CCRM’s first logo, 2011
“There’s a party going on right here, a celebration to last throughout the years, so bring your good times and your laughter too, we gonna celebrate your party with you.” – Kool & The Gang, Eumir Deodato
CSO Dr. Peter Zandstra, second from left, with Dr. Michael May, President and CEO, centre, along with CCRM’s first hires
June 14, 2021, is the 10-year anniversary of CCRM’s launch. For those of us who have been around since the beginning (I joined six-months in), it’s incredible how much the organization has grown and how much it has accomplished in a relatively short span of time and with modest resources. Back in 2014, we were the focus of a Nature Biotechnology article that profiled us, the Cell Therapy Catapult (since renamed to Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult) and the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). We are all government-funded, but on very different scales: in the first round of funding CIRM received US$3B and Catapult received GBP$150M compared to our CA$15M. We were doing more with less, and it was an exciting period of growth.
Winning a silver Canadian Online Publishing Award (COPA) for Signals in 2013
If you’ve been diligently following our 10th anniversary campaign on any of CCRM’s four social media platforms (at #CCRM10Years), you know that each month has featured a different theme. We’ve “dusted off” old photographs from a decade ago and shared details of our journey that I expect is news to many of you. It’s been fun reminiscing and laughing at how young we looked then. We’ve also taken pride in sharing some of our significant accomplishments, such as the launch of the Centre for Advanced Therapeutic Cell Technologies and the opening of the Centre for Cell and Vector Production.
In the second half of the year, we have lots more interesting content to come. We’ll feature some of our “alumni” and share where they are now, look back on big campaigns and public outreach initiatives, and we have other fun themes planned.
Speaking of fun, we found this video of our executives doing a team-building exercise a decade ago. You may not recognize their youthful appearances – and with so much hair. They are, from left to right: Michael May, President and Chief Executive Officer, Mitchel Sivilotti, Chief Operating Officer, Michael Israels, Chief Financial Officer, Peter Zandstra, Chief Scientific Officer and Cynthia Lavoie, President and Chief Investment Officer, CCRM Enterprises Ltd.
Feel free to sing along.
Stacey Johnson
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