Dr. Bruce McManus to Lead Scientific Programs for the iCAPTURE Centre and the Heart Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital

September 18, 2006

VANCOUVER, SEPTEMBER 18, 2006 – Dr. Bruce McManus has been appointed Director of the James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research and Scientific Director of the Heart Centre at Providence Health Care, effective September 1, 2006.

Dr. McManus is a Professor in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of British Columbia and also serves at St. Paul's Hospital as Academic Head of that Department. He previously served for six years as Co-Director of the iCAPTURE Centre and Director of the Cardiovascular Research Laboratory within the Centre.

The iCAPTURE Centre, a UBC-affiliated research centre based in St. Paul’s Hospital, focuses on the complex genetic and environmental influences that determine susceptibility to diseases of the heart, lung and vascular systems, particularly those involving inflammation or infection.

“I am delighted that I will have the opportunity in this next stage of iCAPTURE’s development to work with Bruce, one of Canada’s truly visionary scientists, in building an even stronger and more vibrant research capacity in heart and lung disease at Providence Health Care,” said Yvonne Lefebvre, Vice President, Research and Academic Affairs and President of the Providence Health Care Research Institute.

As Scientific Director for the heart Centre, Dr. McManus will work with Heart Centre leaders and their colleagues to bring new synergies between the cardiovascular and pulmonary clinicians and scientists in the iCAPTURE Centre, the goal being to identify better ways to prevent, treat, and manage the patients who suffer from these common problems.

“The appointment of Dr McManus as Scientific Director of the Heart Centre is a tremendous step forward in the continued development of our program, said Dr. Ron Carere, Physician Director of the Heart Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital. “It aligns with our strategic direction to strengthen the Heart Centre’s delivery of clinical care and role as a premier program in research, investigation and the introduction of innovative treatments and technologies. We look forward to Dr McManus’ scientific leadership.

Dr. McManus recently completed a five-year term as the inaugural Scientific Director of the Institute of Circulatory and Respiratory Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research. In this capacity, he led the development and implementation of a strategic research plan for Canada to address pressing questions related to heart, lung, blood, brain (stroke), sleep, and critical care ailments.

Contact: Gavin Wilson, PHC Communications  


Background

The iCAPTURE Centre
Built on a 25-year history of research excellence, the iCAPTURE Centre was created in 2000 with the infusion of $21 million of technological infrastructure funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and its partners. In addition to its St. Paul’s facility, iCAPTURE co-investigators are located at Vancouver General Hospital, UBC’s Point Grey campus and the Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics.

iCAPTURE is dedicated to relieving the massive socioeconomic burden on our society caused by heart attacks, heart failure, COPD, asthma and critical care. More than 270 personnel in the iCAPTURE Centre, including 125 trainees and students, are using the best available technologies and tools to image and measure changes in molecules, cells, tissues, organs and whole organisms, including patients, to understand the link between our genetics and environments in causing heart, lung, and blood vessel diseases. For example, iCAPTURE Centre investigators are trying to understand how common injurious factors like air pollution, cigarette smoke, unhealthy diet, lack of blood flow, unhealthy aging, viral infections, and immune attack compromise the integrity of the heart muscle, vessels, and valves, and the lung airways and air sacs.

The iCAPTURE Centre was founded on the work of Dr. James Hogg, and in 2003 the Centre was re-named in recognition of his immeasurable contributions to its success. An Officer of the Order of Canada, Dr. Hogg continues, with the immediate past Centre Director, Peter Paré, to make major contributions in solving the unknowns in lung disease and to bring discovery to bear on the health of British Columbians.

The Heart Centre at St. Paul’s Hospital
The Heart Centre at St. Paul’s has developed an international reputation for its work in the prevention of heart disease and for the care, treatment and support of people living with heart conditions. Health professionals of the Heart Centre provides primary through quaternary care for patients with hardening of the arteries, valve diseases, congenital cardiac malformations, rhythm disturbances and other disorders. As a University of British Columbia teaching hospital, St. Paul’s serves as a training facility for cardiac professionals and is a leader in heart disease research, both in the laboratory and in the clinic. Innovators in clinical care are engaged in applied research throughout the Heart Centre. Recent examples include the development of a wireless implantable defibrillator.

Dr. Bruce McManus
Dr. McManus’ own investigative program is focused on enteroviral infections of the heart muscle and the biology of heart allograft rejection. He co-leads a transdisciplinary team of researchers seeking proteomic, metabolomic, and genomic biomarkers of acute and chronic rejection. He has co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed articles and chapters, and edited three books.
Dr. McManus has also served as Councillor for the International Society for Heart Research and for the American Society for Investigative Pathology. He is past-president of the Society for Cardiovascular Pathology. Dr. McManus was a recipient of an NIH John F. Fogarty Senior International Fellowship and co-recipient of the Max Planck Research Award. He has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in the Academy of Sciences. Recently, and he was elected as an inaugural Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences. He has received the UBC Killam Research Prize in the Senior Scientist Category and was elected as Fellow of the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences.

For more information, visit www.icapture.ca and www.heartcentre.ca