Dr. Mayor’s research on the role of misfolded proteins and neurodegenerative diseases awarded CIHR Grant

Last week, it was announced that Dr. Thibault Mayor had received a five-year Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) project grant in the amount of just over $730K. This grant will help support his research in better understanding how misfolded proteins are eliminated from the cell.

Mayor, faculty member at the Michael Smith Laboratories and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, studies how misfolded proteins are handled in the cell in order to gain fundamental knowledge of both neurodegenerative diseases and other genetic diseases.

“To receive this CIHR funding is a great honour. This grant will help our lab continue to operate and uncover how mutations can lead to degradation afflicted proteins,” said Thibault. “The aim of our research is to discover how cells detect proteins misfolded due to mutations linked to various rare genetic diseases which could also help to better understand a broader array of neurodegenerative pathologies  such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.”

CIHR’s Project Grant program is designed to capture ideas with the greatest potential to advance health-related fundamental or applied knowledge, health research, health care, health systems, and/or health outcomes. The Project Grant for the Spring 2018 competition has approved 369 grants, plus an additional 39 bridge grants (21 through the competition budget and 18 through Institute Priority Announcements), for a total investment of approximately $277 million.

To learn more about Dr. Thibault Mayor’s research, please visit the Mayor Lab website at http://mayorlab.msl.ubc.ca.