September 26, 2005 Source: University of Toronto:
http://www.news.utoronto.ca/bin6/050926-1667.asp Foundation heads to MaRS New convergence centre to bring innovative university research to the community and marketplace
Sep 26/05
by Paul Fraumeni As the MaRS (Medical and Related Sciences) complex hosts a series of special events this fall to mark its official opening, what was once a fascinating idea is, five years later, becoming a thriving reality. And U of T officials are already excited about the possibilities of what the research-business convergence centre will offer. "There are going to be over 2,000 people working in the MaRS environment who are experts in all the many aspects of the process of bringing innovative university research to the community and the marketplace. U of T needs to be in this environment, rubbing shoulders with these people," said Professor Emeritus Ron Venter, interim director of the university's Innovations Foundation. The U of T Innovations Foundation (UTIF) — a not-for-profit organization owned by the University of Toronto that specializes in technology transfer — is one of the newest tenants of MaRS, which has gleaming new quarters on the southeast corner of University Avenue and College Street on land once occupied by the University Health Network. "In the research commercialization arena, this is the most exciting meeting place in the world," Venter said. "The Toronto teaching hospitals are here, venture capital firms, the banks, spin-off companies created from university and hospital research, pharmaceutical companies, legal firms, patent agents, you name it. So it's easy for us to have a coffee with these professionals to discuss the possibilities of advancing the university's research to the marketplace. Better that we are here than in isolation in our previous offices at College and Spadina." Professor John Challis, vice-president (research) and associate provost, concurred. "The idea of convergence between disciplines is now an accepted part of the university's academic and research programs," he said. "MaRS picks up on this same approach as it relates to research and the marketplace. This is absolutely the way to go in the tech transfer field these days and the opening of MaRS puts U of T at competitive advantage with other universities involved in similar projects around the world." Venter pointed out that MaRS will benefit a host of disciplines throughout the university. "Transferring knowledge to the world by way of the marketplace and the community involves every aspect of U of T's research community — medicine and life sciences, information technology, the physical sciences and the social sciences and humanities, which is evident from our involvement with the publishing of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography. We'll be working hard on getting that message out about the breadth of what MaRS covers." The official opening of MaRS takes place Sept. 26 and a number of events are being held as part of the launch. Of particular note is the Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research/MaRS scientific symposium on computational and chemical biology Sept. 29 and 30. The University of Toronto's history with the complex goes back to 2000, when MaRS was an idea being promoted by a group of Toronto academic and business leaders, including President Emeritus John Evans, now chair of the MaRS board of directors.
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