The 2020 competitions for two of the Centre for Innovation’s most important and impactful research and training funding programs are now open. The Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program supports projects that improve the use of blood products. The Postdoctoral Fellowship Program offers salary support for young investigators undertaking full-time research training in a Canadian research laboratory affiliated with Canadian Blood Services.

Congratulations to the recipients of funding recently awarded through the Centre for Innovation’s Blood Efficiency Accelerator Program (or BEAP). This funding supports innovators conducting research to improve the efficient and appropriate utilization of blood and blood products while maintaining the safety of the blood system.

Cord blood is a rich and important source of stem cells for transplantation. Recent research from Canadian Blood Services has shown how tests of thawed cord blood samples could be improved so that they produce results that better reflect the quality of the cord blood unit. Improving these tests could increase the number of cord blood units that can be released for transplantation.

Do you know of an individual whose contributions might be worthy of the Canadian Blood Services Lifetime Achievement Award? To receive this honour, a nominee’s landmark contributions must be recognized as both extraordinary and world class in the field of transfusion or transplantation medicine, stem cell or cord blood research in Canada and/or abroad. Nominations are open until May 19, 2020.

The 2020 competition for one of the Centre for Innovation’s most exciting and impactful research funding programs is now open. The Intramural Research Grant Program is a long-standing program that supports research to improve the safety and efficacy of blood products and the blood system in general.

Welcome to 2020! Take a look back with us by checking out the five most visited R.E.D. blog posts in 2019.

The AABB Annual Meeting is a must-attend event for those in the fields of transfusion medicine and cellular therapies. AABB 2019 took place last month in San Antonio, Texas. Canadian Blood Services trainees Dr. Narges Hadjesfandiari and Dr. Olga Mykhailova were there and report back on meeting highlights.

Last month, Dr. Donald Branch, a scientist at Canadian Blood Services’ Centre for Innovation and professor at the University of Toronto, received a prestigious international award honouring his more than 40 years of major contributions to transfusion medicine and hematology.

The 2019 Canadian Transplant Summit took place Oct. 15-19 in iconic Banff, Alta. This annual event is a unique opportunity to bring together medical professionals, scientists, patients and stakeholders of all interests in organ donation and transplantation from across Canada.

Stories underlie all research experiences, but these stories are rarely told. The Centre for Innovation is excited to launch its second annual Lay Science Writing Competition and give our research trainees the chance to tell those stories!