Projects
Research
From The Office of The CSO Gijs van Rooijen
Genome Alberta, the newest Genome Centre recently established in agreement with Genome Canada's national research mandate, administers and coordinates an exciting range of projects. It is the lead Genome Centre for two human health genomics and metabolomics projects that prevail in Alberta: 1) aim to develop novel diagnostic tests for transplant rejection, and 2) characterize and identify all the metabolites that are present in measurable concentrations in human fluids such as serum, urine and cerebral spinal fluid. These projects and other national and international projects are supported by a word-class bioinformatics platform that has a leading edge hardware and software infrastructure to meet the ever-increasing demand from the scientific community to analyze complex genomics information.
Furthermore, Genome Alberta is home to a project that coordinates the beta testing of sophisticated mass spectrometers that were developed at MDS Sciex with co-funding support from Genome Canada.
Genome Alberta is also a funding participant in the International Bovine Genome Sequencing projects by contributing to the provision of tissue material and cDNA libraries to complete the sequence of a large number of unique full-length cDNAs. Results from these projects have started to emerge and are poised to further enhance the reputation of Alberta as an emerging Life Sciences research community.
On August 25, 2005, Genome Canada announced the results of its latest competition for funding. Of the 33 projects funded nation-wide, 3 projects were led out of Alberta and will be administered through Genome Alberta, while Alberta scientists will have a supporting role in an additional 3 highlighted projects.
Successful Alberta-led projects include a canola genomics project with a strong emphasis on using genomic tools to improve seed quality, a project aiming to develop new approaches to studying genetic diseases by creating fully integrated computer models of all data available, and a project that asks the question on how genomic knowledge is translated in health systems.
Genome Alberta scientists are also contributing to genomics projects that develop genomic tools for the forestry industry, a project that will develop more cold-hardy wheat varieties, and an international project that has the goal to knocking out every single gene in mice to further genomic and proteomic research in humans. We believe these projects represent a strong foundation of new opportunities for future generations of Life Science research in Alberta for scientists who are working toward new discoveries in the areas of medical diagnostics, agricultural plant and animal science, instrumentation development, forestry, information technology, bioethics, and animal models for human disease.
Each of these projects has the potential to achieve socio-economic benefits for the Province, and each is consistent with the goals outlined in the Life Sciences Strategy for Alberta.