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A prominent Ottawa scientist says he can no longer “in good conscience” advise students to pursue a career in science in Canada “due to the dismal outlook we are facing.”

Stephen Ferguson is a professor in the faculty of medicine at the University of Ottawa, a career investigator with the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and has held several prestigious Canada Research chairs. His lab has been able to prevent cognitive decline in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease using a drug aimed at other illnesses.

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He is one of many Canadian scientists expressing dismay at changes to science funding in Canada through reforms at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.

The situation, he says, has changed the way he views science as a career. Not only has he stopped advising students to pursue science careers in Canada but Ferguson, who comes from a family of scientists, said he has “actively pushed my own children away from science.”

Other scientists told the Citizen on Wednesday they face the possibility of closing successful research labs and laying off staff. One early career researcher said reforms at the billion-dollar funding agency “represent an existential threat to my career.”