UNews - Athan Zovoilis

Researchers earn RDAR support to find viable solutions to mitigate Bovine Respiratory Disease

trevor.kenney — Fri, 08 Jul 2022 20:49:19 +0000

Researchers in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Southern Alberta Genome Science Centre (SAGSC) and its bioinformatics core are collaborating with scientists at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to find viable solutions to mitigate Bovine Respiratory Disease (BRD) — the most prominent feedlot cattle disease in North America — that is responsible for an estimated financial burden of $3 billion annually.

BRD is responsible for an estimated financial burden of $3 billion annually.

The supported project is led by ULethbridge associate professor Dr. Athan Zovoilis and Dr. Tim McAllister, a principal research scientist at AAFC. Zovoilis, SAGSC director and Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, Dr. Angeliki Pantazi (SAGSC scientific officer) and Dr. Eric Merzetti (BioNet program manager) are working with McAllister’s team and other scientists at AAFC to advance a genomic-based diagnostic pipeline for BRD, based on Alberta herd-specific pathogens, that will increase the precision of antimicrobial use in the provincial cattle industry.

“To date, no tool exists for the identification of BRD pathogens on a broad scale for Alberta cattle producers and there is a need for province-wide architecture to detect and characterize pathogens of interest in BRD — both in terms of virulence and antimicrobial resistance,” says Zovoilis. “Our labs at SAGSC and AAFC in Lethbridge have already sequenced, analyzed, and characterized a significant number of BRD bacterial isolates.”

Alberta is home to more than 18,000 cattle producers with an estimated 4.5 million cattle, making up 40.4 per cent of Canada’s herd (estimated July 2020). With the highest cattle population in the country and a heavy reliance of Alberta’s economy on exported beef, cattle mortalities pose a significant economic and financial hardship to the province. BRD is responsible for 65-80 per cent of total feedlot morbidities and 45-75 per cent of mortalities.

BRD pathogens are varied with potential origins in multiple bacterial families. Proper treatment of BRD requires pathogen identification. To further add to the difficulty of treatment, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is of significant concern in these cattle and many of the identified BRD pathogens house resistance to traditional antimicrobial agents used in livestock settings.

“We will take input data from samples sequenced by our next generation sequencing platforms and be able to produce detailed information on BRD pathogens, including relevant AMR,” says Zovoilis. “This data will then allow for the precision use of antimicrobial agents, providing better outcomes for cattle and less likelihood of AMR development in the present bacteria.”

The project, A Comprehensive Sequencing and Bioinformatics analysis Pipeline for Bovine Respiratory Disease Pathogens in Alberta Beef Cattle, is supported by a $352,000 Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) grant. RDAR and Genome Alberta, with the Government of Canada and Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development, announced $5.1 million in funding through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) for agriculture genomics projects earlier this month.

“Genomics research has practical real-world application that is contributing to building a more sustainable agriculture sector in Canada,” says Marie-Claude Bibeau, Canada’s Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. “From developing new tools, improving the quality of food we eat, to breeding more resilient crops — our genomic researchers are the heart of advancing science and innovation so that our farmers in Alberta have the tools they need to be successful.”

Dr. Athan Zovoilis has Canada Research Chair renewed for five-year term

trevor.kenney — Thu, 02 Jun 2022 19:56:49 +0000

Dr. Athan Zovoilis, professor in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, will continue his cutting-edge research with the renewal of his Tier 2 Canada Research Chair funding.

Zovoilis, a Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, will receive $500,000 over five years, part of Thursday’s Government of Canada announcement of more than $102 million in support of 119 new and renewed Canada Research Chairs at 35 Canadian research institutions.

Dr. Athan Zovoilis, a Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, will receive $500,000 over five years.

“Our government recognizes that investing in researchers and scientists results in breakthroughs to advance our society and benefits all Canadians,” says François-Phillipe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry. “The Canada Research Chairs Program provides a unique opportunity for researchers to push boundaries and make cutting-edge discoveries with lasting impacts across the health, environment, natural sciences, social sciences and humanities disciplines.”

The Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI), a CRCP partner, also commits to supporting nine of the chairs, at eight institutions, with an investment of close to $1.8 million through its John R. Evans Leaders Fund.

The renewal of his CRC funding will allow Zovoilis, director of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC) and a member of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) and the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI), to continue his work on elucidating the role of a class of biomolecules called non-coding RNAs in health and disease. Often described as the “dark matter” of our genome, these RNAs are connected with human and animal health and disease. Supported by this funding, the Zovoilis lab will work on developing new next generation sequencing and bioinformatics approaches to study the transcriptome and epi-transcriptome of non-coding RNAs in various biological contexts such as aging associated diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, cellular response to stress, neurotoxicity and human and animal infections.

“This funding will advance further our capacity on genome sciences and bioinformatics built within SAGSC, CCBN and ARRTI,” says Zovoilis. “RNA is becoming increasingly an important player in aging research, neurodegenerative diseases and agriculture research, and developing the genomics tools to study it will enable the generation of novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches."

