Centre for Innovation funding programs like the Postdoctoral Fellowship Program enable experts in the fields of transfusion and transplantation medicine to deepen their understanding of the blood system while making vital steps towards a safer, more effective and responsive system for Canada. This program provides postdoctoral fellows with salary support to conduct their research and a supplementary research allowance which can be used towards purchasing materials, supplies, and other services needed to ensure a successful project.

To encourage more young people to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math, and in honour of Ada Lovelace Day 2017, we are pleased to share profiles of women in these essential fields at Canadian Blood Services. We chose these stories in particular because they share a common theme of both perseverance and flexibility. They represent just a sampling of the convergence of skills, abilities and professional backgrounds that support Canada’s national blood system, its related activities, and the patients it serves. Part One shares words of wisdom from the field of Science and

To encourage more young people to consider careers in science, technology, engineering and math, and in honour of Ada Lovelace Day 2017, we are pleased to share profiles of women in these essential fields at Canadian Blood Services.

Communicating science is an important part of the job for anyone involved in clinical research, whether it takes place face-to-face with the patient, a donor or the wider scientific community. Unfortunately, outreach like this can seem a daunting prospect to the lab scientist and practitioner; it is often easier to hide behind the bench or the stethoscope.

Did you know that Canadian Blood Services directly funds innovative research?

A new and improved site to learn, share and advance in the fields of transfusion and transplantation medicine After much hard work, collaboration and consultation, we're pleased to announce the launch of a new and improved online educational platform for health-care professionals. Canadian Blood Services has a mandate to strengthen and support professional development in the fields of transfusion and transplantation science and medicine to ultimately benefit patients while ensuring donor safety. We are also committed to promoting awareness and education about organ and tissue donation and

The images in this "through the microscope" are from recent work done to determine the best conditions to successfully perform the monocyte monolayer assay—a laboratory-based test that predicts the severity of adverse reactions to blood products. " Mastering the monocyte monolayer assay" is a new ResearchUnit that summarizes the study. Through the microscope From its first description in the 1980s, the monocyte monolayer assay has been modified and optimized. When performed correctly, the level of phagocytosis (ingestion) of red blood cells in the monocyte monolayer assay can help predict the

For this instalment of "meet the researcher" we caught up with Dr. William Sheffield a senior scientist with Canadian Blood Services' Centre for Innovation. How long have you been with Canadian Blood Services? I’ve been with Canadian Blood Services since before it existed! I joined our predecessor organization, the Canadian Red Cross Society, as a postdoctoral fellow, training with the legendary Dr. Mo Blajchman, in 1989, and never left. What’s your role? I’m a senior scientist within the Centre for Innovation with an active research program. I also have an administrative role as associate

Images from the Lazarus Research Group lab show some fascinating and potentially life-saving science in action.

Wonder drug it may be, but IVIg is a slippery fish. Even after 60 years, little is known about precisely how it works. An encounter with a scientist The first thing you notice when you walk into Dr. Don Branch’s office at 67 College Street in Toronto is how small it seems. And colourful, owing to an impressive collection of memorabilia that suggests a full and perhaps eclectic life: show posters, photos of his family and small items such as those one would get from a student or colleague sharing an inside joke. Copious as they are, the richness-of-life souvenirs are nearly crowded out by