Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter
Genome Alberta Newsletter GenOmics - September 1, 2010
- September 1, 2010 -
In this Update:
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Genomics News
Mini Livestock Symposium
On Tuesday, September 7th, Genome Alberta and the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine will be hosting an afternoon symposium where we have some excellent speakers on hand talk about livestock genomics. The event will take place at the U of C Health Sciences Centre Theatre 3, 3280 Hospital Drive NW.
There is no charge to attend and everyone is invited. For more information contact Mike Spear at Genome Alberta at 403-503-5220.
- 1:30 pm Opening: David Bailey, President and CEO Genome Alberta
- 1:35 pm Deb Hamernik, Associate Director, Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station, Professor, Department of Animal Science, University of Nebraska; Steve Kappes, Deputy Administrator for Animal Production and Protection USDA-ARS
- 2:15 pm Martien Groenen, Professor Animal Science, Wageningen Research University, the Netherlands
- 2:55 pm Break
- 3:20 pm Heidi Parker, Senior Staff Scientist, Cancer Genetics Branch at the National Human Genome Research Institute of NIH.
- 4:00 pm Close and wrap-up: Alastair Cribb, Dean Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
New CIHR Publication Award
The Institute of Genetics of CIHR has launched the Canadian Institutes of Health Research's Institute of Genetics (CIHR-IG) Lap-Chee Tsui Publication Awards, a set of prizes for exceptional trainee-conducted research that falls within the mandate of the Institute of Genetics. The Institute established the awards to honour one of Canada's greatest geneticists, Dr. Lap-Chee Tsui, whose discovery of the gene for cystic fibrosis was a milestone in human genetic disease research.
Each year, a total of up to four $1000 prizes will be made available for published, peer-reviewed scientific articles by Ph.D. level graduate students, post-doctoral fellows or medical residents. Two awards will be for publications in biomedical research, and two awards will be for publications in clinical, health services, population health, or genetic ethical, legal or social issues research.
Additional details, including nomination forms and complete eligibility requirements, can be found on the Lap-Chee Tsui Publication Award page under CIHR-IG Regular Funding Programs.
Canadian Pediatric Genetic Disorders Sequencing Consortium
Genome Canada and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research have announcement the establishment of a new program called 'Advancing Technology Innovation through Discovery'. This one-year program will focus on the rapid identification of genes causing pediatric disorders using the latest genomic technologies available at the Genome Canada funded Science & Technology Innovation Centres. The program has three stages:
Stage 1: Establishment of a National Disease Consortium;
Stage 2: Application of next-generation sequencing technologies;
Stage 3: Validation of proposed mutations.The CPGDS Consortium is a pan-Canadian team of clinicians, clinical investigators and scientists interested in the application of new genomic technologies to rare pediatric single-gene disorders. The goal of the Consortium is to identify new genes and pathways responsible for human disease and translate this knowledge to improved patient care. The Consortium can provide funding, infrastructure and expertise for the collection of patients, genotyping, next-generation sequencing, bioinformatic analysis and validation studies. Information on how to become a member of the Consortium can be found at the URL below.
This is the first call for proposals of disorders for study. The names and/or clinical features of submitted disorders will be circulated to members of the Consortium in an attempt to identify additional patients for sequencing or subsequent validation. Disorders should be submitted by September 15, 2010, for consideration for the first round of sequencing, to the Consortium Clinical Coordinator, Janet Marcadier (jmarcadier@cheo.on.ca).
Complete details and all forms are available at www.cpgdsconsortium.com.
Latest Edition of the Canadian Bioinformatics Help Desk Newsletter
http://gchelpdesk.ualberta.ca/
news/27aug10/cbhd_news_ 27aug10.htm
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GenOmics Top Stories
GenOmics is slowly but steadily finding a niche in science communications. Genome Alberta’s Communications’ Director Mike Spear has been asked to present it as part of a panel at the U.S. National Association of Science Writers Annual General Meeting and conference at Yale University in November. Our developer Jeff Reifman of newscloud.com will be speaking at the World Editors’ Forum in Germany in October to talk about the underlying Open Source platform and the media partners who have come together to develop and refine the project.
GenOmics is a science newsroom for the Omics Generation. It is a place to go to find stories, video, and audio from the top -omics stories of the day. You’ll find new media releases, feature articles, breaking news, and background information. There is a calendar, a directory link, a place to ask questions, and there is a tab to send a virtual gene to your friends. You can read stories without ever having to register but once you sign up you can post your own stories, share ideas, and add items to the calendar.
