Genome Alberta's Official Newsletter
Genome Alberta Newsletter GenOmics - January 19, 2010
- January 19, 2010 -
In this Update:
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Genomics News
Alberta Innovates
Under the banner of 'Alberta Innovates', the government of Alberta has taken a new approach to funding innovation in Alberta.
The Alberta Research and Innovation Act was passed in June of 2009 and as of January 2010 several new organization came into being:
- Alberta Innovates - BioSolutions chair: Art Froehlich, Partner and Strategic Advisor, AdFarm and currently a Genome Alberta Board member.
- Alberta Innovates - Energy and Environment Solutions chair: Eric Newell, Chancellor Emeritus, University of Alberta.
- Alberta Innovates - Health Solutions chair: Robert A. Seidel, Q.C., National Managing Partner, Davis LLP.
- Alberta Innovates - Technology Futures chair: Ron Triffo, Chair, Stantec Inc.
- Alberta Innovates - Alberta Research and Innovation Authority chair: Marvin Fritzler, Arthritis Society Research Chair, Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary and currently a Genome Alberta Board member.
These 5 new organizations incorporate:
- Alberta Agricultural Research Institute
- Alberta Energy Research Institute
- Alberta Forestry Research Institute
- Alberta Heritage Foundation for Medical Research
- Alberta Ingenuity
- Alberta Life Sciences Institute
- Alberta Prion Research Institute
- Alberta Research Council
- Alberta Water Research Institute
- iCORE
- nanoAlberta
You can read more about Alberta Innovates on their web site at http://www.albertainnovates.
ca/
UBC Receives $10.5M to Map Sunflower Family Genome
University of British Columbia researchers have received $10.5 million from Genome Canada through the Government of Canada, Genome BC and international partners to enable them to create the first reference genome of the sunflower family.
The Genomics of Sunflower project, will use next-generation genotyping and sequencing technologies to sequence, assemble and annotate the sunflower genome and to locate the genes that are responsible for agriculturally important traits such as seed-oil content, flowering, seed-dormancy, and wood producing-capacity. The research has the potential to develop a hybrid sunflower that provides both biofuel and food products
For more information go to http://tinyurl.com/ygwa8sf
British Columbia Clinical Research Infrastructure Network (BCCRIN) Coordinator
Genome B.C. is looking for coordinator who can participate in the development of a business plan for clinical research infrastructure development over the next several years. Genome BC will act as the host organization for the successful candidate.
The position will initially be for a period of one (1) year and may be renewable depending on performance and available funding.
For complete information on the position and the BCCRIN go to http://tinyurl.com/ykd3me5
Summer Student Opportunity
The McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health is looking Summer Students to fill positions in two areas:
- Commercialization
- Ethical, Social, Cultural and Commercialization (ESC2).
Please send your CV/resume, a cover letter outlining your interests in science and technology for development, your work availability, and two letters of reference to info@mrcglobal.org. You can also fax your application to 416-978 6826. The deadline for submissions is February 12, 2010.
For more information, please visit their website at http://www.mrcglobal.org/home or check them on Facebook as Global Health Engage and on Twitter @mrcglobal.
Pfizer-FRSQ Innovation Fund - Second competition
This program, in partnership with Pfizer Canada, is designed to support innovative, large-scale multi-institutional research projects in human health that have a strong likelihood for technology transfer and commercialisation. The objective of this program is to act as a catalyst for innovative translational research and stimulate an entrepreneurial culture within Quebec Universities and Affiliated Hospital Based Research Centres.
Priority topics are:
- neurodegenerative diseases
- cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
- cancer
- inflammation
- mental health
- chronic diseases
Program details and forms can be found at : http://www.frsq.gouv.qc.ca/en/
financement/Programmes_2010_ 2011/s17_fiche.shtml
Canadian Bioinformatics Help Desk Newsletter
http://gchelpdesk.ualberta.ca/
news/15jan10/cbhd_news_ 15jan10.htm
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GenOmics Top Stories
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Patients demand: 'Give us our damned data' - CNN.com
Life-saving innovations threatened in health care bill negotiations
Farmers Learn About Genetics
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Found on Twitter
The world is buzzing about Twitter and when the earthquake struck Haiti, Twitter was able to spread news quickly and point people to websites with more information. We include Twitter highlights in every issue of GenOmics (formerly Gene Snips ) and choose highlights with omic-related http:// links of interest and that we are confident will not lead you down a road paved with spam. You can find Genome Alberta on Twitter as @mikesgene
- @phylogenomics Top 11 things I learned at Science Online 2010 (#scio10) http://ff.im/-erO0w
- @wjjessen PLoS ONE: Commenting on scientific articles (PLoS edition) http://bit.ly/6AV4AN #scio10
- @scisu RT @SuzyScientist: In case anyone was wondering how to get DNA out of soil,everything ... is right here: http://www.mobio.com/blog/
- @bmahersciwriter E.O. Wilson writes about ants http://is.gd/6way9 Check that. Wilson writes *fiction* about ants!
