Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter
Genome Alberta Newsletter GeneSnips - November 3, 2009
Genome Alberta News
Canadian Science Policy Conference
The CSPC wound up in Toronto on Friday and by most accounts was a success with the job now being to build on the ideas and energy from the 350 plus attendees to develop an ongoing policy forum and plan for next year’s conference. There were a range of speakers including:
- the Honourable Gary Goodyear Minister of State for Science and Technology
- Preston Manning, Director of the Manning Centre for Building Democracy (he got a standing ovation for his keynote address)
- Bruce Alberts Editor of the journal Science
- Honourable John Milloy, the Ontario Minister responsible for the dual portfolios of universities and for research
- Christian Burks, President of Ontario Genomics Institute
- Eleanor Fast, Program Director at the Council of Canadian Academies
- Ron Dyck, Assistant Deputy Minister with Alberta Advanced Education and Technology
- And many more from academia, industry, government, media, and non-profit sectors
To see the full list of speakers and the program go to http://sciencepolicy.ca
Genome Alberta’s Mike Spear was on the organizing committee as was Shane Green from the Ontario Genomics Institute. Both organizations also provided sponsorship support for the event which was organized by a group of young scientists and researchers who wanted to hold a national policy discussion and ultimately create a virtual science policy institute. The event had no single government, academic, or corporate sponsor or backing but with a strong collection of volunteers. You can find some information from the event in our blog or go to Mark News online at http://www.themarknews.com/topics/1
We also have a wide selection of pictures available on Picasa at http://picasaweb.google.com/MikesGeneEngineering the Future: Synthetic Biology
On October 27th the Ontario Genomics Institute and Integrated DNA Technologies held a day long science symposium on Synthetic Biology at the MaRS Centre in Toronto. Speakers included Daniel Gibson for the Craig J. Venter Institute and Vince Martin, Canada Research Chair in Microbial Genomics and Engineering at Concordia University. Among the 130 or so people at the science symposium were Genome Alberta Chief Science Officer Gijs van Rooijen and Ying Gravel, Genome Alberta’s Program Director. The day of science was followed by an evening public forum on Synthetic Biology and which drew about 120 people. There is an entry in Genome Alberta’s blog postings and a short video available on our home page at http://genomealberta.ca.
Do Gene Patents Hurt Research?
That’s the title of a recent article by Timothy Caulfield in Science Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress. The magazine has a distinguished Advisory Board which includes Bruce Alberts, Editor-In-Chief, Science, who, as noted earlier in this edition of Gene Snips, was a keynote speaker at the Canadian Science Policy Conference. The question is one that researchers have a keen interest in but which the general public worries about. At the Synthetic Biology event in Toronto it was one of the questions asked at the public forum and got a partial answer from the panel but a more complete answer from Tania Bublea for the University of Alberta who happened to be in the audience.
And what is Tim’s answer? You’ll have to go online and read the article.4D at International Congress in California
Dr. Oscar Meruvia-Pastor from the 4D Project went to the XXII National Congress & VIII International Congress of Informatics and Computing (CNCIIC-ANIEI-2009) at the Universidad Autónoma de Baja California in Ensenada, Baja California. He delivered a keynote address discussing the 4D project work to date. Dr. Meruvia-Pastor presented the work that has been done on the virtual reconstruction of embryo specimens from sequential histological samples and the volumetric cell-counting software being used in the study of craniofacial development in mice. He also presented the preliminary 3D visualization of MRI imaged lesions in the brain in multiple sclerosis patients and discussed the future possibilities of the CAVEman and associated software in medical research. The work of the 4D team was received with great interest at the conference.
PhytoMetaSyn Project
Two of the PhytoMetaSyn Project researchers, Peter Facchini, Project Leader, University of Calgary and Vincenzo DeLuca, Researcher, Brock University, presented at MEXICO Bio/09 International Research Gathering of Natural Products, in Irapuato City, Mexico on October 21st to 23rd, 2009. The meeting was organized together with the 1st International Biotechnology Business Forum by ProMexico and the Government of Guanajuato State.
Peter gave a keynote presentation titled “Opening Pandora’s Box: Alkaloid Metabolism in Opium Poppy and Related products” at the Plenary Conference on Thursday, Oct. 22nd, and Vince presented a paper titled “Challenges to Medicinal Perriwinkle Development” in the afternoon on Oct. 23rd.Latest Edition of Canadian Bioinformatics Help Desk Newsletter (CBHD News)
http://gchelpdesk.ualberta.ca/news/30oct09/cbhd_news_30oct09.htm
Bioinformatics Platform Team
The Sun Center of Excellence for Visual Genomics welcomes two new additions to the bioinformatics team, Mr. Mike Dahdouli and Mr. Mostafa Abdellateef.
Mr. Dahdouli and Mr. Adbellateef are providing research programming activities for an ABC project titled “Genozymes for Bioproducts and Bioprocesses Development”, lead by Dr. Adrian Tsang of Concordia University. The ABC project aims to isolate proteins that are required for converting wood into sugar so that waste and agricultural products can be more easily converted into energy. Mr. Dahdouli and Mr. Adbellateef are supplying bioinformatics support, performing tasks such as software development, genome annotation, and phylogenetic analysis.
