U of M awarded $57M for research

The University of Manitoba has received the largest federal cheque in its history to research vaccines and biomanufacturing as well as build two facilities.

The federal government will give $57 million to the U of M, in partnership with the universities of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Calgary.

“This groundbreaking investment will strengthen our ability to provide solutions to society’s most pressing challenges through research and get ahead of future pandemic threats,” said Annemieke Farenhorst, associate vice-president of research at the U of M, in a news release.

“It will empower our research community to develop next-generation vaccines and enhance biomanufacturing solutions — from fundamental research to preclinical testing — to accelerate innovation that will benefit Manitobans and Canadians.”

The money will boost research capacity in the life sciences and biomanufacturing sectors, the release said.

About $29 million will go toward the construction of a two-storey, 21,000-sq.-ft. biosecure facility to be erected on the university’s Fort Garry campus; $19 million has been earmarked to enhance research and training capacity for the development and delivery of vaccines for commercial application, the release says.

The second facility to be built, the Prairie One Health Emerging Respiratory Disease Centre, will be a containment Level 3 agriculture lab — a designation not currently available in Manitoba — and will be located at the Bannatyne campus downtown.

The laboratory will be used for pre-clinical vaccine testing against high-risk pathogens.

The money is part of the federal government’s biomanufacturing and life sciences strategy, a $2.2-billion program announced in 2021.

Projects selected for funding must enhance antibody discovery and therapeutics production, develop vaccines, establish better rapid diagnostic tools that can identify emerging pathogens, leverage artificial intelligence or other technologies to study bacteria, or establish a maternal-child health resource for disease surveillance and pandemic preparedness.

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca