic load and risk of allergies and asthmain children of immigrants

C Soares, McMaster University

Stress, asthma and atopy socio-spatial investigationsA Kozyrskyj, University of Manitoba

Neuroendocrine regulation of allergic reactions inanimal models: Translation to humans

D Befus, University of Alberta

Connecting the mind and body

Knowledge to action

Canada-India collaboration examines role ofnutrition in onset of allergyAllerGen investigators led by Dr. Allan Becker,are working with investigators at St. John’sResearch Institute in Bangalore, India, toexamine the impact of nutrition in the devel-opment of chronic diseases, including allergyand asthma, in an environment where allergicdisease is not yet a major health problem but isbecoming increasingly common.

The NCE International Partnerships Initiativeand Canada’s International DevelopmentResearch Centre co-fund this collaboration,enabling researchers and trainees fromAllerGen and the St. John’s Research Institutein Bangalore to align their respective birthcohort research projects. Workshops inBangalore and in Banff, Alberta, facilitated thedevelopment of a plan that has enabled datasharing and the development of sharedStandard Operating Procedures among AllerGenand Indian birth cohort investigators, withpotential to incorporate European investigatorsfrom the GA2LEN into this collaboration, posi-tioning Canada as the centre for global initia-tives, especially cohort studies, focused onallergic disease.

Partnering for impactOver the past year, AllerGen has had the opportunity to position Canada as a world leader in the battle against allergic disease through the creation of new partnerships with international allergy, asthma and respiratory health research networksand teams. Grants from the Networks of Centres of Excellence programme, Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs andInternational Trade and the International Development Research Centre have enabled new collaborative opportunities world-wide with partner organizations in Europe, Latin America, India and Taiwan, raising AllerGen’s profile on the global stage.

Highlights from AllerGen’s IPIHighlights from AllerGen’s International Partnerships Initiatives

• AllerGen investigators have established an important collaboration withthe European Asthma and Allergy Consortium, GABRIEL, a study examining genetic factors associated with asthma in 40,000 child andadult asthmatics. AllerGen investigators have successfully leveragedfunds from the Wellcome Trust to genotype Canadian samples within the GABRIEL study, enabling AllerGen’s investigators to gather furtherevidence to support genetic associations that predispose certain peopleto developing asthma.

• A joint AllerGen-GA2LEN workshop in Amsterdam, November 2007,resulted in research collaborations leading to new proposals and proto-cols for data sharing among Canadian and European birth cohort studies.

• The World Health Organization’s Allergic Rhinitis and its Impact onAsthma (ARIA) guidelines—a document targeting specialists, family practitioners and other healthcare professionals to enable them to provide updated quality healthcare to patients worldwide—were developed with input from AllerGen investigators.

• Collaboration between AllerGen’s Clinical Investigator Collaborative andSweden’s Karolinska Institute has resulted in plans for the addition of aninternational clinical trial site in 2009. Canadian and Swedish investiga-tors are currently exchanging Standard Operating Procedures and jointlytraining their teams in their respective methods of allergen challenge.

• On March 27-28, 2008 AllerGen co-hosted a two-day Global Lung HealthSymposium and workshop at the University of Alberta in collaborationwith IPI partner The International Union Against Tuberculosis and LungDisease. With assistance from partners including the Alberta HeritageFoundation for Medical Research, the University of Alberta, the CIHRInstitute for Circulatory and Respiratory Health and the World HealthOrganization, the event brought together 77 participants from aroundthe world to assist implementation teams from project partner sites in El Salvador, Mexico and Canadian First Nations communities to refinetheir plans to implement globally validated approaches to improving lung health in communities with limited healthcare services.

AllerGen’s Goal: To develop and maintain networking and partnership arrangements that enable knowledge andtechnology exchange and exploitation (KTEE) and position Canada at the forefront of innovation.

AllerGen

152007-2008

AllerGen’s third Annual Research Conference, Innovation fromCell to Society3, showcased Network research to a nationaland international audience in Banff, Alberta, February 12-14,2008. More than 200 Canadian and international delegatesrepresenting academe, healthcare, industry, not-for-profit andgovernment sectors came together to examine the causes,treatments and prevention of allergic disease and asthma,with an emphasis on the role that the environment plays inthe development of these diseases.Three keynote addresses and 12 symposia and panel discus-sions spanned the full range of AllerGen research programmeand stakeholder issues. Birth cohort studies in Canada andabroad were the subject of three symposia and discussionpanels. Investigators working on AllerGen’s CHILD Study pre-sented findings on infant lung function assessment and itspotential to identify early markers of lung dysfunction, thesignificance of gender in the diagnosis and treatment of asth-ma, and progress made and challenges overcome by AllerGen’sMini-CHILD study team.

Representatives from the GA2LEN discussed collaborativeefforts in Europe to pool data from 12 birth cohort studies,leading to improved methodologies and identifying new ques-tions in allergy and asthma research.

A symposium and panel discussion examined Canada’s short-age of clinical specialists practicing in allergy and immunolo-gy, highlighting the need for AllerGen to continue to facilitateaction to increase national capacity through additional train-ing and retention programmes, and by attracting Canadian-trained physicians practicing abroad to return to Canada.

A conference symposium focused on health policies and theirimpact on health outcomes for Canadians suffering fromallergic disease reviewed AllerGen researchers’ development ofan online support system for children and youth with anaphy-laxis. This session highlighted the importance of educatinghealthcare workers and patients in the treatment and man-agement of anaphylaxis and food allergy.

