Bringing Niagara into the future

The Cairns Family Health and Bioscience Research Complex shared its grand opening with an eager congregation of partners and dignitaries on Sept. 14.

“Rain or not, it really is a good afternoon,” said Brock President, Jack Lightstone.

“This is an amazing facility, truly amazing. Out of this facility, amazing things will happen. Our own faculty members, including Canada research chairs, will be doing cutting-edge research in this building.”

Lightstone, during his speech within the new bioscience atrium, went on to explain the various research that will be going on within.

“We will be doing experiments that will look at the propagation of West Nile and how to solve it in our region. Also in this building, we will have the partners at McMaster University represented by Patrick Dean here today; we will have the stationed vision of the group benefits school. We’re very happy to have them here to provide the doctors that Niagara needs in its future, and to work with us in collaboration with us.”

Lightstone went on to say that the new institution is more than just an environment for research, but an environment for the growth of Niagara.

“The building is more than that. This building is also a vehicle for the development of the economy that will obviously be a transformative period here in Niagara. We have in this building the BioLinc incubator, which together with its partners in Innovate Niagara will be a vehicle for enterprises that will drive innovation here in Niagara.”

MP for St. Catharines, Rick Dykstra made a speech to those in attendance and further emphasized the education and job creation benefit for Niagara.

“Thank you all for being here and paying witness for what I believe will be an unbelievable foundation for not only education here in Niagara, but a future foundation for a stronger economy for what we all know as a new direction for the Niagara Region,” Dykstra said.

“As Jack mentioned, in May of 2009, which I believe is an amazing feat for how short of a time that is, and that we actually have this unique building that is probably the most important development in the country in terms of what it can do and what it will do in the coming years.” He continued to say that he is proud to be a part of a group that put together the proposals and drew the funding together and moved forward.

He concluded by pointing out not only the accolades of Brock University as a world-class post-secondary institution, but how the new Bioscience Complex will set Brock apart from the rest.

“As part of our government’s commitment in assuring Canada’s post-secondary institutions offer students the best possible opportunity to gain the knowledge and the experience they need to compete not just here in Niagara, but globally.”