It looks great on the iPad and you can subscribe to an RSS feed to have the information pushed straight to your newsreader. We like to see it as the future of science communications.
Here are just a few of the stories from the last 2 weeks:
Wheat and apple DNA sequenced, providing clues that may help eliminate famine
Outlaw Biology Feature
Canadian Scientists link genetic 'typos' to schizophrenia- Developer of genetically engineered salmon eyes Canadian regulators
- Three breeds evaluated on basis of genomics
- Legislators Weigh Goals of Personalized Medicine Bill
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Found on Twitter
In every issue of this GenOmics newsletter we open a tiny 140 character window on the internet for you. You all know it as Twitter and with over 75 million people around the world using it to create millions of posting everyday it has become a medium in its own right. Journalists use it to find sources and to in turn disseminate news. During events such as the recent minor earthquake around Ottawa Twitter reports we in before media had broadcast the information.
Here are just a few of the interesting bits we have found in the last 2 weeks and there is a more wide ranging collection of tweets in our latest Twitter Snips posting. We’ve checked the links so you’re safe to click through and see what is waiting on the other side.
- @bakercom1 Killer Patents http://bit.ly/drItSw If you think patents are bad in computer technology, look at what they do in medicine. by @sjvn
- @billschrier Sometime this month, the 5 billionth device will plug into the Internet - in 10 years there will be 20 billion - http://bit.ly/bbmqB1
- @DaveHancockMLA Challenge-engage educators + students to create quality, commitment, results + relevance for today's world + future #abed # ableg Emerge2010
- @DougBastien I have better access to academic journals as a University alumnus than through #GoC. From knowledge student -> Knowledge worker w/o tools
- @GenomeBiology Wheat genome made available today. Congratulations to Neil Hall and team http://bbc.in/bKpHiz #openaccess
- @_modscientist_ Hey @_Lavaland_, i'm playing with your DNA today! You're gonna help me optimize SNP genotyping by RTpcr
- @pearlf Cambridge-based PatientsLikeMe now has over 45,000 patients on its social networking site, patient communities, http://bit.ly/a9uiGL
Who’s Who:
@bakercom1 Pam Baker is a prolific and popular freelance journalist and author. Her work appears in leading print and online publications around the globe. Find out more about her at http://www.netpress.org/ipg-
membership-directory/pambaker @billschrier Bill Schrier is the CTO / CIO for City of Seattle, interested in using tech in government, building stuff, politics, bicycling
@DaveHancockMLA Dave Hancock is Minister of Education for Alberta. http://www.davehancock.ca/ and he really does his own tweeting
@DBast is Doug Bastien from Ottawa. He works in the public service, and says he is alson a sophist, technologist, digital enthusiast, deconstructivist, debureaucratist, change management entrepreneur and twitterer. He has a blog at http://blog.dbast.com/
@GenomeBiology Genome Biology publishes articles from the full spectrum of biology. Their first conference, Beyond the Genome is in October 2010
@modscientist is based in the Seattle and likes to keep a low profile by saying he or she is a triple threat - A immunogenetics post-doc
@pearlf Pearl Freier is based in Cambridge, Mass and is founder of Founder of Cambridge BioPartners
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GE3LS Digest
The case for putting genomic medicine to work – August 16, 2010
We are all biologically unique, even those of us who have an “identical” twin. The way we respond to a medication varies considerably, from being unresponsive or hyper-responsive, or developing serious side effects. Our knowledge about pharmacogenomics — the interaction of one’s genes with medications — is exploding, and this area now represents the biggest advance in the first decade since the human genome was sequenced. We now know the principal genes — and common variations in these genes — that are connected to the muscle inflammation side effects from statins (the No. 1-prescribed group of medicines for lowering cholesterol), the response to Plavix to prevent blood clots, the response to Interferon therapy for hepatitis C, the liver side effects of antibiotics like flucloxacillin, and many more. There is remarkable waste in the use of prescription medications, now accounting for $300 billion per year in the United States. This is because the drugs don’t work in many people, or the dose is incorrect, or severe side effects occur and lead to hospitalizations and consumption of more medical resources.
GenOmics’ Editors have added a video from Dr. Topol.