Other symposia focused on the need for expanded researchinto the incidence of occupational disease; outcomes andfuture studies planned for AllerGen’s Clinical InvestigatorCollaborative; and research focusing on the diagnosis andmanagement of allergic disease leading to new and improveddiagnostic tools and tests, such as a non-invasive urine test.

Bob McDonald, a well known Canadian science writer, broad-caster and educator, concluded the conference with a keynotepresentation on communicating science to the public.

AllerGen’s Annual Research Conferenceattracts international audience

Dr. Stephanie London (left), a senior investigator at the U.S.National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, speakswith Dr. Diane Gold, Associate Professor at the HarvardMedical School, and conference keynote speaker, Dr. BurtBrunekreef, Professor of Environmental Epidemiology atUniversity of Utrecht, the Netherlands. These internationalexperts were part of a research symposium and panel discus-sion of the results of AllerGen’s pre-conference environmen-tal exposure assessments workshop.

This invitational workshop examined challenges faced byresearchers when assessing environmental exposure and itsimpact on the development of allergic and related immunediseases. Discussion focused on the need for improved assess-ment methods; for greater emphasis on diet and its role inthe development of disease; and on ways to build upon thestrong foundation for environmental exposure assessmentthat has been laid by AllerGen’s CHILD Study protocols.

Third Annual Research Conference

Innovationfrom Cell to Society3

Academic InstitutionsUniversity of AlbertaUniversity of ArizonaAthabasca UniversityUniversity of British ColumbiaUniversity Children’s Hospital, Munich, GermanyUniversity of CalgaryDalhousie UniversityUniversity of GuelphKarolinska InstitutetUniversité LavalUniversity of ManitobaMcGill UniversityMcMaster UniversityMemorial UniversityUniversité de MontréalMount Sinai School of MedicineUniversity of North CarolinaUniversity of New BrunswickUniversity of OttawaUniversité du Québec à ChicoutimiQueen’s UniversityUniversity of SaskatchewanUniversité de SherbrookeSimon Fraser UniversityUniversity of TorontoUniversity of WashingtonUniversity of Western Australia, Telethon Institute for

Child Health ResearchUniversity of Western Ontario

HospitalsAlberta Children’s Hospital, CalgaryBC Children’s Hospital, VancouverBC Women’s Hospital and Health Centre, VancouverChildren’s Hospital of WinnipegGrey Nuns Community Hospital, EdmontonHamilton Health SciencesHôpital Sainte-Justine, MontrealHospital for Sick Children, TorontoIWK Health Centre, HalifaxMisericordia Community Hospital, EdmontonMontreal Children’s HospitalMount Sinai Hospital, TorontoQueen Elizabeth II, Health Sciences Centre, HalifaxRoyal Alexandra Hospital, EdmontonSt. Boniface General Hospital, WinnipegSt. Joseph’s Healthcare, HamiltonSt. Michael’s Hospital, TorontoSt. Paul’s Hospital, VancouverSturgeon Community Hospital, St. Albert, AlbertaSunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, TorontoVancouver Hospital and Health Sciences CentreWest Elgin Community Health CentreWinnipeg Health Sciences Centre

Industry3M CanadaAerobiology AssociatesAerobiology Research LaboratoriesAIM TherapeuticsAlexion Pharmaceuticals Inc.Alimentary HealthApplied BiosystemsArkitek StudiosAstraZenecaBayer Canada Inc.Boehringer IngelheimCeption TherapeuticsCircassia Ltd.CLR MediaGenentech Inc.

GlaxoSmithKline Inc.Indoor Biotechnologies IVAX Research Inc.King PharmaceuticalsLongwoods PublishingLumira CapitalMaple Leaf FoodsMedimmune Inc.Merck Canada Inc.Merck Frosst Inc.Metro-Richelieu Inc.Novartis Pharmaceuticals Canada Inc.Nycomed CanadaPaladin Laboratories Inc.Schering Plough Inc.Sporometrics Inc.Topigen Pharmaceuticals Inc.Tripos InternationalTrudell MedicalWyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Federal AgenciesAgriculture and Agri-Food CanadaCanada Mortgage and Housing CorporationCanada Research Chairs SecretariatCanadian Institutes of Health ResearchCanadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of

Human Development, Child and Youth Health Canadian institutes of Health Research, Institute of

Infection and ImmunityCanadian Institutes of Health Research, Institute of

Circulatory and Respiratory HealthEnvironment CanadaForeign Affairs and International Trade Canada, Going

Global ProgrammeHealth Canada, Bureau of Chemical SafetyHealth Canada, Food DirectorateHealth Canada, Indoor Air Quality SectionInternational Development Research CentreNatural Resources CanadaWestern Economic Diversification Canada

Provincial AgenciesAlberta Health and WellnessAlberta Human Resources and EmploymentHealthy Child ManitobaFonds de la recherché en santé du QuébecMinistère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, QuébecInstitut de recherche Robert-Sauvé en santé et en

sécurité du travail, QuébecMinistry of Health and Long-Term Care, OntarioWorkplace Safety and Insurance Board, OntarioWorkers’ Compensation Board, British Columbia

Research Institutes and NetworksAlberta Asthma CentreAlberta Strategy to Help Manage Asthma and Chronic

Obstructive Pulmonary DiseaseBrain-Body Institute (St. Joseph’s Healthcare, Hamilton)British Columbia Centre of Excellence for Women’s

Health Busselton Population Cohort, Sir Charles Gairdner

Hospital, Western AustraliaCanadian Institute for Advanced ResearchCentre for Research Expertise in Occupational Disease,

