Heart + Lung Institute Researcher Named One of Vancouver's Top 40 Under 40
December 29, 2009 - A Providence Heart + Lung Institute researcher has been named one of Vancouver's Top 40 Under 40. The award was founded by Business in Vancouver to honour corporate leaders, entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders in British Columbia who have reached a significant level of success before the age of age 40.
Dr. David Granville, 38, is a Principal Investigator at the Providence Heart + Lung Institute at St. Paul's Hospital, and an Associate Professor in UBC's Faculty of Medicine.
His current research focuses on understanding and developing new treatments for cardiovascular conditions including aneurysms, atherosclerosis and heart attacks.
Recently, Dr. Granville found that reducing the activity of a protein-degrading enzyme, known as Granzyme B, could reduce blood vessel degeneration that is associated with many age-related cardiovascular conditions, including the progression and rupturing of aneurysms, which is often fatal. These discoveries have lead to the incorporation of a UBC spin-off company, viDA Therapeutics, Inc., of which Dr. Granville is a Founder and Chief Scientific Officer.
A native of Port Coquitlam, BC, Dr. Granville graduated with a degree in molecular biology from Simon Fraser University in 1994.He then joined QLT Inc., where he was on the team of researchers that developed the light-activated drug Visudyne, now used to treat age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.
Dr. Granville completed his PhD at UBC in 2001 and did his post-doctoral fellowship at the prestigious Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. Two years later, he returned to Vancouver to join UBC as a Canada Research Chair and Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar.
Dr. Granville has published over 63 articles in academic journals, holds several patents, and is a previous recipient of many scholarly awards including a Canada Top 40 Under 40 Award and academic alumni awards from both SFU and UBC for his academic achievements.
Nominations for the Top 40 program are solicited through a city-wide campaign. Winners are chosen based on criteria including achievement, experience, innovation, vision, leadership and community involvement.
More information is available at www.biv.com
Providence Health Care is one of Canada's largest faith-based health care organizations, operating 14 health care facilities in Greater Vancouver. As a renowned academic health science leader, Providence operates one of two teaching hospitals in the province, performs cutting-edge research in more than 30 clinical specialties, and focuses its services on six "populations of emphasis": cardio-pulmonary risks and illnesses, HIV/AIDS, mental health, renal risks and illness, specialized needs in aging and urban health.
The Providence Heart + Lung Institute at St. Paul's Hospital (HLI), unites all of Providence Health Care's heart and lung research, education and care programs under one umbrella. Home of the provincial Heart Centre, the Institute's cardiac program provides a full spectrum of cardiac care-from research and prevention, to treatment, care and rehabilitation.
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Providence Health Care Communications
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