April 30, 2012 8:45 AM
Call for Session Proposals
Canadian Science Policy Conference 2012
Call for Session Proposals: Canadian Science Policy Conference 2012
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - April 18, 2012) - Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) 2012 is inviting members of the science policy community to submit proposals for the conference program Nov 5-6, 2012 in Calgary, Alberta. All submissions must be received online by end of day June 8, 2012.
This year's conference sessions will be under the following 4 themes:
- Innovating on energy supply and demand for more sustainable resource management: a critical test for the integration of science, technology and policy
- Re-imagining Canadian Healthcare: How innovation in science and policy can contribute to a more sustainable system
- Food, Fuel and Farmers: Agriculture at the convergence of multi-disciplinary science policy issues
- Science-Technology-Society-Nexus
April 27, 2012 3:00 PM
A New Industrial Oilseed Crop to Be Tested as a Biojet Fuel
Saskatchewan’s Prairie Gold Project Takes Flight
A new industrial oilseed crop to be tested as a biojet fuel
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 26, 2012
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan – Agrisoma Biosciences Inc., in partnership with Genome Prairie and additional partners have announced a world-first series of biojet flight tests. In collaboration with Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) and Honeywell UOP Inc., Agrisoma has initiated test flights using a biojet fuel blend that was derived from Agrisoma’s new Brassica carinata variety ResonanceTM .The ResonanceTM oil feedstock was blended with petroleum-based jet fuel. These test flights will demonstrate fuel performance and also measure in-flight emissions in real-time during multiple flight segments. The ResonanceTM crop used for the biojet fuel was grown in Kincaid, Saskatchewan in the summer of 2011 and is being commercially contracted on significant acres in western Canada for the 2012 crop year.
The technological development of industrial carinata from the field, to seed crushing, to initial biofuel refining was supported in part by the Genome Prairie led “Prairie Gold” project, a $4.5 million initiative which received federal and provincial funding. The overall goal of Prairie Gold is to translate genomics-based discoveries to develop and commercialize industrial oilseed crops that will allow synthesis of renewable alternatives to existing petroleum products. One of these crops, Brassica carinata (Ethiopian mustard) contains an oil profile that is highly suitable for biofuel production. Although carinata is closely related to the highly successful Canola crops in Canada, it is a non-food crop that grows well on marginal lands with minimal inputs; making it an ideal choice for industrial applications.
ResonanceTM offers a strong rotation option for southern prairie growers. Recently, Agrisoma and Paterson Grain have announced a long term partnership agreement for the commercial contracting and distribution of ResonanceTM, a name that reflects the new crop’s energy connection. Under the agreement, Paterson will be the exclusive contracting partner for identity preserved production of carinata energy feedstock in Western Canada, and seed will be distributed through Paterson outlets.
Agrisoma President and CEO Steven Fabijanski stated: “The support of Genome Prairie and the vision behind Prairie Gold have been instrumental in the commercialization of ResonanceTM. This is the first industrial oilseed selected for energy applications that has been commercialized in Canada, meeting the vision of Prairie Gold for the development and renewable alternatives for energy. The commercial roll out of the crop is targeting the southern Prairies, providing Saskatchewan growers with a new cash crop, opening the way for enhanced agricultural production and adding to the local economy. The unique genetic profile of ResonanceTM enables this production and the unique oil profile provides for enhanced efficiencies for biofuel manufacturing, highlighting how genomics and genomic discoveries contribute to opportunities in agriculture.”
“This is a major step for Agrisoma, and Genome Prairie is pleased to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with them,” said Genome Prairie CEO Wilf Keller, “We look forward to helping them improve the oil content and profile of their new carinata varieties and refine their processing technologies which will improve the performance of future biojet formulations.”
“The number-one priority of our Government is creating jobs, growth and long term prosperity,” said the Honourable Lynne Yelich, Minister of State for Western Economic Diversification. “Our support for this project is helping to strengthen both the agriculture sector and the aviation industry in Saskatchewan.”
“The research into renewable alternatives to petroleum products is creating environmentally friendly economic opportunities for farmers here in Saskatchewan,” said the Honourable Jeremy Harrison, Minister of Enterprise and Minister Responsible for Trade. “Saskatchewan is a natural fit for the industrial oilseed research and we look forward to Genome Prairie and Agrisoma’s continued success.”
April 20, 2012 1:00 PM
Amorifix Chief Scientific Officer Receives Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AMORFIX CHIEF SCIENTIFIC OFFICER RECEIVES GENOME BC AWARD FOR SCIENTIFIC EXCELLENCE
TORONTO, Ontario – April 17, 2012 – Amorfix Life Sciences Ltd. announces that its Chief Scientific Officer, Director and Company founder, Dr. Neil Cashman, has been awarded the 2012 Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence. This award is presented annually by Genome BC to recognize individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the development of British Columbia’s life sciences industry across all sectors which are critical to the economic future of the province and country. Dr. Cashman will receive the award at the Life Sciences BC annual awards gala on April 19, 2012 in Vancouver, BC.
Dr. Cashman is an internationally recognized expert in misfolded protein diseases and the lead inventor of the ProMIS™ discovery technology which is exclusively licensed to Amorfix and being used to identify disease specific epitopes for new therapeutic targets. Amorfix recently announced success in developing antibodies that only bind and kill ovarian tumor cells but do not bind to normal ovarian cells, validating the value of the ProMIS discovery technology.