TorontoFirestone Institute for Health Research, McMaster

UniversityGage Occupational and Environmental Health Unit,

University of TorontoGA2LEN (Global Allergy and Asthma European Network)Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto

Human Early Learning Partnership, British ColombiaJames Hogg iCAPTURE, University of British ColumbiaJohns Hopkins University Asthma and Allergy CentreManitoba Centre for Health PolicyManitoba Institute of Child HealthMcGill University Health Centre Research InstituteMITACS-NCE (Mathematics of Information Technology

and Complex Systems Network)Nakatsu LaboratoryNational Health and Medical Research Council,

AustraliaNational High Field Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

Centre (NANUC), University of AlbertaNational Institutes of Health, United StatesNorthern Alberta Institute of TechnologyRespiratory Global Research and Training Network

(GREaT), Hospital for Sick Children, TorontoSt. John’s Research Institute, Bangalore, IndiaSun Centre of Excellence for Visual Genomics

Associations/Foundations/Other BodiesAssembly of First NationsInuit Tapiriit KanatamiAlberta Heritage Medical Research FoundationAlberta and NWT Lung AssociationAmerican Thoracic SocietyAnaphylaxis CanadaAssociation des allergologues et immunologues du

QuébecAssociation québécoise des allergies alimentairesAsthma/Allergy Information Association Asthma Society of CanadaBritish Columbia Lung AssociationCanada Foundation for InnovationCanadian Allergy, Asthma and Immunology FoundationCanadian Association for Population TherapeuticsCanadian Cystic Fibrosis FoundationCanadian Lung AssociationCanadian Network for Asthma CareCanadian Nurses AssociationCanadian Pharmacists AssociationCanadian Society of Allergy and Clinical ImmunologyCanadian Society of Respiratory TherapistsCanadian Society for Epidemiology and BiostatisticsCanadian Thoracic SocietyChildhood Asthma FoundationEva Lillian Cope Graduate Research Scholarship,

McMaster UniversityGolden Horseshoe Biosciences NetworkHamilton Police ServiceHealthway (Western Australian Health Promotion

Foundation)International Eosinophil SocietyInternational Union against Tuberculosis and Lung

DiseaseIreland Canada University FoundationMichael Smith Foundation for Health Research, British

ColumbiaNational Sanitarium Association of CanadaNova Scotia Health Research FoundationOntario Lung Association/Ontario Respiratory Care

SocietyRoyal College of Physicians of Physicians and Surgeons

of CanadaStrauss FoundationWellcome TrustWorld Health Organization, Global Alliance against

Chronic Respiratory DiseaseWorld Health Organization, Collaborating Centre for

Asthma and Rhinitis

Network partners and collaborators

AllerGen

172007-2008

Patients, asthma educators and clinicians areusing a new asthma management tool,Taking Control of Asthma: Follow the Circleof Care. This educational pamphlet helpsasthma sufferers recognize asthma triggersand exert more effective control of theirdisease through proper use of medicationsand implementation of an action plan.

In collaboration with AstraZeneca andwith patient advocacy and professionalorganizations, AllerGen was instrumental inthe development and dissemination of thisguideline-based information tool, foundedon principles of effective knowledge transla-tion and exchange. The initial disseminationof 15,000 copies of Taking Control ofAsthma: Follow the Circle of Care was fol-lowed by an additional 10,000 copies, whichhave been disseminated primarily to asthmaclinics, asthma educators and family healthteams for use in patient education programs.

The Circle of Care is a user-friendlyguide that considers literacy level andcultural sensitivities in its design andmessaging. This guide is a result of collaboration among 12 industry, non-profit and professional organizations from across Canada representing patients, healthcareproviders, researchers, research funding organizations and industry.

Patients follow the circle of care tobetter asthma management

Knowledge Transfer 2007-08

Publications: 42Posters: 76Oral Presentations: 28Disclosures: 2Patent Pending: 1

Going Global Fostering new relationships in AsiaAllerGen’s Scientific Director, Dr. Judah Denburg, Programme A Research Leader Drs.Peter Paré and Brian Underdown, Managing Director, Lumira Capital and member ofthe AllerGen’s Research Management and Network-Supported Intellectual PropertyAdvisory Committees, met with representatives of Taiwan’s medical, research andbusiness communities in Taipei in November 2007.

An information sharing workshop that attracted 50 Taiwanese delegates—47 repre-senting industry—provided AllerGen representatives with an opportunity to speak tothe allergic disease epidemic in Canada and the potential return on R&D investmentsin allergic disease.

AllerGen delegates also met with prominent Taiwanese academics to discuss researchand clinical progress in Taiwan. Working collaboratively with Vitagenomics, aTaiwanese company focused on developing new genetic tests for various diseases,AllerGen’s genetics research team is working with Dr. Jiu-Yao Wang, Professor ofPediatrics and Director of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at theNational Cheng-Kung University, to link with his study of 1,600 asthmatic children inTaiwan. Dr. Wang has met with AllerGen researchers in British Columbia and attend-ed the Network’s Annual Research Conference in Banff in February 2008.

AllerGen in the NewsTranslating research into a user-friendly form of information tobe understood and used byCanadians is an importantaspect of AllerGen’s communications mandate.

Over the past year, AllerGen andits investigators were featuredin 140 media reports in print,online and in television andradio broadcasts.

Special Announcements

On June 6, 2008, at McMasterUniversity in Hamilton, Ontario,Mike Wallace, Member ofParliament for Burlington, represented Health MinisterTony Clement to announceAllerGen’s and CIHR’s joint support of the CHILD Study.

On July 23, 2008, in Ottawa,Ontario, Minister Clementannounced an AllerGen-HealthCanada partnership onSCAAALAR, a national study todetermine the prevalence offood allergy in Canada and the effectiveness of foodlabelling in warning allergicCanadians about potential allergen content.

Developing HighlyQualified Personnel

AllerGen’s Goal: To create new opportunities for the training of HQP in allergy research, patient care,innovation and the health system, and advance professional and lay knowledge about allergic and related immune diseases.

Through the Canadian Allergy and Immune Diseases Advanced Training Initiative (CAIDATI), a national multisectoral pro-gramme within the Network’s (Highly Qualified Personnel) programme, AllerGen partners with academic, healthcare andindustry in the development and delivery of new training opportunities across sectors and disciplines.

CAIDATI activities delivered over the past year include:

• The second annual AllerGen Trainee Symposium, YourEntrepreneurial Future, was held in May 2007 in King City, Ontariosimultaneously with the release of Canada’s science and technologystrategy, Advantage Canada. This annual symposium provides pro-fessional development opportunities that complement the academ-ic and scientific work being completed by AllerGen trainees, andoffers unique networking opportunities and discussion among cur-rent and future research, healthcare and industry professionals.Thirty trainees representing 10 universities across Canada attendedthe two-day event which also included a poster competition fea-turing research results from 12 Network-supported projects.Leaders from the biotechnology and commercialization industry,and from academic, policy and non-profit sectors, highlighted themany career opportunities beyond academe. Other presentationsfocused on entrepreneurship and the challenges and rewards asso-ciated with developing new research-based products and servicesthat benefit Canadians socially and economically.

• Two trainees supported through AllerGen’s International PartnershipInitiative, attended an International Union Against Tuberculosis andLung Disease-AllerGen meeting in Edmonton, Alberta in January2008, focusing on the development and implementation of lunghealth strategies that will impact the health of populations in ruralcommunities in Mexico and El Salvador and Canadian Aboriginalcommunities.

• Four trainees took part in an AllerGen-St. John’s Research Instituteworkshop held in conjunction with AllerGen’s annual research con-ference, Innovation from Cell to Society3, in Banff, Alberta, February2008. The workshop focused on the continued development of aCanadian-Indian collaboration examining maternal nutrition in thedevelopment of allergic disease.

• Thirty-seven trainees from nine universities—Université du Québecà Chicoutimi, Université Laval, Université de Montréal, McGillUniversity, University of Toronto, McMaster University, University ofManitoba, University of Alberta and University of BritishColumbia—submitted 38 abstracts to AllerGen’s Trainee PosterCompetition at Innovation from Cell to Society3, a 65% increase inthe number of submissions over the previous year.

AllerGen Fellowships and Awards

✓ AllerGen trainees Larisa Lotoski, Helen Muleme andStephanie MacPherson, received funding throughAllerGen’s collaboration with the Canadian Institutes ofHealth Research (CIHR) Strategic Training Initiatives inHealth Research (STIHR) in Allergy and Asthma: FromMolecular Regulation to Population Health, at theUniversity of Manitoba.

✓ AllerGen, in partnership with other professional associa-tions and industry, has established two international cli-nician-scientists awards, enabling international clinicianscientists to study clinical methods with leading Networkinvestigators.AllerGen in partnership with the Canadian Allergy,Asthma and Immunology Foundation and Merck Frosstestablished an International Clinician-Scientist and Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship which was awarded to Dr.Eduardo José Campos Alberto. He will study at theUniversity of Alberta.AllerGen, in partnership with Allergists for Israel, estab-lished the AllerGen International Clinician-Scientist andPost Doctoral Research Fellowship which was awarded toDr. Ilan Asher. He will study at McMaster University.

✓ AllerGen has partnered with Topigen, a Canadian phar-maceutical company headquartered in Montreal, Quebec,to establish the AllerGen-Topigen Industrial Research andDevelopment Fellowship, a programme focused on deliv-ering real-world biopharmaceutical-based research anddevelopment experience to trainees.

✓ AllerGen has established, in partnership with theCanadian Thoracic Society (CTS) and Canadian LungAssociation (CLA) the CTS/CLA/AllerGen Asthma Clinician-Scientist Research Fellowship which focuses on promot-ing excellence in lung health and asthma research.

AllerGen

192007-2008

Network GraduatesSince the launch of AllerGen’s HQP programme in March2005, 76 trainees have graduated from the Network. Of thatnumber, 30 individuals (39%) are now working in industry,academic, government and the public sector, including:

• Kadria Asaly, a former University of British Columbia post-doctoral student under the supervision of AllerGenPrincipal Investigator Dr. Mark FitzGerald, is now workingas a study coordinator at Tuberculosis Control–BC Centrefor Disease Control in Vancouver.

• Shannon Cope, a former University of Toronto MSc studentunder the supervision of AllerGen investigator Dr. WendyUngar, is now working as a research consultant evaluatingthe health and economic benefits of drugs and new tech-nologies at Mapi Values in the Netherlands.

• Dr. Anne Ellis, former ASNPN president, has secured anAllergist, Clinician-Scientist position and AssistantProfessorship at Queen’s University. Dr. Ellis’s experience asan AllerGen trainee has provided unique technical skill andleadership development opportunities that she is applyingto the establishment of a new laboratory and to supervi-sion of the Environmental Exposure Unit at Queen’s.

• Piush Mandhane, a former McMaster University PhD stu-dent under the supervision of AllerGen PrincipalInvestigator Dr. Malcolm Sears, is now an AssociateProfessor at the University of Alberta and regional siteleader for AllerGen’s CHILD Study in Edmonton, Alberta.

