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MONTREAL, Sept. 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global threat to human life and economic prosperity. If left unchecked, it has the potential to set medicine back 100 years, put 10 million lives at risk worldwide and impose enormous economic burdens on society.
AMR occurs when bacteria and other microbes become resistant to antibiotics, disinfectants, and other antimicrobial products. The consequences could be devastating: without reliable antibiotics, even the simplest surgeries could carry the risk of serious infections. Likewise, hallmarks of modern medicine such as chemotherapy, transplantation and joint replacements – all of which require antibiotics – could pose many more risks in the not-too-distant future.
With the opening of the new McGill Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Centre, a partnership between McGill University and the McGill University Health Center Research Institute (RI-MUHC), Montreal will become a powerhouse for understanding and preventing AMR. This new research center brings together scientists from a wide range of disciplines to find solutions to the growing problem of AMR.
“No new antibiotics have been developed since the 1990s and the discovery pipeline has dried up. If we don’t act now, by 2050 we could be living in a post-antibiotic world. At the AMR center we will be able to explore innovative new ways to treat resistant infections.”
— dr Dao Nguyen, Director, Center for Antimicrobial Resistance
The Power Corporation of Canada recently made a $2 million donation to the MUHC Foundation to help kickstart the AMR center and $20 million fundraiser.
“Antibiotics have transformed medicine and public health, humanity would face terrible risks if they lost their effectiveness. The AMR is dedicated to preventing such a global health crisis. The Power Corporation of Canada is proud to support the center’s visionary research and collaboration.”
— Paul Genest, Senior Vice President, Power Corporation of Canada
To prevent the devastating consequences of AMR, the AMR Center is developing microbe-resistant surfaces and researching novel treatment and prevention strategies that pathogens cannot outwit.
“The discovery of antibiotics fueled the creation of life-saving innovations – organ transplants and other major surgeries would never have been possible without them. We cannot risk losing the achievements of modern medicine.”
– Heather Munroe-Blum, Co-Chair, MUHC Foundation dream big Solve mankind’s deadliest mysteries campaign
The AMR Center is an initiative of the McGill Interdisciplinary Initiative on Infection and Immunity (MI4), a group of over 250 researchers from a variety of fields working together to solve mankind’s deadliest mysteries: infectious and immune-mediated diseases. MI4 was created in 2017 by Dr. Founded by Donald Sheppard and has played a key role in the response to the pandemic in Montreal, Quebec and Canada. It also finds solutions to many other health crises, from COVID-19 to hepatitis C to rare immune diseases.
“We are grateful to Power Corporation for their incredible gift. COVID-19 has shown the world just how devastating global health crises can be. dr Nguyen and her team have the expertise to prevent a world where infections that were once easy to treat are becoming life-threatening. Research from the AMR center will help save thousands — even millions — of lives.”
— Marc Parent, Co-Chair, MUHC Foundation dream big campaign
About the McGill University Health Center Foundation
The McGill University Health Center (MUHC) Foundation raises funds to support excellence in patient care, research and teaching at McGill University Health Centre, one of Canada’s premier university hospitals. Our Dream Big campaign to change lives and medicine is raising millions of dollars to solve humanity’s deadliest mysteries: infectious diseases; end cancer as a life-threatening disease; repairing broken hearts through innovative heart care; early detection of the silent killers – ovarian and endometrial cancer; creating the best qualified healthcare teams in Canada; and much more. We mobilize our entire community to solve the world’s most complex healthcare challenges. www.muhcfoundation.com
About the RI MUHC
The McGill University Health Center Research Institute (RI-MUHC) is a world-renowned biomedical and health care research center. The institute, affiliated with McGill University School of Medicine, is the research arm of McGill University Health Center (MUHC) – an academic health center in Montreal, Canada with a mission to focus on complex care within its community. RI-MUHC supports over 450 researchers and approximately 1,200 research interns dedicated to a wide range of basic, clinical and health outcomes research at MUHC’s Glen and Montreal General Hospital campuses. Its research facilities provide a dynamic multidisciplinary environment that encourages collaboration and leverages discoveries aimed at improving the health of individual patients throughout their lifespan. The RI-MUHC is supported in part by the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS). www.rimuhc.ca
Tarah Schwartz Director, Communications & Marketing McGill University Health Center Foundation [email protected]
Kelly Albert Communications Officer McGill University Health Center Foundation [email protected]
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e7a0f24a-e861-4a58-90d6-70e2825384a2
$2M to MUHC Foundation for new McGill Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Center
dr Dao Nguyen, Director, Center for Antimicrobial Resistance
Source: MUHC Foundation
