Family of late Ted Rogers donates $130 million to establish heart research centre

A $130-million donation from the family of the late Ted Rogers is expected to attract an additional $139 million from three participating institutions to undertake an unprecedented multi-disciplinary research program into heart disease. The Ted Rogers Centre for Heart Research (TRCHR) is a virtual network of researchers from the University Health Network, Hospital for Sick Children and the Univ of Toronto that will pursue research into personalized genomic medicine, stem cell research, bioengineering and cardiovascular treatment.

In the works for three years, the TRCHR brings together 33 researchers and technicians, augmented by approximately 80 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and clinical fellows, as well as eight research chairs that are now being recruited. The Rogers family donation is being matched by funds from the UHN, U of T and Sick Kids.

Sick Kids will use genomics to decode the foundation of cardiac disease, providing better prediction and supporting individualized therapies based on the unique genome of each patient.

The U of T, led by its Institute for Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, will focus on cellular and tissue engineering for regenerating heart muscle, coronary vessels and heart valves.

UHN wil be responsible for translating research into new patient care delivery through the use of databases, new biomarkers for heart disease, regenerative and individualized medicine approaches and real-time home monitoring and telecommuni- cations technologies.

Dr Mansoor Husain, director of the Toronto General Research Institute, has been appointed as TRCHR's interim executive director to oversee the hiring phase of the centre's ramp-up.

Edward "Ted" Rogers was a media pioneer who grew Rogers Communication into one of Canada's largest media conglomerates. Prior to his death, Rogers donated $26.8 million to Univ of Toronto's Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering for a series of scholarships. He and his wife, Loretta, also donated $15 million to Ryerson Univ's Faculty of Business with the majority of funding going towards more than 50 student scholarships and to support academic initiatives in management research.

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