• Jason Pole, a former University of Toronto PhD studentunder the supervision of former AllerGen research ThemeLeader, Dr. Cameron Mustard, is a Scientist at the PediatricOncology Group of Ontario and Assistant Professor at theDalla Lane School of Public Health at the University ofToronto.

• Jaim Sutton, a former Masters student working at theJames Hogg iCAPTURE (University of British Columbia)under the supervision of Drs Peter Paré (BC) and TomHudson (McGill), is Manager of the EUDRAGENE Project atthe London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at theUniversity of London in England.

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Highly Qualified Personnel: 07-08Trainees: 213Training Locations: 76Trainee Travel Grants Awaded: 37

Jennifer Protudjer (University of Manitoba) and DavidPréfontaine (McGill University) reviewing a trainee poster atthe 3rd Annual Scientific Conference of AllerGen (February2008, in Banff).

AllerGen Student and New Professionals Network (ASNPN) 2008 - 2009

Michelle North, President, University of TorontoJennifer Protudjer, Vice President, University of Manitoba Anne Ellis, Past President, McMaster UniversityVictoria Arrandale, University of Toronto Steven Maltby, University of British ColumbiaMarie-Claire Rousseau, Université LavalPawan Sharma, University of ManitobaChris Taplin, University of British Columbia

AllerGen Student and New ProfessionalsNetwork (ASNPN) 2007 - 2008

Anne Ellis, President, McMaster UniversityMichelle North, Vice-President, University ofTorontoVictoria Arrandale, University of TorontoSteven Maltby, University of British ColumbiaKatherine Morris, University of AlbertaJennifer Protudjer, University of ManitobaMarie-Claire Rousseau, Université LavalPawan Sharma, University of Manitoba

Looking to ensure the futureof allergy and clinicalimmunology care in CanadaAllergic and related immune diseases are rising inepidemic proportion in developed nations. Currently,Canada is experiencing a nation-wide shortage ofspecialists in allergic disease research and clinicalpractice. According to the 2006 census, Canada pro-vides one allergist per 225,813 Canadians. As thepopulation increases, this ratio is expected toincrease. To address the shortage of allergists/immu-nologist, and the resulting increase in patient waittimes, lack of development of new preventions andtherapies to treat allergic disease and asthma, and growingeconomic burden on Canadian productivity—AllerGen, inpartnership with the Canadian Society of Allergy and ClinicalImmunology (CSACI), is developing strategies and tactics toattract and retain students and new professionals in allergyand clinical immunology programmes, as well as to increaseCanadian capacity to train students in this medical sub-spe-cialty.

In May 2008, AllerGen partnered with CSACI to host a two-day strategic planning workshop on the theme The Future ofthe Specialty, in Alton, Ontario. The workshop focused ondeveloping new strategies to combat the increasing shortageof research and clinical specialists in allergy and immunolo-gy.

AllerGen Principal Investigator Dr. Susan Waserman,McMaster University, and CSACI President Dr. CharlesFrankish led a diverse group of 22 participants includingallergists, clinical immunologists, respirologists, specialty

programme directors and a representative of the RoyalCollege of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, through areview and assessment of Canada’s current and emergingallergy and clinical immunology training programmes,strengths and weaknesses of the programmes, and identifiedareas of opportunity to grow national capacity and attractnew trainees.

Four priority actions resulting from the workshop will be fol-lowed up by AllerGen in partnership with CSACI, includingthe development of:

• a clear value proposition for the allergy and clinicalimmunology sub-specialty

• new models to attract and recruit trainees and academicstaff

• innovative training models that enhance career develop-ment and patient care; and

• an effective communications plan targeted at trainees and healthcare professionals.

David Préfontaine (McGill University), Marie-Claire Rousseau (UniversitéLaval), Karine Tremblay (Université du Québec à Chicoutimi)

AllerGen

212007-2008

AllerGen hasestablishednumerous partnerships andcollaborationsresulting in cashand in-kind contributions toNetwork researchand knowledgetranslation anddissemination.

0

Revenue Sources (Cash and In-Kind) 2007-08

RevenuCASH IN-KIND TOTAL

NCE $6,230,500.00 —— $6,230,500.00Industry $4,742,363.03 $164,000.00 $4,906,363.03Not-For-Profit $1,403,945.00 $1,058,313.00 $2,462,258.00Other Sources $753,606.01 $912,783.00 $1,666,389.01University $180,500.00 $1,247,493.70 $1,427,993.70Federal $379,712.30 $524,950.00 $904,662.30Provincial $182,500.00 $180,181.00 $362,681.00Hospital $40,000.00 $94,500.00 $134,500.00

Total $13,913,126.34 $4,182,220.70 $18,095,347.04

Financial summaryAllerGen NCE Inc. Financial Summary 2006-081

2006-07 2007-08(Year 2) (Year 3)

REVENUES (Cash and In-Kind)NCE Award $5,272,000.00 43.4% $5,264,000.00 29.1%International Partnership Initiative Award N/A 828,000.00 4.6%IDRC2 Award– St. John’s Institute N/A 138,500.00 0.8%Non-NCE Funds to Administrative Centre* 430,421.00 3.5% 2,174,848.01 12.0%Non-NCE Funds to Research Projects* 6,447,809.86 53.1% 9,689,999.03 53.5%Total Revenues $12,150,230.86 100.0% $18,095,347.04 100.0%* includes cash and in-kind contributions

EXPENDITURES (Expended/committed cash from the Administrative Centre)Research Programs/Committed 3,432,426.43 71.9% 2,529,717.89 53.3%Networking 374,089.60 7.8% 557,414.47 13.1%Strategic Initiatives and Training 90,428.09 1.9% 220,813.59 5.2%Communications 41,949.91 0.9% 14,487.06 0.3%Administration 838,092.26 17.5% 942,410.53 22.1%Total Expenditures $4,776,986.29 100.0% $4,264,843.54 100.0%

Committed Funds for Future Research $1,932,961.10Cash reserved for future research $1,837,628.80 $2,306,292.67

1 An audited administrative centre financial statement is available from the AllerGen Administrative Centre.2 International Development Research Centre

AllerGen’s Goal: To provide responsible, cost effective and accountable management,administration and support to all aspects of AllerGen’s activities.

