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DNA Cluster Headquarters Moves to Trent
The ribbon-cutting ceremony provided an opportunity for DNA Cluster partners to come together in this next step. Previously located at the offices of the Greater Peterborough Area Economic Development Corporation (GPAEDC), the DNA Cluster headquarters is now housed in a portable building on the East Bank of Trent's Symons Campus. The DNA Cluster is a strategic alliance between private and public sector partners to develop a regional centre of excellence in DNA and forensic science. Denis Ferkany, the DNA Cluster's executive director, said the building will act as the "hub" for future activities in the short term. He and administrator Gloria Gillespie will move into the building. The ribbon-cutting ceremony follows the March 8 announcement that Trent had received approval from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) for a grant of more than $3.6 million toward the creation of the DNA and Forensic Science Research Centre. It is anticipated that additional matching funding from the province will be forthcoming to kick-start construction of a DNA partnership building on the campus of the University. This facility will become the centre of the DNA Cluster. Dr. White is the principal investigator for the project and Canada Research Chair in Conservation Genetics and Biodiversity at Trent. GPAEDC president Jay Amer, in his introductory remarks, said the DNA Cluster is a classic economic development project belonging to the community. MP Peter Adams, County Warden Dave Nelson, Mayor Sylvia Sutherland, Fleming College President Brian Desbiens, and Trent President Bonnie Patterson showed their support as partners in the project and offered their congratulations.
Photo 1: Denis Ferkany, the DNA Cluster's Executive Director and Dr. Bradley White, Principal Investigator and Canada Research Chair in Conservation Genetics and Biodiversity Photo 2: Trent University President Bonnie Patterson Posted March 18, 2004 |
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"The next step after a dream is implementation," said Dr. Bradley White, to a group of stakeholders who gathered to celebrate the opening of the Peterborough DNA Cluster transitional offices at Trent University on March 16.
"This is becoming a model project for cluster development," said President Patterson, who noted the word about the initiative had spread across the province and across the country. "It's a success story where people in the Peterborough region have come together with vision."