StFX Receives $3 Million in AIF Funding for Health Care Research Project
January 17, 2007
ANTIGONISH - St. Francis Xavier University is increasing its involvement in cutting edge health care research and development through a $3 million investment from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency's Atlantic Innovation Fund (AIF).
The Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA), visited StFX to announce this substantial contribution. The funding will support a project that will design innovative software systems to be used in the management of public health care. Led by Dr. Wendy MacCaull, professor in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science, the project is being conducted in partnership with the applied health informatics company, Medical Decision Logic Inc. (known as MDLogix) of Baltimore, Maryland, the Guysborough Antigonish Strait Health Authority and Cape Breton District Health Authority.
Target areas for the dynamic new software include patient centered hospice palliative care and early childhood public health programs. The total cost of the project is estimated at $4.9 million. The project, entitled Building Decision Support through Dynamic Workflow Systems for Health Care, brings together a number of StFX faculty members in disciplines including computer science, mathematics, nursing, other health sciences, and political science.
Commercialization will be carried out through NSLogix (a new business modeled after MDLogix and located in Antigonish) in cooperation with MDLogix. The application of this research has great potential for commercial value that will lead to economic opportunity within the greater Antigonish region.
This project further establishes StFX as a centre for health care research. Last August, the federal government selected StFX as the host of the National Collaborating Centre for the Determinants of Health.
"Canada's New Government is committed to investing in research and development to help build a competitive economy in Atlantic Canada," Minister MacKay said in making the announcement. "The Atlantic Innovation Fund has been the driving force behind the increased R&D activity in Atlantic Canada, bringing together universities, businesses and research institutions to conduct world-class research right here in the region."
ACOA's Atlantic Innovation Fund encourages research and development in Atlantic Canada and has been an important catalyst for many Atlantic Canadian businesses, universities and research institutions. It has helped build Atlantic Canada's reputation for innovation and, through the success of the projects it has funded, has made significant contributions to the region's research and development and economic performance.
AIF funds a number of major research and commercialization initiatives at StFX. There are three AIF funded research programs underway at the Centre for Applied Petroleum Sciences. The AIF also supports work being done by StFX's Environmental Sciences Research Centre. With today's announcement, AIF funding at StFX now totals more than $12 million.
About StFX
Located in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, StFX is a national university focused on undergraduate students. The University was founded in 1853 and today more than 4,300 students attend StFX with nearly half living on campus. Since 1999, more than $120 million has been invested in renewing the University's facilities. Maclean's magazine ranked StFX Canada's number one primarily undergraduate university for the past five years.