History

In 2001, Professors Abdallah Daar and Peter Singer realized that they shared a mutual interest in the potential of applying innovative technologies for addressing global health needs. Together they founded what was then known as the Canadian Program on Genomics and Global Health at the University of Toronto's Joint Centre for Bioethics. Since its creation seven years ago, the program has evolved, assuming both a new name and location.  With a multidisciplinary research team of over 35 members, it has become internationally-renowned as a leader in innovation policy and global health.   

During the past years, we have assisted the following:

• The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to launch the Grand Challenges in Global Health Initiative

• The Canadian Government’s commitment
— in a throne speech and economic update
— to devote 5% of research and development funding to health and environmental technologies that are relevant to the developing world

• The United Nations Secretary General’s Office in understanding the linkage between development and security issues in the biosciences, leading to a speech by Kofi Annan at the University of St Gallen in Switzerland in late 2006

• The African Union High-Level African Panel on Modern Biotechnology’s report, “Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa’s Development”

• The United Nations Millennium Development Project Science, Technology and Innovation Task Force report on “Innovation: Applying Knowledge in Development”

Our influential publications have included the following:

• Harnessing Genomics and Biotechnology to Improve Global Health Equity (Science, 2001)
• Top 10 Biotechnologies for Improving Health in Developing Counties (Nature Genetics, 2002)
• Grand Challenges in Global Health (Science, • Health Biotechnology Innovation in Developing Countries (Nature Biotechnology, 2004)
• Genomics and Global Health: A Report of the Genomics Working Group of the Science and Technology Task Force of the United Nations Millenium Project, 2005
• Pharmacogenetics and Geographical Ancestry: Implications for Drug Development and Global Health (Nature Reviews Genetics, 2005)
• Nanotechnology and the Developing World (PLoS Medicine, 2005)
• Regenerative Medicine and the Developing World (PLoS Medicine, 2006)
• Scientific Diasporas (Science, 2006)
• India’s Health Biotechnology Sector at a Crossroads (Nature Biotechnology, 2007)