Judah A. Denburg, Committee Chair/Président du comité,McMaster University

Allan Becker, University of ManitobaDean Befus, University of AlbertaJeff Brook, Environment Canada/Environnement CanadaTim Caulfield, University of AlbertaSusan Elliott, McMaster UniversityPatricia Lorenz, University of GuelphPaul O’Byrne, McMaster UniversityPeter Paré, University of British ColumbiaMark Raizenne, Health Canada/Santé CanadaMalcolm Sears, McMaster UniversityDavid B. Shindler, McMaster UniversityBrian Underdown, Lumira CapitalFrances Silverman, ex officio/membre d’office,

University of TorontoLouis-Philippe Boulet, ex officio/membre d’office,

Université LavalDiana Royce ex officio/membre d’office, AllerGen NCE

Inc./AllerGen-RCE Inc.Danielle Arsenault, ex officio/membre d’office, NCE Programmes

Officer/Agente de programmes des RCE

Chris Mody, Chair/Président du comité, University of CalgaryJudah Denburg, AllerGen NCE Inc. /AllerGen-RCE Inc.Thomas Issekutz, Dalhousie UniversityOxana Latycheva, Asthma Society of Canada/Société canadi-enne de l’AsthmeIrvin Mayers, University of AlbertaMichelle North, University of Toronto & President,ASNPN/Présidente de l’AENPADanuta Radzioch, Montreal General Hospital/Hôpital général de MontréalSusan Waserman, McMaster UniversityDiana Royce, AllerGen NCE Inc./AllerGen-RCE Inc.

Rafeef Abugharbieh, University of BritishColumbia

Stephanie Ackerman, University of Illinois atChicago

Darryl Adamko, University of AlbertaNeil Alexis, University of North Carolina at

Chapel HillReza Alizadehfar, McGill University Health

Centre/Centre universitaire de santé McGillMarilyn Allen, Anaphylaxis Canada/Anaphylaxie

CanadaMary Lewis Allen, Allergy Asthma Information

Association/Association d’information surl’allergie et l’asthme

Ryan Allen, Simon Fraser UniversityBeth Anderson, Arkitek StudiosPetra Arck, McMaster UniversityStephanie Atkinson, McMaster UniverstiyJehannine Austin, University of British ColumbiaTony Bai, University of British ColumbiaJeremy Beach, University of AlbertaAllan Becker, University of ManitobaDean Befus, University of AlbertaSwarnarekha Bhat, St. John’s Research Institute,

India/IndeJohn Bielby, Western Australia Centre of

Pathology and MedicineJohn Bienenstock, McMaster UniversityLouis-Philippe Boulet, Université LâvalMichael Brauer, University of British ColumbiaRyan Brinkman, University of British ColumbiaJeffrey Brook, Environment

Canada/Environnement CanadaIgor Burstyn, University of AlbertaJanice Butler, Newfoundland and Labrador

Centre for Health ResearchLisa Cameron, University of AlbertaChris Carlsten, University of British ColumbiaTimothy Caulfield, University of AlbertaJamila Chakir, Université LavalEdith Chen, University of British ColumbiaNicola Cherry, University of AlbertaLisa Cicutto, University of TorontoAnn Clarke, McGill University Health

Centre/Centre universitaire de santé McGillDonald Cockcroft, University of SaskatchewanEric Crighton, University of Ottawa/Université

d’OttawaMichael Cyr, McMaster University Denise Daley, University of British ColumbiaJoe Davison, University of CalgaryGuy Delespesse, Université de MontréalSharon Dell, The Hospital for Sick Children Judah Denburg, McMaster UniversityFrancine Deschensnes, Centre hospitalier de

l’Université LavalDelbert Dorscheid, University of British

ColumbiaGeorge D’Souza, St. John’s Research Institute,

India/IndeFrancine Ducharme, Hôpital de Montréal pour

Enfants/Montreal Children’s HospitalClaire Dufresne, Association québécoise des

allergies alimentairesMarek Duszyk, University of AlbertaGary Eitzen, University of AlbertaSusan Elliott, McMaster UniversityWarren Finlay, University of AlbertaMark FitzGerald, University of British ColumbiaPaul Forsythe, McMaster UniversityAndreas Freitag, McMaster University

Jack Gauldie, McMaster UniversityGail Gauvreau, McMaster UniversityDiane Gold, Harvard UniversityJohn Gordon, University of SaskatchewanAbdel Soussi Gounni, University of ManitobaHartmut Grasemann, University of TorontoTed Haines, McMaster UniversityAndrew Halayko, University of ManitobaGeoffrey Hall, McMaster UniversityQutayba Hamid, McGill UniversityLaurie Harada, Anaphylaxis

Canada/Anaphylaxie CanadaKent HayGlass, University of ManitobaRichard Hegele, University of British ColumbiaDorothy Linn Holness, St. Michael's HospitalPatrick Holt, University of Western Australia,