Mr. Dahdouli lived in Toronto for 18 years, and Mr. Adbellateef, for 20 years, prior to moving to Calgary to take on the bioinformatics employment roles. They are graduates of Ryerson University, with Bachelors of Science accreditation and both recently acquired their Bioinformatics Ontario College Graduate Certification.
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Upcoming Events
November 5
Project Manager Sean Caffrey along with one of the graduate students for our Hydrocarbon Metagenomics project will be attending the Next-Generation sequencing conference being held at McGill by Genome Quebec on November 5th
November 11 - 13
Genome Alberta’s Chief Scientific Officer Gijs van Rooijen has been invited to attend the Nutrient and Water Use Efficiency International Forum being held in Calgary November 11 - 13, 2009. The forum is an initiative of Alberta Advanced Education and Technology to generate high level discussion on the opportunities and challenges facing the need for more efficient use of water and nutrients.
November 19
Gijs van Rooijen will be attending the International Scientific Workshop on mountain pine beetle and associated research being held in Edmonton on November 19, 2009.
November 20 & 24
Genome Alberta’s Education consultant Gerry Ward will present to the Alberta Teachers' Association: Science Council Conference November 20 Red Deer and to the Calgary Knights of the Round Table on November 24 in Calgary
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GE3LS Digest
Stem cell hype risks "backlash" – October 8, 2009
http://www.cmaj.ca/earlyreleases/8oct09_stem_cell.shtml
Hype about stem cell research being a "driver of economic growth" has inflated expectations and could lead to a backlash, law professor Timothy Caulfield told the 2009 National Health Law Conference in Montreal, Quebec, on Oct. 3. To protect against this, the message should be moderated and stem cell research should be subject to "good independent governance," argued Caulfield, director of the University of Alberta Health Law Institute in Edmonton. Economics is increasingly woven into the research infrastructure because of the "overall emerging idea" that research is about economic growth, not about investigation and discovery, said Caulfield. Stem cell research is a key example of this trend, and this has "put a lot of pressure on researchers." Around the world, jurisdictions are producing documents to promote potential economic spinoffs and setting "specific metrics than can be measured," he told an audience of about 200, which consisted mostly of legal professionals. For example, in the United States, an economic impact document predicts this research will create 230 000 jobs and US$88 billion in economic activity in Texas.
Doctoral Thesis Fellowships and Postdoctoral Fellowships: Call For Applications
http://valgen.ca/
A group of Canadian scholars has created Value Addition Through Genomics and GE³LS (VALGEN), a Genome Canada project managed by Genome Prairie. This project responds to the deep governance challenges and opportunities of applied genomics for bioproducts and crops through research and knowledge mobilization on the core issues of intellectual property management, regulation and governance and democratic engagement.
Up to six doctoral thesis fellowships and three postdoctoral fellowships will be awarded in the three major research areas of VALGEN:
(1) intellectual property management,
(2) regulation and governance, and
(3) democratic engagement.
Fellowships will be located in one or more of the following institutions: University of Saskatchewan, University of Ottawa, University of British Columbia, University of Regina, McGill University, University of Calgary, Laval University, the University of Western Ontario, or other universities in the VALGEN network.
For More Information and to Apply:
An application consisting of a detailed cover letter and C.V. must be submitted by December 1, 2009.
Submit applications to: Kari Doerksen, University of Saskatchewan, Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy, 101 Diefenbaker Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5B8 or to kdoerksen@genomeprairie.ca.
For more information please consult www.genomecanada.ca and www.valgen.ca
Electronic records create challenges: DNA – October 3, 2009
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,26151655-23289,00.html
A pair of Belgian sleuths has been travelling the world, scooping up cigarette butts, serviettes and other discarded items containing traces of DNA, supposedly seeking to identify living relatives of Adolf Hitler. Thus far, they claim to have discovered 39 genetic relatives in Austria and the US. Journalists from some of Britain's most notorious tabloids are said to be desperate to secure a DNA sample from Prince Harry, to determine whether Prince Charles is really hisfather. In the US, a railway company got into legal strife for misleading its employees about the free health checks it conducted. In fact, the company was collecting DNA samples and, in an effort to reduce sick leave and workers compensation premiums, was secretly testing those employees to see if they had a genetic predisposition to repetitive strain injury. The remarkable advances in genetic science and technology enabling such questionable activities also hold great benefits in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of serious illnesses.
However, these rapid advances also challenge our capacity to regulate research and clinical practice in the public interest. In particular, we must ensure that we carefully protect human dignity as well as health.
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Found on Twitter
@liuedison #GELS09. Bartha Knoppers raised concerns about making policy based on purely hypothetical concerns. Cites European Parliament statement.
@humangenomeorg RT @lindaavey: PGP is a Judas goat, leading the unknowing lambs to slaughter? #GELS09
@genomepop Another great find from @Berci RT: Social Networking for Scientists : HUGO Matters http://ff.im/-aGS8w
@StemCellNetwork SCN AGM starts today. Opening keynote by Matthew Nisbet.
@synbioproject Team Michigan figured out how to use synbio to conduct advanced (and safer) environmental bioremediation: http://bit.ly/Vjo8A #iGEM
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Genome Alberta in Pictures
Preston Manning give the keynote luncheon address at the Canadian Science Policy in Toronto on October 29th.
For more pictures from the event go to http://picasaweb.google.com/
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