An industry group and a Canadian government agency will host a workshop next month on the University of British Columbia campus to encourage researchers to compete for contracts from the United States military.

"The [Department of Defense] has been expressing the need for increased [research and development] yielding products that help address conditions experienced by soldiers returning from foreign duty," says an announcement of the Nov. 13 and 14 event.

"Within the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command, the directorates are seeking extramural collaborations to address these challenges," it said.

The industry group Life Sciences BC and the Canadian government's National Research Council are co-hosting the session with Dave Hood, who until 2009 worked in the U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command where he advised the principal assistant for acquisitions.

Hood previously was the president of Integrated Medical Systems and a program manager with large defense contractor Northrop Grumman where he guided "the development of various integrated sensor systems for high performance aircraft, missiles and satellites, including the stealth bomber and Global Positioning Satellites," according to the event notice.

Medical device and pharmaceutical companies often overlook the U.S. government and the department of defense as possible sources of funding, it said. The event includes a two-hour talk Nov. 13, then one-on-one meetings with Hood.

Andrew MacLeod is The Tyee’s Legislative Bureau Chief in Victoria. Find him on Twitter or reach him here.