Forging a healthier future through research - McGill Newsroom

2 years ago 81

A landmark donation to enactment McGill University’s renowned genomics probe and acquisition programs from UK-based alumnus and long-time donor Victor Dahdaleh is simply a catalyst for advancements successful genomics research. Thanks to gifts from Mr. Dahdaleh totalling much than $30 million, McGill volition motorboat the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Institute of Genomic Medicine. Today’s announcement, which coincides with McGill’s yearly Homecoming festivities, caps disconnected much than a twelvemonth of Bicentennial celebrations and transformative expressions of philanthropic enactment successful honour of McGill’s 200th anniversary.

McGill has agelong been a person successful Canada and North America successful the progressively captious fields of RNA and genomics research. Mr. Dahdaleh’s concern volition further cement the University’s planetary enactment successful genomics, portion enabling the Institute to grow its high-impact probe programs, put successful apical talent, and bid the adjacent procreation of satellite technological leaders.

“On behalf of the McGill community, I would similar to explicit my heavy gratitude to Victor and Mona Dahdaleh for this visionary acquisition from a mates who person been large friends and loyal supporters of McGill for galore years,” said Professor Christopher Manfredi, Interim Principal and Vice-Chancellor of McGill University. “Mr. Dahdaleh’s enactment volition beryllium a catalyst for advancements successful genomics probe that volition amended wellness outcomes for communities astir the world. Mr. Dahdaleh’s committedness to forging a healthier aboriginal done probe is genuinely inspiring.”

Next-generation cause find research

The Institute volition harness the interdisciplinary expertise and probe infrastructure crossed McGill’s faculties to instrumentality a afloat spectrum attack to genomic medicine, which draws connected accusation from each of a person’s genes and however they interact to pass an individual’s objective care. McGill researchers volition pb breakthrough probe aimed astatine the improvement of cutting-edge diagnostic tools, targeted treatments, and caller pharmaceuticals and preventative vaccines. Additionally, the Institute’s integral societal sciences pillar volition gully connected expertise crossed the University to pb important probe connected the ethical, policy, and ineligible implications of genomic medicine.

“It is an honour to lend to McGill University’s world-leading genomics program,” said Mr. Dahdaleh. “I consciousness powerfully that genomic medicine is the cardinal to preventing, treating and 1 time curing galore of the diseases that interaction lives, families and communities astir the world. I’m arrogant to beryllium a portion of this important effort to amended worldwide health.”

In performance with the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences and affiliated hospitals wrong the McGill University Health Centre, the Institute volition maximize opportunities for objective interventions successful high-priority fields wherever McGill is already an established person – specified arsenic cancer, neuroscience and intelligence health, chronic inflammatory diseases, and infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

“Mr. Dahdaleh’s generous acquisition provides important resources to assistance america pull impactful young scientists, students and trainees from astir the satellite and make the conditions for these scientists to prosecute their probe activities and person a planetary interaction connected nationalist health,” said Mark Lathrop, Director of the Institute. The acquisition volition besides supply important enactment for leveraging further assistance backing for the Institute.

Training students from divers backgrounds

The Institute’s grooming programme volition person a peculiar absorption connected grooming students from lower- and middle- income countries, a extremity that is particularly important for Mr. Dahdaleh, who has directed galore of his philanthropic efforts toward providing scholarships and grooming opportunities for disadvantaged students astatine world-class universities, including the London School of Economics.

Likewise, Mr. Dahdaleh’s concern successful genomic medicine astatine McGill is an hold of his exceptional bequest of supporting innovative planetary wellness and wellness subject probe successful Canada and internationally. He has antecedently fixed much than $20 cardinal to found the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health Research astatine his alma mater York University successful Toronto. He is besides a longstanding protagonist of the National Heart and Lung Institute astatine Imperial College London, the British Heart Foundation, and Asthma + Lung UK, wherever helium has contributed to leading-edge probe into cardiovascular illness and cancer, including mesothelioma.

“Mr. Dahdaleh shares McGill’s committedness to propelling innovation successful genomic medicine connected a planetary standard to amended diagnosis, attraction and preventative healthcare,” said Philippe Gros, Deputy Vice-Principal, Research and Innovation; Professor, Department of Biochemistry; and laminitis and co-lead of the McGill Research Centre connected Complex Traits. “With his support, the Institute’s researchers volition physique caller partnerships and deepen existing ties with starring genomics programs internationally, peculiarly successful the UK, wherever McGill already works intimately with researchers astatine the University of Oxford and Imperial College London, and Japan, wherever we stock a associated PhD programme with the University of Kyoto.”


About Victor Dahdaleh

Victor Dahdaleh is simply a starring Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist, whose worldwide charitable enactment has supported education, health-related research, and societal and economical development. Through the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation, helium supports respective assistance programs for disadvantaged overseas students to survey astatine apical universities, opening the doorway to higher acquisition successful parts of the satellite wherever opportunities are limited. In addition, helium has supported immoderate of the world’s apical centres of aesculapian research, including respective assemblage wellness faculties, providing overmuch needed backing to areas specified arsenic cardiovascular health, neuroscience, and planetary wellness and argumentation issues.

McGill’s largest donor from the UK, Dr. Dahdaleh has agelong been an progressive unpaid and protagonist of the University. For astir 30 years, helium has served arsenic a trustee of the UK-based McGill University Trust, which supports programs and initiatives crossed McGill, notably the McGill University Trust Scholarships for UK students wishing to survey astatine the University. In 2007, helium joined with the William J. Clinton Foundation and went connected to found the Victor Dahdaleh-Clinton Foundation Scholarship Program, which present provides 32 scholarships for outstanding undergraduates from low-income countries, successful perpetuity. In 2016, helium founded the Victor Dahdaleh Chair successful Neuroscience to enactment an integrated attack to the survey of chronic encephalon disease, incorporating neurology, psychiatry, and rehabilitation science, among different disciplines. More details astir the Victor Dadahleh’s Foundation’s philanthropic enactment are disposable here.

Dr. Dahdaleh is the proprietor and president of Dadco [est. 1915], a privately owned investment, manufacturing, and trading group. He is besides an Honorary Fellow and politician of the London School of Economics, Fellow of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award, committee subordinate of the International Aluminium Institute, and a past president of the Canada-UK Chamber of Commerce.

About McGill University

Founded successful Montreal, Quebec, successful 1821, McGill University is Canada’s apical ranked aesculapian doctoral university. McGill is consistently ranked arsenic 1 of the apical universities, some nationally and internationally. It is simply a world-renowned instauration of higher learning with probe activities spanning 3 campuses, 11 faculties, 13 nonrecreational schools, 300 programs of survey and implicit 39,000 students, including much than 10,400 postgraduate students. McGill attracts students from implicit 150 countries astir the world, its 12,000 planetary students making up 30% of the pupil body. Over fractional of McGill students assertion a archetypal connection different than English, including astir 20% of our students who accidental French is their parent tongue.

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