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| Dr.Weaver accepts his award at BioNova's Celebration of Excellence(Stephen Smith, photo) |
Adding to a long resume of noted accomplishments, AV俱乐部脮s Donald Weaver has been recognized by his peers at BioNova with their 2006 Research Excellence Award.聽 BioNova 脨 the Nova Scotia Biotechnology & Life Sciences Industry Association 脨 presented Dr. Weaver with the award at their annual Celebration of Research Excellence on April 26 in Halifax.
Dr. Weaver, who holds the Canada Research Chair in neuroscience at AV俱乐部 and is professor of Clinical Neurology at the QEII Health Sciences Centre, is grateful for the honour.聽 脪Our work is very oriented to commercialization and producing drugs that actually make it to people,鈥� he says.聽 脪This award provides recognition of the direction we脮re taking and because of that we are very appreciative.鈥�
The direction that Dr. Weaver speaks of is based on his 脪bench-top to bedside鈥� philosophy of drug design, ensuring that the drug treatments he and his colleagues create go beyond the academic world and reach patients who need them.聽 脪My main goal here at Dal is research that is clinically relevant,鈥� he explains. 脪I like to think I practice medicine at the molecular level.鈥�
Dr. Weaver脮s work has led to 97 patent filings, publication of almost 200 articles in scientific journals and the start-up of three life sciences companies.聽 He has also been profiled in New Scientist magazine.
The majority of Dr. Weaver脮s research focuses on producing drugs to treat chronic neurological disorders, in particular epilepsy and Alzheimer脮s disease. 脪Television likes to say that space is the final frontier,鈥� he comments. 脪But we think the inner mind is the real final frontier.聽 Studying epilepsy and Alzheimer脮s permits us to gain fundamental answers about the brain, the mind and human consciousness.鈥澛�
With existing drugs for both diseases targeting only symptoms, Dr. Weaver is working to develop drug treatments that can solve or prevent the disorders completely.聽 He has two new drugs on their way to FDA approval and is partnering on new projects with AV俱乐部脮s Department of Psychiatry and the National Research Council脮s Institute for Bio Diagnostics.
BioNova presents the Research Excellence Award annually to a member of the research community who has made outstanding contributions to the growth of the life sciences industry in Nova Scotia. 脪Don Weaver is an example of the combination of researcher and entrepreneur that has created the life sciences industry,鈥� said Marli MacNeil, BioNova脮s Chief Executive Officer, in a release from the organization.聽 脪We脮re fortune to have someone of his calibre working in our community.鈥