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge is home to 13 Canada Research Chairs, in fields ranging from RNA genomics and hydrodynamics to child and youth studies, Indigenous arts, experimental astrophysics and more.

“The depth and breadth of our research chairs is reflective of the excellence of the faculty members throughout the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, vice-president (research). “Whatever faculty or school our students choose to study and do research in, it’s likely they will have the opportunity to learn and work with some of the best researchers in their respective fields. Dr. Zovoilis’ research and team, in particular, are leading Canadian innovation in RNA bioinformatics which expands scientific knowledge while also benefiting agri-food, health, and environmental development and sustainability.”

Alzheimer’s research at U of L gets significant funding boost

caroline.zentner — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 18:55:29 +0000

Dr. Athan Zovoilis, Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, will continue his groundbreaking research into the molecular mechanisms involved in Alzheimer’s disease thanks to a grant of $918,000 over five years from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Zovoilis, director of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC), and Dr. Majid Mohajerani, co-investigator who holds the Dr. Bryan Kolb Professorship/Chair in Neuroscience, are both members of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN). They will combine their expertise in genome sciences and neurodegeneration to help solve the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

Dr. Athan Zovoilis

“The funding landscape is quite competitive and this support from CIHR is a great success for CCBN and SAGSC,” says Zovoilis. “With no reliable cure for AD and an aging population, Canada is in great need of interdisciplinary, cutting-edge research on the disease and this funding could help us contribute to the development of new treatments.”

“This award demonstrates the exceptional research being done at the U of L,” says Dr. Dena McMartin, U of L vice-president (research). “With more than 747,000 Canadians suffering from dementia, research like this is both important and urgent as we work toward medical breakthroughs to slow or cure the disease.”

“This grant reflects the quality of the research and synergistic environment at CCBN and its ability through SAGSC to fuse behavioural neuroscience and genome sciences,” says Dr. Rob Sutherland, director of CCBN.

In earlier work, Zovoilis and his team found a new molecular mechanism involved in Alzheimer’s disease in mice and confirmed the same mechanism is at work in people with the disease. They used high throughput sequencing techniques that study the DNA readout of brain cells to identify a class of biomolecules, called SINE RNAs, that are produced in different patterns in AD patients versus healthy individuals.

Dr. Majid Mohajerani

Despite having made tremendous strides in understanding AD, many of the underlying molecular processes in the development of AD are still unknown. Mohajerani, an expert in neural dynamics and memory systems, uses cutting-edge optical imaging devices, biosensors and advanced behavioural methods to get a better understanding of how memory becomes impaired in AD. Combined with Zovoilis’ expertise in bioinformatics and genome sciences, the team hopes to determine how the increased processing of SINE RNAs is connected to AD by studying the relationship in real time using a mouse model.

“It makes sense to join forces because of our interconnected research and complementary scientific and technical expertise,” says Mohajerani.

“It is fundamentally important to understand these early molecular changes in the brain as they may provide a target for therapeutic interventions early in the progression of the disease before significant and irreversible brain damage occurs,” says Zovoilis.

The Research Support Fund supports a portion of the costs associated with managing the research funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council and Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, such as salaries for staff who provide administration support, training costs for workplace health and safety, maintenance of libraries and laboratories, and administrative costs associated with obtaining patents for inventions.

Dr. Athan Zovoilis receives prestigious Cozzarelli Prize

caroline.zentner — Mon, 15 Mar 2021 16:56:14 +0000

Dr. Athan Zovoilis is among the recipients of the 2020 Cozzarelli Prize for his 2020 work published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) on the role of SINE RNAs as epigenetic ribozymes. Zovoilis’ work was selected by the PNAS editorial board as the winner under the Biological Sciencescategory. The 2020 awardees will be recognized at a virtual awards ceremony during the National Academies of Science Annual Meeting on April 25.

The annual Cozzarelli Prize acknowledges papers that reflect scientific excellence and originality and was established in 2005 as the Paper of the Year Prize and subsequently renamed in 2007 to honour late PNAS Editor-in-Chief Nicholas R. Cozzarelli.

Dr. Zovoilis is an Assistant Professor at the Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry and member of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre, The Canadian Centre for Behavioral Neuroscience and the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute. Dr. Zovoilis’ recognized research on SINE RNAs has been the follow up of his previous work published in the journal Cell that first revealed the processing of this novel class of biomolecules and their role in regulation of cellular response to stress as well as the foundation for his lab’s recent published findings on the role of these RNAs in pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.

U of L scientists add to knowledge of RNA-based mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease

caroline.zentner — Fri, 26 Feb 2021 20:17:49 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge researchers who found a new molecular mechanism involved in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in mice have confirmed the same mechanism is at work in patients with the disease. In both cases, the use of high throughput sequencing techniques that study the DNA readout of brain cells helped identify a class of biomolecules, called SINE RNAs, that are produced in different patterns in AD patients versus healthy individuals. These findings will help guide the way for future studies to identify early indicators of AD before symptoms occurs, as well as targets for therapeutic intervention.

