Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter

Genome Alberta Newsletter GeneSnips - September 18, 2009

Genome Alberta News

Bovine Genomics Workshop

Genome Alberta, the Canadian Beef Breeds Council, and Alberta Ingenuity hosted the Canadian Bovine Genomics Workshop on September 14^th in Calgary. The purpose of this workshop was to engage stakeholders in building a shared vision for a National Bovine Genomics Strategy, and to officially launch the newly created Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Livestock Genomics. There were about 100 people on hand from industry, government and academia to talk about why we need to develop a Bovine Genomics strategy and how we can get there.  Apart from the speakers in the room the event also featured a web video hook with Heather Burrow in Australia to talk about their experience with a Cooperative Research Centre, and Steve Miller from the University of Guelph. A full report will be coming out of the workshop shortly and we’ll let you know as soon as it is available.

In the meantime you can read the  "Aquatic and Terrestrial Animal Genomics"  position paper from Genome Canada which outlines many of the areas that might become part of a national bovine genomics program.

World Skills

From the time the doors opened on September 2^nd at 9:00 to closing on September 5^th,  the traffic past the Genome Alberta and Portable CAVE area at the World Skills Competition never seemed to let up. We were located in Alberta House which was a popular place to visit to see the CAVE, test drive a flight simulator from the Aviation Museum, play with several SMART Boards, and watch the young entertainers (all under 22 years of age) who performed throughout the morning.

Preliminary numbers seemed to deliver on the expectation of 150,000 visitors to the Stampede Grounds and the school tours came in waves through the tent. With crowds like that one-on-one chats were difficult but there were plenty of opportunities to answer questions about the presentation, the 4D project, and about Genome Alberta.

Thanks to Christoph Sensen’s whole team for their time and effort during the 4 days and in the preparation leading up to the event.

Age of Personalized Genomics

Ooops, you missed it. Shame on you.

However you can find some pictures from the conference at http://picasaweb.google.com/MikesGene, blog postings at http://genomealberta.ca/blogs/ and follow some hi-lites on Twitter by looking for @mikesgene

Save Time with GenOmics

Do you get BioSmart Brief, GenomeWeb Daily News, follow several science blogs and do your own Google searches? Why not find genomics and related biotech news all in one place by using Genome Alberta’s new GenOmics application on Facebook.

You’ll be able to read all the stories from these and other stories all in place,  but the GenOmics editors go through the material several times a day and move many of the stories to the front page to save you time and clicks.

You don’t have to be a registered Facebook user to read the news but if you want to comment, post your own blog, and interact with other users, you’ll definitely want to sign up.

For a quick overview of the application go to www.genomealberta.ca/facebook for more information and tips on using the site.

 

Doctoral Thesis Fellowships and Postdoctoral Fellowships  Call For Applications

The ValGen project (Value Addition Through Genomics and GE³LS ) is a new, stand alone GE³LS project that was approved for funding in the recent ABC Competition.

The project leaders are looking for up to six doctoral thesis fellowships and three postdoctoral fellowships to be awarded in the three major research areas of VALGEN:

1.       Intellectual property management

2.       Regulation and governance

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.

You can get a full description of the positions and the application process on our web site.

 

Brightest and Best Complete Summer Projects

Six undergraduate students from across Ontario have successfully completed their summer research projects as part of the Ontario Genomics Institute (OGI) Summer Research Fellowship Program. The program offers undergraduate students at Ontario universities a unique opportunity to engage in meaningful research in genomics and proteomics, associated enabling technologies, or socio-economic impacts and issues arising when conducting or in association with the outcomes of the research. Through their fellowship experience, students acquire a deeper understanding of the impact genomics is having and will have across the spectrum of human and animal health, agriculture, biosurveillance, natural resource management and sustainable energy. These awards are very competitive, with typically one in five applicants being selected by OGI.

To read more about the students go to http://www.ontariogenomics.ca/media-centre/news/2009-9-11/399 

 

Latest Edition of the Canadian Bioinformatics Help Desk Newsletter

http://gchelpdesk.ualberta.ca/news/16sep09/cbhd_news_16sep09.htm

 

U of C Faculty Elected to Royal Society of Canada

Dr. Gregory Cairncross, Graham Julien, PhD, Dr. Paul Kubes, Anthony Wall, PhD, Dr. Michael Walsh and Dr. Samuel Weiss have ben elected to the prestigious academic body, the Royal Society of Canada, the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada.

For more information on each of the recipients please go to http://www.ucalgary.ca/vpr/awards

4^th Annual University Technologies International (UTI) Speaker Series

The UTI Speaker Series will showcase a number of success stories, highlight relevant learnings, connect inventors with industry and provide a forum for dialogue and debate. Learn from peers and industry experts who will help you create your own commercialization success story. The talks are all open to the public, free, and lunch is provided but you need to RSVP to 403-774-4298 or events@uti.ca

The series will be held in the Cassio Room in the University of Calgary MacEwan Conference Centre from 11:30 to 1:30.

Session #1: Thursday, September 24th
Innovative Research, Global Benefit

Session #2: Thursday, October 8^th
Do Patents = Profits?

Session #3: Wednesday, October 21^st
Launching Your Idea into the Marketplace

Conferences:

Canadian Science Policy Conference
Toronto, October 28 - 30 2009
http://sciencepolicy.ca

 Social Media For Government Conference
Ottawa, September 29 – October 2, 2009,
http://www.aliconferences.com/conf/social_media_govt_canada1009/index.htm  (Mention Genome Alberta’s Director of Communications, Mike Spear for a registration discount)

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Found on Twitter

@dgmacarthur deCODE has 180 days to get its share price up or be dropped from the NASDAQ: http://tr.im/yZR9

@davekerpen People Spend 3x More Time on Facebook Than Google http://bit.ly/vIgVV

@GeneticsSociety  Attending the #ASHG2009 Meeting? Don’t miss the Presidential Symposium on “Implementing Personalized Medicine” on... http://bit.ly/TJ2Zp

@DNATestZ What next as DNA fingerprinting turns 25? - BBC News http://tinyurl.com/llfplg

@IAmBiotech NYTimes Article "Biotech Tries to Shrug Off Setbacks" http://ow.ly/pOV3

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Genome Alberta in Pictures

Genome Alberta and the Portable CAVEman were part of Alberta House at the World Skills Competition in Calgary September 2^nd – 5^th. Check out more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/MikesGene/WorldSkills2009Sept1#

As 4D Project Manager Megan Smith looks on, a group of students put on the 3D glasses to watch the Portable CAVEman.

Genome Alberta and the Portable CAVE where in Alberta House which saw a steady stream of visitors over the 4 days of activity.

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