Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter
Genome Alberta Newsletter GeneSnips - October 20, 2009
Genome Alberta News
Discovery Days
Genome Alberta is one of the sponsors of Discovery Days held this month in Alberta. There are 9 Discovery Day events being held across Canada with 2 of them in Alberta at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary Medical Schools. 300 secondary students from Calgary and the surrounding area attended the Calgary event on October 16th and a similar crowd is expected at the Edmonton event on October 22nd. For pictures from the Calgary event you can go to http://picasaweb.google.com/
MikesGene/DiscoveryDaysCalgary
Apart from the various presentations throughout the day in Calgary, the new inductees into the Canadian Medical Hall of Famer were announced. Among the new nominees was Dr. William Cochrane, founding dean of the University of Calgary Medical School and who recently retired from the Genome Alberta Board of Directors.
Also announced as new inductees were Dr. Alan Burton, Dr. Phil Gold, Dr. James Hogg, Dr. M. Vera Peters, and Dr. Calvin R. Stiller.
The induction ceremonies will be held in Calgary in April of 2010. For more information on the inductees go to http://www.cdnmedhall.org/
induction/
Genome Canada CEO Steps Down
Dr. Martin Godbout, Genome Canada’s founding President and CEO, is stepping down following ten years, to return to the private sector and pursue other opportunities in the genomics field.
Genome Canada’s Board Chair Dr. C. Thomas Caskey, M.D., expressed his appreciation for Dr. Godbout’s contribution to Genome Canada: “Through his vision and inspiration, Martin has guided Canada’s involvement in genomics and proteomics research from concept to reality. The achievements of Genome Canada scientists will have lasting scientific impact.”
The Board of Directors has appointed a Transition Team made up of a committee of the Board and management personnel. The Team will oversee the management and operations of Genome Canada activities as well as the process for the ultimate appointment of a new President and CEO.
Canada Funds New Concordia Genomics Labs
Concordia University in Montreal will use a 29.3 million dollar grant from federal and provincial governments to build a new genomics and systems biology facility at the Loyola campus.
Funded through the Knowledge Infrastructure Program, the new Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics will house genomics and bioinformatics labs that will focus on studies in the cellular and molecular sciences.
The plan for the new building includes expanding the current Richard J. Renaud Science Complex and then housing the Genomics Centre in a new 58,000 square foot wing.
"This new investment in genomics is another example of Concordia University's ongoing response to the environmental challenges of today through the development of innovative new technologies," Concordia President and Vice-Chancellor Judith Woodsworth said in a statement. Construction on the new genomics facilities will begin in early 2010 and to finish in the spring of 2011.
What ELSI is New ?
The Genomics Law Report is a U.S. based blog covering genomics, personalized medicine, and the law and is edited by Dan Vorhaus. Over the past several weeks he has been running a special series he calls “What ELSI is New” . A variety of guest contributors were asked to write a post based on the question “What do you believe is the most important ethical, legal or social issue (ELSI) that must be addressed by the fields of genomics and/or personalized medicine?”. Dan has posted a Table of Contents of the material or you can simply go to his main blog page and catch up on the entries from there.
The series has received a great deal of attention on Twitter and many of the entries have been included in our own Facebook GenOmics news page.
Latest Edition of the Canadian Bioinformatics Help Desk Newsletter
http://www.gchelpdesk.
ualberta.ca/news/15oct09/cbhd_ news_15oct09.htm
Canadian Science Policy Conference
Time is running out to register for the Canadian Science Policy Conference at www.sciencepolicy.ca being held in Toronto October 28th-30th. This is probably the first national conference of its kind in Canada and organizers are bringing together a range of speakers from government, academia, and industry to look at science policy in Canada.
Speakers include:
- The Honourable Gary Goodyear, Minister of State for Science and Technology
- Preston Manning, CC from the Manning Centre for Democracy
- Bruce Alberts, Editor-in-Chief of Science Magazine
- The Honourable John Milloy, Ontario Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities and Minister of Research and Innovation
- Peter Hackett, Executive Professor, School of Business Special Advisor to the Vice-president Research, University of Alberta
- Ronald J. Dyck, Assistant Deputy Minister, Research, Alberta Advanced Education and Technology
For a complete list of speakers and to view the conference program please go to www.sciencepolicy.ca
Fees for the conference have been kept as low as possible to encourage wide participation from anyone who has a stake and an interest in helping to shape the future of Canada’s science policy.
