How do you sustain funding for 20 years?

"It makes me feel like an antique," Dr. Linda Reha-Krantz jokes about the recognition she received for 20 years of support from the Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research (AHFMR). She is one of seven top University of Alberta researchers recently honoured for receiving long-term funding for some aspect of their research from the provincial funding body. Dr. Carol Cass, Dr. Tessa Gordon, Dr. Robert Hodges, Dr. Michael James, Dr. Diane Taylor, and Dr. Lorne Tyrrell were also recognized for their long relationship with AHFMR. The lengthy affiliations represent an impressive cumulative total of approximately $15.5 million.

The afternoon award ceremony was part of a larger reception to acknowledge the successful partnership between the U of A and AHFMR that has thrived for over two decades.

An opportunity to create a solid base for her research at a major North American university backed up by Heritage funding drew Dr. Reha-Krantz to Alberta during the early 1980s. The salary offered by Heritage and a supportive atmosphere on campus have kept her here ever since. "I would hate to think what the state of research in the province would be like without the strong collaboration between the U of A and the Heritage Foundation," she says. "It's really an amazing achievement that Heritage has managed to sustain research in Alberta and more importantly, research careers, for all of this time."

Dr. Matthew Spence, AHFMR's president and CEO, returns the compliment. "We have a tough system that supports only excellence," he says. "Receiving Heritage support is not easy; maintaining Heritage support for 20 years deserves to be applauded."

Starting out as a Heritage Scholar, Dr. Reha-Krantz has moved her way up the ranks to become a Heritage Medical Scientist, the most senior and distinguished award offered by the organization. Now a professor in the U of A's Department of Biological Sciences, Reha-Krantz has developed an improved way to "tag" DNA molecules to keep track of genetic transactions. She also studies DNA polymerases, which carry out the copying function when a cell divides, and the question of why error occurs in some replication. The enthusiastic teacher actively encourages young scientists, mentoring more than 40 undergraduate and graduate students over the past 20 years.

When he arrived on campus in 1967 after completing his Doctorate in Chemistry at Oxford University, Dr. Michael James also encountered an encouraging environment where the then-Postdoctoral Fellow could flourish. Twenty years of Heritage funding have allowed the professor of biochemistry in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry to carry on the tradition of fostering bright students in his own lab. "Colleagues made me stay here in Alberta. They have been the best I could find anywhere," he says. "I now have the same opportunity to help extremely bright students explore an exciting area of research."

James has received long-term AHFMR funding through a combination of awards, including equipment and technology commercialization support for his work. In his research he seeks to understand the biological functions of proteins, and enzymes in particular, through knowledge of their three-dimensional structures. "One of the students I mentor, Don Mark, has just determined the 3-D structure of a particular human enzyme in which certain genetic defects cause the often fatal Tay-Sachs syndrome and Sandhoff disease," James explains proudly. "We now know what the enzyme looks like, where the genetic defects are on it, and how they affect the enzyme's function."

"It's really an amazing achievement that Heritage has managed to sustain research in Alberta and more importantly, research careers, for all of this time." Dr. Linda Reha-Krantz

The opening of the Heritage Medical Research building on campus in 1980 is particularly memorable for Dr. Tessa Gordon. As a Heritage Scholar, she represented her fellow scientists in a speech at the building's opening ceremonies. It marked the start of the Foundation and the beginning of a successful research career for Gordon. Fast forward 20 years and $650 million, and the Foundation continues to thrive. "It's been a very exciting time," she says. "Heritage funding has clearly allowed the recruitment of many wonderful scientists and that is reflected in the attraction of excellent funding from national organizations as well."

Gordon is now a Heritage Scientist and a professor of pharmacology in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. She considers the strong collaborations she's formed with colleagues at the U of A and across North America another stand-out element of her career. "There are so many excellent people that I come into contact with," she says. "The expertise on campus has really grown because of the importance the university puts on research and its strong partnership with AHFMR."

Among her research Dr. Gordon studies peripheral nerve cells and the repair of injured nerve cells. "I feel really privileged to have had the opportunities working with Heritage has allowed me," she says.