“We are very pleased to have such a creative force as our Chief Scientific Officer and we are grateful to him for the many contributions he continues to make to our development programs”, said Dr. Robert Gundel, Amorfix President and Chief Executive Officer. “With Neil’s scientific expertise and guidance, Amorfix is developing an innovative product pipeline of diagnostics and therapeutics that could significantly help patients and their families suffering from diseases such as ALS, Alzheimer’s disease and cancer. We congratulate Neil on this well deserved honour and award.”
April 16, 2012 11:00 AM
Time to Breathe a Sigh of Relief
MEDIA RELEASE – APRIL 16, 2012
Vancouver, BC – British Columbia is facing a healthcare funding challenge and two of the major drivers contributing to it are emphysema and bronchitis, known together as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). Exacerbations of COPD, or ‘lung attacks’, are currently the leading cause of emergency room visits and hospitalizations among chronic disease sufferers in BC, and across the country. Such lung attacks are also costly to the healthcare system, accounting for over $5.7 billion in direct, and $6.7 billion for indirect, healthcare costs every year in Canada.
Genome BC is providing much needed funding for the PROOF Centre of Excellence to develop a test that will enable COPD patients to breathe a sigh of relief. Expected results from this work is a simple blood test, which could be done at any clinical laboratory in BC, to determine if a person is at risk for a lung attack and allow appropriate preventative measures to be taken. This would be a huge step forward from the current diagnosis method: which is a breathing test that is available only in certain centres in the province, and must be performed by specially trained personnel.
Previous funding from Genome BC enabled the PROOF Centre team to establish the infrastructure and tools to quickly validate novel blood-based laboratory tests, called bio-signatures. This expertise will now be directed at solving the enormous burden of COPD on the healthcare system. “When someone comes into the hospital with a severe lung attack, it usually takes 100 days to get to 80% of his or her baseline health,” explains Dr. Don Sin, Project Leader and Head of Respiratory Medicine at St. Paul’s Hospital. “This means that if their health was poor to begin with, the new attack can be devastating, even fatal.” Dr. Sin, who sees COPD sufferers in his clinic on a daily basis, adds that every time a patient experiences an attack, there are complications and long-lasting implications. “There is a huge unmet need to predict and better treat COPD.”
If successful with this new and more accurate picture of a patient’s disease, physicians will be able to better treat and manage COPD. Information garnered from the analysis of a patient’s blood may also hasten the development of future drug therapies to treat the disease. “Our recently discovered genes or protein marker sets that could have the ability to predict lung attacks now must be validated. We will be able to validate the power of the bio-signatures to identify patients at risk for lung attacks within the next two years,” says Dr. Bruce McManus, Project Co-leader and Director of the PROOF Centre. “Thanks to support from Genome BC and by working in collaboration with other partners including Providence Health Care and Siemens, we envisage doing proof-of-concept studies in the clinic within two to three years.”
This work will not only meet the needs of patients, but also complements the initiatives undertaken by BC’s Ministry of Health in COPD. The foundation of this plan is the mobilization of COPD experts at three Lower Mainland hospitals who will identify all lung attack patients seen at the site in order to educate and train patients (i.e., on proper inhaler use), and establish follow-up care either with their family physician or the COPD clinic. The establishment of this program means that translation from laboratory to patient will be seamless: there is a pipeline already laid out for patient care and related research.
“Being a part of something so clinically tangible indicates that our funding is going towards the right programs,” says Dr. Alan Winter, President & CEO of Genome BC. “The results of this project will have not only clinical implications for patient care, but also will be tackling a disease that takes up an enormous amount of healthcare resources.”
Genome BC is funding this research through its Applied Genomics Consortium Program (AGCP). The AGCP is designed to bring together national and international consortia, funding partners and industry and provide an opportunity to fund projects that will have a significant impact on strategic sectors of British Columbia’s economy.
April 4, 2012 1:45 PM
New research to improve food safety recalls, traceability
Project also offers new method for estimating populations
Media Release, April 4, 2012 Calgary - New research out of Alberta aims to improve food safety recalls and traceability systems, while also offering scientists a better method for tracking animals.
The research project, funded in part by
Genome Alberta, focuses on using DNA to improve food safety and traceability systems around ground beef. Researchers extracted samples from ground beef batches, and then pulled DNA from individual muscle fibers found within the samples. Using a statistical method, researchers were then able to infer how many individual cattle made up each batch.
“The idea is that if there is a problem, that we could use this technology to narrow down the window where the contamination has occurred,” says Dr. Graham Plastow, CEO of
Livestock Gentec and part of the research team. Packers could determine which batches were contaminated using DNA testing, leading to more targeted product recalls.
The research could also eventually add value to traceability systems for consumers and livestock producers.
“Consumers are increasingly interested in finding out where their food is coming from. It is now theoretically possible to trace a steak that is in the store back to an individual farm or individual producer,” says Gijs van Rooijen, Chief Scientific Officer for Genome Alberta.
Researchers who need to estimate animal populations in complex situations also have a new method for doing so, thanks to the work done in Alberta. Traditional methods greatly underestimated population numbers in settings where there was greater variation, such as those found in packing plants. The Alberta researchers were able to account for this variation in their DNA tracking method, leading to more accurate estimates.