Genome Alberta is an in-kind sponsor for the conference and has been an active part of the organizing committee. We hope to see you there.
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GE3LS Digest
New opinions on DTC genetic testing – October 8, 2009
http://www.phgfoundation.org/news/4867/
The brave new world of consumer genomics has attracted enormous interest both in the popular press and amongst the scientific and medical establishment. Opinions vary widely about the validity and utility of these tests, and the extent to which such services should be regulated (see previous news). The internationally renowned journal Nature has now entered the foray with an editorial [Nature (2009) 461: 697-8] and an opinion piece [Ng PC et al. Nature (2009) 461:724-6] about direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing companies. The editorial criticises the "Framework of Principles for direct-to-consumer genetic testing services” developed by the Human Genetics Commission (HGC), which is currently in draft form and open for public consultation (see previous news). It states that “the value of the tests remains debatable, which is why the industry needs a strong set of quality standards and codes of conduct to protect both its consumers and its own credibility”. Whilst this is unquestionably true, the level of regulation required to achieve appropriate standards which are in-line with other health-related tests available to the public remains contentious. Unlike the HGC, which has taken a fairly liberal and pragmatic position in the formulation of its Principles, Nature suggests that ultimately government regulators may need to be involved in order to adequately protect consumers.Genetic advances force scientists to consider ethical and legal frontiers – October 12, 2009
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news. aspx?id=141967
Technological advances are allowing geneticists to peer into your personal genetic identity with the prospect of giving insight into everything from maladies to heritage. But this gift has come with the baggage of ethical and legal questions never considered before. Heading toward a future of deciphering individual human genetic composition, means recognizing that this may be less like unpacking the gift of life and more like opening a Pandora’s box. Scientists discussed a variety of ethical issues raised by genetic screening at a recent conference hosted by Northwestern University's Center for Genetic Medicine at Prentice Women's Hospital.Stem cell pioneers among Nobel Prize candidates – October 4, 2009
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2009/10/04/ stem_cell_pioneers_among_ nobel_prize_candidates/
Two Canadian scientists whose discovery of stem cells has paved the way for controversial research could be candidates for the 2009 Nobel Prize in medicine, the winners of which will be announced Monday. Ernest McCulloch and James Till won the prestigious Lasker Award in 2005 and experts say they could also be among the front-runners for a Nobel for their early 1970's identification of the regenerative cells. Many winners of the Lasker Award -- often dubbed "America's Nobel" -- go on to win Nobel Prizes. Given their special abilities, stem cells offer the possibility to replace damaged cells, tissues and maybe organs to treat diseases such as Alzheimer's, heart disease, diabetes, or rheumatoid arthritis. Growing stem cells from human eggs has long been a controversial issue, but in a recent breakthrough scientists have managed to avoid the ethical quandaries by making human stem cells from ordinary skin cells.
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Found on Twitter
@sciencebase Interesting insight on the science of the beauty of autumn. Fall Colors and Autumn Leaves: http://bit.ly/4cA548 RT @endlessoul
@genomicslawyer To Share or Not to Share: That is the Question http://bit.ly/1Ziz9j Should clinically relevant genetic research be returned to participants
@that_angela Here's a Sunday night giggle for you: http://ow.ly/v8XK
@Imparo "We need to prepare kids for their future not our past," says Daniel Pink #IEforum (via @InspiringEd)
@stemcellcharter RT @iPSCellNews: Scientists get closer to making safe patient-specific stem cells; http://tinyurl.com/yjbnxwq
@nutrigenomics Found this critical blog on Nutrigenomics: The Science Fiction of Nutritional Genomics http://bit.ly/1grnp3; there is some truth in it...
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Genome Alberta in Pictures
At Discovery Days; From left to right, Tom Feasby Dean of Medicine at the U of C, geneticist Bob Church, Bill Cochrane now of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, Peter Lougheed former Alberta Premier and also in the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame and Bob Lampard, Director, Medical/Health Services, Michener Services.
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