Invitation - Launch of CanCOLD

You are cordially invited to attend a press conference announcing the launch of CanCOLD Canadian Cohort of Obstructive Lung Disease led by Dr. Jean Bourbeau, Director of the Respiratory, Epidemiology and Clinical Research Unit at the Montreal Chest Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), and Dr. Wan Tan, of The James Hogg iCAPTURE Centre for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Research, British Columbia University.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is the leading cause of hospital admissions - more so than heart attacks - and represents the highest rate of emergency visits among all major chronic illnesses in Canada. If this trend continues it is feared that more than 6,000 women and some 5,000 men nationwide will die of COPD in 2010. Currently the fourth leading cause of death, COPD is projected to become the third leading cause of premature death and disability in Canada, and around the world, by 2020.

CanCOLD is the first pan-Canadian prospective cohort established to create a deeper understanding of the disease and its risk factors, to develop more effective health management tools and to reduce the burden on our healthcare system and society. This research project involves nine sites across Canada and is funded through a CIHR/Rx&D Collaborative Research Program, in partnership with AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, and the Respiratory Health Network of the FRSQ. Novartis recently joined the consortium.

The press conference will be attended by Dr. Vassilios Papadopoulos, Director of the Research Institute of the MUHC and Associate Executive Director of the MUHC, Dr. Arthur T. Porter, Director General and Chief Executive Officer of the MUHC, and Dr. Mara Ludwig, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at the McGill University Faculty of Medicine.

When: Thursday, April 15, 2010

Time: 11 a.m.
Where: Auditorium, Meakins-Christie Laboratories
3626 St. Urbain Street, Montreal, QC, Canada H2X 2P2
Website: www.cancold.ca

The inauguration will be attended by media. An informal buffet will follow the inauguration.

RSVP by April 12 to Carole Jabet, Executive Director of CanCOLD, 514 603-3320 or cjabet [at] gmail [dot] com.