$17 million lab renovation enables research creativity and innovation

A major donation from the Paul Albrechtsen Foundation facilitates the transformation of 20-year-old research laboratories into state-of-the-art facilities housing cutting-edge technology and leading scientists pursuing the next cancer breakthroughs.

Beginning this winter, three floors of the Institute’s cancer research laboratories will undergo major renovations. With the support of renowned architects Diamond Schmitt, the labs will be purpose-built for studying cancer in two significant ways. The first will be to house new technologies or platforms used by cancer researchers. The second is a complete reimagining of physical space to provide an open, collaborative environment for contemporary scientists.

There is a fundamental relationship between the physical research environment and the way scientists think about and collaborate on problems. The new lab removes barriers, providing open spaces where teams work closely together enabling ideation and dialogue as well as sharing of technologies. Dr. Cedric Tremblay, a Principal Investigator comments, “This collaboration is how research happens. Not when we’re looking through the microscope in the lab but when we talk and think together.”

The new lab and access to the latest research technology platforms contribute to recruiting and retaining top scientists, crucial in today’s competitive marketplace. Dr. Yale Michaels, a Principal Investigator raised in Manitoba, trained abroad and returned to the province to research cancer says, “A donation of this magnitude is quite moving. It’s a symbol of optimism that CCMB can be a world-class place to treat and study cancer.”

Ultimately the committed scientists and their teams will be much better equipped to address unmet needs within Manitoba through greater efficiencies, allowing more experiments to be done and completed faster: more science, more research, more advances.