TORONTO, Sept. 13, 2012 /CNW/ - Today, the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine launched a $500-million fundraising effort aimed at improving health in Canada and around the world.

As a cornerstone of the University's overall $2-billion Boundless campaign, the Faculty of Medicine aims to transform health care by training future health care leaders and putting scientific discovery into action. The campaign's promise centres on the Faculty's unique role as an integrator and catalyst for collaboration - across university disciplines, within the Greater Toronto Area's unparalleled academic health sciences network and globally.

Dean Catharine Whiteside announced the campaign - the largest-ever fundraising initiative for a medical school in Canadian history - at an event in the Terrence Donnelly Centre for Cellular and Biomolecular Research that drew more than 300 supporters and members of the medical community. To date, the Faculty has already raised $252 million towards its goal.

"The complexity of the health challenges we face today requires solutions that can only emerge through innovation that is collaborative and cross-disciplinary," said Whiteside. "The Faculty of Medicine's integrating role uniquely positions us to spark the discoveries and drive the changes that will transform health globally in the 21st century, with the help of our supporters."

The Faculty of Medicine's academic network is vast. In partnership with nine fully affiliated health institutions and 18 community affiliates, the Faculty's 6,800 academic and clinical faculty members educate more than 8,600 trainees annually, including MD students, graduate and doctoral students, health sciences professionals, residents and fellows. To ensure these trainees have continued access to world-class opportunities, the Faculty will seek to raise $100 million for student programming and financial aid.

"Students in the Faculty of Medicine will become the next generation of health professionals and leaders. They inspire me to be confident in the future of health care in Canada and around the world," said Dr. Terrence Donnelly, a generous supporter of the faculty and chair of recruitment for the campaign.

Research in the Faculty of Medicine boasts a critical mass of expertise in four areas, reflected in the campaign's strategic priorities; human development, global health, neuroscience and brain health, and complex diseases. To provide the Faculty's scientists with leading-edge research technology, the campaign will seek to raise $200 million for research programs and infrastructure.

Recruiting and retaining world-leading faculty is also a top priority for the campaign, which aims to raise $200 million to support faculty. "Our campaign will enable us to continue to attract and retain the best academic talent in the world," said Whiteside.

For more information about the Faculty of Medicine's campaign, please visit: http://www.medicine.utoronto.ca or http://boundless.utoronto.ca/medicine.

SOURCE: University of Toronto

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