The National Research Council Institute for Biodiagnostics (NRC-IBD) is a

research laboratory A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often im ...

located in

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749, ...

Manitoba , image_map = Manitoba in Canada 2.svg , map_alt = Map showing Manitoba's location in the centre of Southern Canada , Label_map = yes , coordinates = , capital = Winn ...

, Canada, and operated by the

National Research Council National Research Council may refer to: * National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development * National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome * National Research Council (United States), part of ...

. It was established in 1992 to research and develop

noninvasive Minimally invasive procedures (also known as minimally invasive surgeries) encompass surgical techniques that limit the size of incisions needed, thereby reducing wound healing time, associated pain, and risk of infection. Surgery by definiti ...

medical diagnostic technologies to increase prospects for prevention, earlier diagnosis, improved treatment and prognosis of diseases. Located adjacent to the

University of Winnipeg The University of Winnipeg (UWinnipeg, UW) is a public research university in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, that offers undergraduate faculties of art, business and economics, education, science and kinesiology and applied health as well as gra ...

campus in downtown Winnipeg, NRC-IBD also has satellite institutes in Halifax and Calgary. NRC-IBD conducts its research in partnership with medical schools, universities, other research organizations, and industry. Its research projects fall into the following six programs:

Cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and ...

; cardiovascular disease research; IT-based decision technology; medical

photonics Photonics is a branch of optics that involves the application of generation, detection, and manipulation of light in form of photons through emission, transmission, modulation, signal processing, switching, amplification, and sensing. Though ...

; MR research and technology development; and

neuroscience Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, developme ...

research. Its impact on Winnipeg's economy amounts to $30 million a year.

History

Prior to the NRC, the site of the building was the location of St. Paul's College, which had occupied the former 1882

Manitoba College Manitoba College was a college that existed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, from 1871 to 1967, when it became one of the University of Winnipeg's founding colleges. It was one of the first institutions of higher learning in the city of Winnipeg and t ...

building since 1931. In July 1983, Member of Parliament

Lloyd Axworthy Lloyd Norman Axworthy (born December 21, 1939) is a Canadian politician, elder statesman and academic. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien. Following his retirement from parliament ...

announced that construction would soon begin on a $41-million

facility called "Science Place Canada," which would include an Institute for Manufacturing Technology.''Winnipeg Free Press'', July 21, 1983 During the early stages of construction, however, following the change in government per the 1984 election, the new the administration of Brian Mulroney announced that the planned institute would be cut due to budgetary issues (particularly given the

recession In economics, a recession is a business cycle contraction when there is a general decline in economic activity. Recessions generally occur when there is a widespread drop in spending (an adverse demand shock). This may be triggered by various ...

), though construction would continue. While the building opened in 1985, it did not have any major tenants for years to follow. (A small group of NRC employees located at the facility at the time were titled the Canadian Institute of Industrial Technology.) Finally, in 1992, the NRC established the Institute for Biodiagnostics, initially employing just 25 people. In 2005, the lab expanded to a second building of , where the NRC Centre for the Commercialization of Biomedical Technology (NRC-CCBT) was established as an

incubator An incubator is anything that performs or facilitates various forms of incubation, and may refer to: Biology and medicine * Incubator (culture), a device used to grow and maintain microbiological cultures or cell cultures * Incubator (egg), a de ...

facility for start-up firms in Manitoba in the field of life sciences. Major tenants include the International Centre for Infectious Diseases (ICID), Biomedical Commercialization Canada Inc. (BCC), Health Media Network, and Acrodex. In 2011 through 2012, federal budget cuts led to various layoffs of scientists and researchers at the NRC-IBD. Working to restructure the agency, the federal government announced its plans to close the building and sell it.

References

{{Authority control Buildings and structures in downtown Winnipeg Laboratories in Canada Research institutes in Manitoba National Research Council (Canada) 1992 establishments in Manitoba