Telethon Institute of Child Health ResearchClaire Infante-Rivard, McGill UniversityMark Inman, McMaster UniversityAlan James, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital,

Western Australia Manel Jordana, McMaster UniversityLawrence Joseph, McGill University Health

Centre/Centre universitaire de santé McGillRhoda Kagan, North York General HospitalFaige Kaplan, McGill University Health

Centre/Centre universitaire de santé McGillPaul Keith, McMaster UniversityMargaret Kelly, University of CalgaryDarryl Knight, University of British ColumbiaMichael Kobor, University of British ColumbiaTobi Kollmann, University of British ColumbiaTulay Koru-Sengul, McMaster UniversityPetros Koutrakis, Harvard UniversityAnita Kozyrskyj, University of ManitobaPaul Kubes, University of CalgaryIrena Kudla, University of TorontoAnura Kurpad, St. John’s Research Institute,

India/IndePaige Lacy, University of AlbertaCatherine Laprise, Université du Québec à

Chicoutimi Mark Larché, McMaster UniversityJean-Pierre Lavoie, Université de MontréalNicole Letourneau, University of New

Brunswick/Université du Nouveau-Brunswick

Anthony Levinson, McMaster UniversityTong-Jun Lin, IWK Health CentreLing Liu, Health Canada/Santé CanadaWendy Lou, University of TorontoDiane Lougheed, Queen’s UniversityJacques Lussier, Université de MontréalBrian MacNeil, University of ManitobaGlenda MacQueen, McMaster UniversityPiush Mandhane, University of AlbertaKevin Mardell, West Elgin Community

Health CentreCarlo Marra, University of British ColumbiaTom Marrie, University of Alberta Jean Marshall, Dalhousie UniversityJames Martin, McGill UniversityJeff Masuda, University of British ColumbiaRon Matheson, University of CalgaryIrvin Mayers, University of AlbertaBruce Mazer, McGill UniversityShawna McGhan, University of AlbertaMargaret McKinnon, McMaster UniversityKelly McNagny, University of British ColumbiaGregory Miller, University of British ColumbiaJanice Minard, Kingston General Hospital

Researchers/ChercheursCommittees/Comités

Advanced Education-Training Opportunities AdvisoryCommittee/Comité consultatif sur les possibilitésd’études supérieures et de formation spécialisée

Diana Royce, Committee Chair/Présidente du comité, AllerGenNCE Inc./AllerGen-RCE Inc.

Dean Befus, University of AlbertaTerry Delovitch, Robarts Research InstituteJudah Denburg, McMaster UniversityPatricia Lorenz, University of GuelphDavid Shindler, BioDiscovery TorontoBrian Underdown, Lumira Capital

Network-Supported Intellectual Property AdvisoryCommittee/

Diana Royce, Managing Director and Chief OperatingOfficer/Directrice administrative et chef de l’exploitationSamantha Simpkin, Office Manager/Gestionnaire de bureauJudi Pattison, Communications and Marketing Officer/Agente des communications et du marketingRosemary Watters, Financial Officer/Agente des financesBrendan Osborne, Parternships Officer/ Agent de partenariat Kevin Reed, Information Technology Co-ordinator/Coordonnateur des technologies de l’informationShelley Burford, Programme Coordinator/ Coordonnatrice des programmesSuzanne Bezzina, Executive Secretary/Secrétaire exécutive

Administrative Centre/Centre administratif

Research Management Committee/Comité de gestion de la recherche

AllerGen

232007-2008

Trainees/StagiairesFarnam AjamianEric AlbertAmal AlgarawiSima AllahverdianSarah AlleyMenhel Al-NaamaReshma AminOfer AmramLaura AplinKatherine AriasVictoria ArrandaleMelanie AshbyIlan AsherAdrian BaatjesSimon BaconAndrée-Anne

Banville-Langelier

Renata BarretoPhilippe BéginJamie BennettMoshe Ben-

ShoshanSacha BhinderMarie Renée

BlanchetYohan BosséJean Nicolas

BoursiquotJohn BrannanSarah BurkePierre CamaterosJosé CamposLei CaoLucas CastellaniHuan (Kick) ChenDennis ChoFong Chun ChanDaniel CohenChristine DaumJulie DauvillierBeth DavisWojciech DawickiRenée DouvilleLisa DregerChristopher DrudgeBenny DuaGordon DueckAudrey Dunn

GalvinAhmed El-

KaramalawyAnne EllisNancy FentonLeandro FritscherErin FrokwerkSylvianne GagnonNichole GarziaKulvinder GillAshley GluchowskiMatt GoldPol GomezLoie Goronfolah

Brett GreenTillie-Louise

HackettJamie HaddonDaniel HarringtonMuhannad HassanJianqing He Darcy HeronMichael HughesYuji IshimatsuAlisha JabarNelishah JiwaniBrianna JulienNitin KapurKhalil KarimiSherrylynn KerrElaine KeungNivedita KhannaChristine KingAnouk Lavoie-

LamoureuxAnnie LeblancMathilde LeclèreBo Li Yuriy LissitsynAndrea LoLarisa LotoskiSilke LutzDoug MackEmily MacleanStephanie

MacphersonSteven MaltbyDavid MarchantRafael MarinoAndrea MarrinIan McDougallZahida MeghjiXaiMai MeiTroy MitchellKatherine MorrisRabyah MurjiNha NguyenMichelle NorthTrohadio NumozIdongesit ObiefunaAmanda OttleySantiago ParentBenjamin PatchellAngela PaulsonMiki PeerCheryl PetersTracy PittMohua PodderDavid PréfontaineJennifer ProtudjerPia ReeceMarie-Claire

