Driving excellence: The Centre for Blood Research and Canadian Blood Services renew collaboration to advance blood science education and training

This blog was originally prepared by CBR communications and programs coordinator Kaitlyn Chuong and former Canadian Blood Services knowledge broker Dr. Travis Sztainert, with edits provided by Abby Wolfe. 

After more than 20 years, the Centre for Blood Research (CBR) and Canadian Blood Services are proud to share that they have renewed their collaboration agreement which supports education, training and knowledge mobilization for the next generation of trainees and researchers in blood science and transfusion at CBR.  

The collaboration agreement which is administered by Innovation and Portfolio Management at Canadian Blood Services has recently been extended for three more years to 2027. This agreement formalizes the next iteration of this long-standing partnership and is the result of continued commitment from both organizations to improve blood research.  

This partnership emerged in response to recommendations made following Canada’s public inquiry into the contaminated blood crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. Thus, to address a recognized gap in transfusion science knowledge, in 2002, a group of visionary blood researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) established Canada’s first interdisciplinary blood research centre — an entirely unique and valuable resource for established and emerging blood scientists. With its creation, the CBR brought together a wide range of multi-talented investigators to develop highly specialized labs to study blood and transfusion science. Since its inception, the CBR has grown to include more than 35 basic science, applied science, social science and clinical investigators in 12 departments, representing 6 faculties at UBC, with a focus on advancing knowledge of transfusion science and medicine in the lab and in the clinic.  

"We are delighted to extend our partnership with the Centre for Blood Research through 2027. This renewal highlights our shared commitment to advancing education, training, and research in transfusion science. Together, we aim to drive innovation and improve transfusion practices, ensuring a safer and more effective future for the Canadian blood system." 

Dr. Chantale Pambrun
Senior Medical Director, Innovation & Portfolio Management 

“The long-term relationship of Canadian Blood Services and the CBR has been nothing less than fantastic! By combining resources and sharing knowledge, education and research outputs, this unique partnership has resulted in more rapid and meaningful advances that are recognized locally, nationally and internationally. The entire transfusion medicine community has benefitted and will continue to do so.”  

Dr. Ed Conway
Director of the Centre for Blood Research

The partnership of Canadian Blood Services was integral to creating the Centre for Blood Research, providing essential start-up funding and continuing to support infrastructure for the centre and its training and education programs. Several Canadian Blood Services scientists are active members within the Centre for Blood Research including senior scientist Dr. Ed Pryzdial and adjunct scientists Dr. Ed Conway, Dr. Hongshen Ma and Dr. Jay Kizhakkedathu. 

Learn more about some of the research these scientists and members of their labs undertake in our previous R.E.D. blogs and videos:  

• Pryzdial lab: Investigating envelope viruses (blood.ca) 
• Ma lab: A novel microfluidic device to aid in the search for red blood cell "super-storers" 
• Graduate trainees: Recipients of the Canadian Blood Services Graduate Fellowship Program  

The CBR is grateful for Canadian Blood Services’ continuous support, without which its many educational, training and research programs would not be possible. This includes, for example, CBR’s Graduate Award Program and Summer Studentship Program, as well as the CBR's weekly seminar series and the annual Earl W. Davie and Norman Bethune symposia. 

Canadian Blood Services – Driving world-class innovation  

Through discovery, development and applied research, Canadian Blood Services drives world-class innovation in blood transfusion, cellular therapy and transplantation—bringing clarity and insight to an increasingly complex healthcare future. Our dedicated research team and extended network of partners engage in exploratory and applied research to create new knowledge, inform and enhance best practices, contribute to the development of new services and technologies, and build capacity through training and collaboration. Find out more about our research impact.   

The opinions reflected in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Canadian Blood Services nor do they reflect the views of Health Canada or any other funding agency.