About the foundation

The Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada, headquartered in Ottawa, was incorporated as a Canadian corporation without share capital by a grant of letters patent on 11 February 1998. It maintains charitable status with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Its objectives are

1. to carry out, support, and promote medical research in the fields of cardiology, oncology, and psychiatry in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, and other countries
2. to disseminate the findings of such research to the interested public
3. to promote excellence in education in the fields of cardiology, oncology, and psychiatry

Vaclav Mach first endowed the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada to provide funds to the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute to purchase an electron microscope in 2001 (see news release). Shortly after that, both he and his wife died.

On the death of Vaclav Mach and his wife, Hanni Gaensslen, their estates endowed two foundations — the Mach-Gaensslen Foundation of Canada and the Mach-Gaensslen Stiftung Schweiz in Switzerland — to undertake charitable works.

In 2004, the Canadian foundation supported two endeavours. It provided three years' funding to Dr. Lynn Megeney of the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute to conduct cardiac stem cell research. This grant was extended for a further three years, after which it will cease.

The second endeavour was trial funding of medical student research at seven Canadian medical schools. The foundation wanted to study the effect of undertaking research during medical school on the subsequent performance of research during the students' careers as physicians. The trial was successful and the program has now been extended. This program will be the foundation's focus in the years to come.