RousseauRobyn SachsErik SaudeNatalija Saurek-

AleksandrovskaAbdelhabib Semlali

Pawan SharmaHeather SharpeShashank ShethSteve SmithMelinda SolomonJulie St-LaurentRuey-Chyi SuChristopher TaplinKarine TremblayCandy TsangMatthew TunisJulie TurmelBruce UrchRattanjeet VigHope WalkerScott WeichenthalJim WickwareJungang XieLauren YallopJasemine YangAaron YoungDavid ZamarRicardo ZamelJian ZhangSteven Zuccarelli

ResearchAssociates andTechnicians/Associés derecherche ettechniciensLoubna AkhabirOfer AmramEshetu AtenafuSusan BalkovecCai BingAgatha BlancasHeidi CheungRishma

ChooniedassSebastien ClaveauMiriam Clement Mary ConwayMarg CooteLynn CrawfordRene DeryJames DooleyMike FilaAlexandra FokBrenda GerwingTara GomesJulie GrossPampa GuhaErika HaberAnita HallDenyse HamerKaren HowieArlene KallosColleen KeastSherrylynn KerrDennell Krebs-

ElaschukSara Leckie

Josiane Lefebvre-Lavoie

Mathieu LemireIngrid LoewenKarl Zdravko LukicIqbal MahaboodMichael MannoTreena McDonaldHelen MerkensHanen M'KaouarMaureen MooneySarah NeumannErin NichollsGeorge ObminskiMegan O’ConnorPopi PanaritisJulie ParkMarcelle PetitclercChandra PhamPhilippe PrinceDenise ReidIsha RiveraLaura RodgersRoxanne RouseauJian RuanRobyn SachsGurpreet SingheraMary SpeckChris St-LaurentYvan St. PierreDorota StefanowiczWilliam StefuraJasmen SzeFrancis ThomasBen TrippMaria TsoukalasElizabeth TurnbullRichard WatsonRebecca WicketYing qi WuFan XuNong XuDavid ZamarLori ZbytnuikTosha Kells

Chris Mody, University of CalgarySusan Moisey, University of AlbertaRedwan Moqbel, University of AlbertaBill Musk, Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, Western AustraliaSumithra Muthayya, St. John’s Research Institute, India/IndeParameswaran Nair, McMaster UniversityCindy Nakatsu, Purdue UniversityPaul O’Byrne, McMaster UniversityJennifer Olajos-Clow, Kingston General HospitalLyle Palmer, Western Australia Institute for Medical ResearchPeter Paré, University of British ColumbiaNigel Paterson, University of Western OntarioJohn Kenneth Philip, St. John’s Research Institute, India/IndeMartin Post, Hospital for Sick Children, TorontoSteven Prescott, University of Western AustraliaMarie-Noël Primeau, McGill University Health Centre/

Centre universitaire de santé McGillClare Ramsey, University of ManitobaFelix Ratjen, Hospital for Sick Children, TorontoSylvan Rego, St. John’s Research Institute, India/IndeStacey Ritz, Northern Ontario School of MedicineBrian Rowe, University of AlbertaAndrew Sandford, University of British ColumbiaDavid Scheifele, British Columbia Children’s Hospital Bob Schellenberg, University of British ColumbiaJames Scott, University of TorontoJeremy Scott, University of TorontoMalcolm Sears, McMaster UniversityRoma Sehmi, McMaster UniversityKeith Seifert, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada/

Agriculture et Agroalimentaire CanadaElizabeth Sellers, University of ManitobaChun Seow, University of British ColumbiaSirish Shah, University of AlbertaSusan Sherwin, Dalhousie UniversityShashank Sheth, Hôpital général de Montréal/

Montreal General HospitalFrances Silverman, University of TorontoPeter Sly, Telethon Institute for Child Health ResearchGanesh Srinivasan, University of ManitobaK Srinivasan, St. John’s Research Institute, India/IndeMartin Stämpfli, McMaster UniversityDonald Stark, University of British ColumbiaMiriam Stewart, University of AlbertaPadmaja Subbarao, Hospital for Sick Children, TorontoRichard Summerbell, Sporometrics Inc.Zacharias Suntres, Northern Ontario School of MedicineBrian Sykes, University of AlbertaTim Takaro, Simon Fraser UniversitySusan Tarlo, University of TorontoScott Tebbutt, University of British ColumbiaKoon Teo, McMaster UniversityTeresa To, Hospital for Sick Children, TorontoStuart Turvey, University of British ColumbiaWendy Ungar, Hospital for Sick Children, TorontoWendy Untereiner, Brandon UniversityPeter Vadas, University of TorontoStephan van Eeden, University of British ColumbiaTimothy Vander Leek, University of AlbertaMario Vaz, St. John’s Research Institute, India/IndeDilini Vethanayagam, University of AlbertaHarissios Vliagoftis, University of AlbertaMichael Ward, St. Michael’s HospitalSusan Waserman, McMaster UniversityWade Watson, Dalhousie UniversitySusan Watt, University of TorontoWilliam Welch, University of British ColumbiaMark Wilkinson, University of British Columbia,C. Wilson, University of WaterlooMoira Chen Yeung, University of British Columbia Salim Yusuf, Hamilton General HospitalRuben Zamar, University of British ColumbiaNoe Zamel, Mount Sinai HospitalXing Zhou, McMaster University

Highly Qualified Personnel/Personnel hautement qualifié