- @iambiotech Meet Mike Spear, GenomeAlberta: http://ow.ly/SXnE
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Events
For more information on any of these event visit Genome
Alberta’s event page at http://genomealberta.ca/
BioPartnering North America
Where: Westin Bayshore Resort, Vancouver, BC, Canada
When: January 24th-26th, 2010BioAlberta will be hosting an Alberta workshop on Monday, January 25, 2010 from 4:30 – 5:30 in the Mackenzie Room at the Westin Bayshore Hotel as part of the BPN conference. Enjoy a glass of wine, some refreshments, network with like minded bio industry individuals, and hear about the exciting opportunities in Alberta. If you are interested in attending the Alberta workshop please contact Jon Krysler at BioAlberta.
For more information on BioPartnering North America go to http://www.techvision.com/
bpn/
The Human Genome Project Ten Years Later: Has The Promise Been Realized?
Where: Heart & Crown Irish Pub – 67 Clarence St., ByWard Market, Ottawa
When: February 16th, 5:30 – 7:30pm
RSVP to: mwei2@uottawa.ca
5th Annual Canadian Genetic Epidemiology & Statistical Genetics Meeting
Where: Kingbridge Conference Centre, King City, Ontario
When: April 14-16, 2010
Website: http://canadiangeneticepi.
lunenfeld.ca/DEFAULT.ASP?page= home
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GE3LS Digest
For more information about GE3LS Digest, please visit http://www.genomealberta.ca/ge3ls/newsletters.aspx
New questions are being raised in stem-cell debate – December 10, 2009
The University of Alberta's Timothy Caulfield is questioning some of the ethical and legal barriers facing a new stem cell procedure. It was two years ago when a groundbreaking discovery turned ordinary skin cells back into an embryonic or "pluripotent" state. This was recognized as the solution to the controversial ethical question that has plagued stem-cell science for the past decade. But is it the solution? Or have iPS cells (induced pluripotent stem cells) added a new dimension to the legal, social and ethical debates that are an important and necessary part of stem-cell advances? Caulfield, research director at the U of A's Health Law Institute and principal investigator at the Stem Cell Network, says that while iPS technology eliminates some of the ethical issues specific to embryonic stem-cell research it also adds new challenges. "From a legal perspective, iPS technology is fascinating and complex. For example, if an iPS cell can be made into a functional human gamete, the potential exists for reproductive purposes. What would this mean for donor consent, concerns about cloning and rights of a potential child to know its parents," said Caulfield.
Australia lifts 5-year ban on clinical trials of animal-to-human tissue transplants – December 10, 2009
Australia announced Thursday it will lift a 5-year ban on clinical trials of animal-to-human transplantation, after the government's top health body determined the risk of transmitting animal viruses to people was low. The decision by the National Health and Medical Research Council means Australia will join a slew of other countries - including the United States and New Zealand - who have conducted trials of xenotransplantation, the transfer of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. Xenotransplantation researchers hope the procedure can someday serve as a substitute for human organs, which are in chronic short supply, and help treat diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson's. The council issued a ban on clinical trials in 2004, after concerns were raised about the risks of transmitting animal viruses - particularly those from pigs - to humans.
Most Stem Cells Used in Research Come From Whites – December 16, 2009
Human embryonic stem cell lines currently used for research come mostly from white donors, a new report finds. That could mean that nonwhites will benefit less from any medical breakthroughs that emerge from that research down the line, experts say. Blacks could be especially affected. In fact, none of the most widely used stem cell lines studied showed any traces of recent African ancestry, the team reported online in a Dec. 16 letter in the New England Journal of Medicine. To increase the diversity of embryonic stem cell lines, the researchers urge increased efforts to include stem cells from other populations. "We have examined the population ancestry of a large collection of human embryonic stem cell lines that are commonly used in research," said study co-author Noah Rosenberg, an associate professor in the department of human genetics at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. "Most of these lines appear to derive from European or Middle Eastern populations," he added. Only two of the lines were linked to East Asians, and "none of these lines derive from populations with recent African ancestry," the researchers wrote.
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