Editorial - 14-8

Canada's medical research enterprise is on a roll. Seemingly every day, a major new development takes place that provides one more building block in a national edifice of research, development and exploitation that bodes extremely well for the future. And with this week's explosion of genomics into the mainstream, the momentum of strategic investment and collaboration is only likely to accelerate.

The Canadian Institutes of Health Research is now an official reality which will begin to make itself felt through the health field. Genome Canada is also beginning to implement its vision of five regional centres and a business plan that promises to recoup the investment its various partners have made. The Univ of Toronto is forging ahead with cutting-edge research in various aspects of biomedical and genetic research. And the Ontario government has just opened the first of its biotech incubation centres that will focus on the exploitation of medical research. The list goes on.

But in a very real sense, Canada is playing catch-up with the rest of the world. It was only when politicians heeded the pleas of scientists and research managers across the nation that the debilitating cuts of the mid-1990s were reversed and the strategic planning began.

Now we're starting to see the fruits of those efforts, as well as a degree of cooperation and collaboration that cross political, geographic and disciplinary boundaries unheard of a few years ago. Whether Canada can capitalize on this emerging brain trust will depend on many factors, and the continuing support of governments to ensure ongoing excellence.