It was just 18 months ago that U.S. scientists studying embryonic stem cells thought their nearly decade-long battle for federal funding was finally won. President Obama had signed an executive order ending a restrictive policy enacted in 2001 by President Bush. That policy had blocked federal funds from being used to study most human embryonic stem cells. But a surprise ruling by a lower court last week left the stem-cell community stunned. A federal judge issued an injunction, blocking federal funding for any research involving embryonic stem cells. Researchers say the decision--even if it is later reversed--will have a damaging effect on the field, stunting promising medical research that was just building momentum. All grants under review at the nation's largest funding agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), that involve human embryonic stem cells have been put on hold while the NIH and other government agencies try to get the injunction reversed.
GenOmics’ Editors have added a PBS Newshour report about the ruling and implications.
Regrowing body parts closer to reality – July 20, 2010
Scientists in Toronto are trying to crack the secrets of regeneration to trigger the human body to grow tissues and organs damaged by disease. In his lab at Mount Sinai Hospital, Dr. Ian Rogers is working on a replacement pancreas that would be grown in a lab and then placed in those with Type 1 diabetes to restore their insulin production."When I talk to parents of kids with Type 1 diabetes, I always apologize: 'Right now our goal is to treat for a year or two,'" Rogers says. "And they're very happy, because they say, 'I nag my child three times a day to take their insulin, check their glucose,' and they're saying if they get a reprieve for a year they'll be very happy." At this stage, Rogers's team is building a pancreas out of a surgical sponge, a three-dimensional structure seeded with insulin-producing islet cells. The pancreas would be grown in the lab and then placed under the skin of those with Type 1 diabetes to restore their insulin production.
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Events
--------------------------------------------------------------------Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference
The theme of this year's Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference (ABIC 2010) is Bridging Biology and Business and features three streams: energy, Health, and Sustainability.
This is an annual event for industry leaders, policy makers, scientists, researchers and other professionals working in the area of agricultural biotechnology. The conference is a forum where the latest scientific advances in agricultural biotechnology are presented, and where future directions of the technology are highlighted and discussed. Attendees will hear about advances, barriers and action options which may influence science and business endeavours on a global scale.
There will be plenary speakers, a full breakout program, poster session, and a trade show.When: September 12-15
Where: TCU Place, 35 - 22nd Street East, SaskatoonYou can view agenda details on the ABIC website.
How the Life Science Job Market has Changed
From Genomics To Jobs: A Look at the Ontario Bioeconomy in the 2nd Decade of the Millenium.
Join the Ontario Genomics Iinstitute, Life Sciences Ontario and MaRS Discovery District for the launch of National Biotechnology Week and learn about Genomics, Biotechnology and Jobs in the Ontario Life Science Sector. Featuring experts in the field of genomics, human resources and research commercialization.
- Darlene Homonko, Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network
- Herbert Hess, Hess Associates Executive Search
- Alison Symington, Ontario Genomics Institute
When: September 16, 7:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Where: MaRS Discovery Centre, Toronto
- 7:30 – 8:00 Breakfast and Networking, National Biotech Week Announcement
- 8:00 – 9:30 Remarks and Panel Discussion, Audience Q&A
- 10:00 Event Conclusion
To register please go to: http://nationalbiotechlaunch-
2010.eventbrite.com/
Banff Venture Forum
The Forum is designed to showcase the hottest hi-tech companies from across North America, offer insight into key issues within the industry, provide networking opportunities and give companies a chance to learn from world-class professionals in the investment community.
There are three streams of Information Technology, Energy Technology, and Life Sciences Technology for participant to showcase themselves to leading private equity and venture capital investors.Where: Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel, Banff
When: September 23 & 24For more information visit the main conference website.
Social Media for Government
When: September 27 – 30
Where: OttawaThis conference is designed to help government and non-profit organizations and agencies build a social media strategy, integrate it into the overall communications strategy, keep it cost effective, and develop the policies necessary to work within public policy guidelines.
Genome Alberta’s Mike Spear will be presenting along with speakers from Industry Canada, Prescient Digital Media, Thornley Fallis Communications & 76design, Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, City of Guelph, and a variety of others from the public and private sector. Visit the conference website for more information and if you decide to register, mention you heard about it from Mike Spear and you’ll get a 400.00 discount on the registration fee. How’s that for the Genome Alberta Advantage!
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