The study, led by Dr. Athan Zovoilis, a Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, was recently published in EMBO Reports, a peer-reviewed scientific journal for molecular biology that ranks among the 10 per cent of most-cited journals. The research was a collaborative effort between the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Center (SAGSC), the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) and the Calgary Brain Bank at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary.

“Our results further the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that are implicated in AD,” says Zovoilis. “As we improve our understanding of changes in the brain before symptoms of AD appear, we get closer and closer to developing treatments for AD.”

AD is the most common cause of intellectual decline in the elderly population. More than 44 million people worldwide currently suffer from AD or related dementia and related costs exceed $12 billion in Canada alone. Although some drugs may improve AD symptoms temporarily, no cure or reliable early indicator of increased risk currently exists. This is largely due to the fact that the molecular process underlying the excessive death of brain cells of AD patients is unclear. This recent study, published in EMBO Reports, identifies a molecular mechanism that may help point to an early indicator of increased risk for AD.

The researchers looked at the set of biomolecules called SINE non-coding RNAs. Previously thought to be produced by “junk DNA,” that is, DNA of no functional importance, scientists are now discovering they are important players in how cells function and critical components of disease mechanisms. Zovoilis and his team have shown these biomolecules, when they become over-responsive, are connected to the death of brain cells that occurs in AD.

The study was funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute, the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories and Genome Canada.

U of L scientists unveil a novel molecular mechanism underlying Alzheimer’s disease

caroline.zentner — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 16:44:06 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge genome scientists examining molecular changes in the brain of mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease have shed light on the mechanisms involved in this complex process — one of the first stages in understanding better the molecular basis of this debilitating disease. These preliminary findings can guide the way for future studies to look for new therapeutic targets.

This significant study, led by Dr. Athan Zovoilis, a Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics, was recently published in eLife, a prestigious biomedical and life sciences journal. The study is the result of work within the recently established Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Center (SAGSC) at the U of L, as well as part of the continuing contributions of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN) to the field of neurodegenerative diseases.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of intellectual decline in the elderly population. More than 44 million people worldwide currently suffer from AD or related dementia and costs related to AD exceed $12 billion in Canada alone. Although some drugs may improve AD symptoms temporarily, no cure or reliable early indicator of increased risk currently exists. This is largely due to the fact that the molecular process underlying the excessive death of brain cells of AD patients is unclear and this is reflected by the current lack of comprehensive molecular diagnostic biomarkers and treatments for AD. Zovoilis and his team, funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute and the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, has approached these unresolved questions from a new perspective looking at a set of biomolecules called SINE non-coding RNAs.

Graduate students play an important role in Zovoilis's research into Alzheimer's disease. Bottom row, left to right, are Luke Saville, Chris Isaac and Yubo Cheng. Top row, left to right, are Travis Haight, Cody Turner and Liam Mitchell.

Often referred as the “dark matter” of our genome and DNA, SINE non-coding RNAs have recently been discovered to be important players in physiological functions of cells and, thus, critical components of disease mechanisms. Now, Zovoilis’ team, in collaboration with Dr. Majid Mohajerani and his team, shows these biomolecules are connected with a neurodegenerative disease such Alzheimer’s disease.

“These RNA biomolecules are integral parts of the function of healthy brain cells and are modified as a response to adverse conditions to help our cells survive,” says Zovoilis. “However, in AD, SINE non-coding RNAs become over-responsive, creating a vicious circle that, instead of protecting the human brain, finally leads to death of brain cells. Finding a way to bypass this vicious circle is vital for finding ways to delay or even prevent the development of the disease. These findings constitute one more step in this direction”.

The success of this study is based on the application of novel genomics technologies, funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the province of Alberta, that can read all the pages of the DNA “book” in a matter of hours. Sophisticated computational bioinformatics were used to take a closer look at the complex architecture of the information stored in DNA and its SINE non-coding parts.

The study involved collaborations with other SAGSC members, such as Dr. Nehal Thakor, members of the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience, the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute and support from the Alberta Bioinformatics Network (BioNet Alberta), a new Genome Alberta and Genome Canada network established by the U of L, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta.

“Our results have revealed the broad role of SINE RNAs in molecular pathology in the brain and this has significant implications for conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,” says Zovoilis.

Zovoilis and his team are now investigating the impact of their finding in patients with Alzheimer’s disease in a study also funded by the Alberta Prion Research Institute and the Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories.

U of L’s computing capabilities to expand through NSERC grant

caroline.zentner — Fri, 10 Jul 2020 15:30:49 +0000

New computing infrastructure will support the world-class research being done at several centres at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, including the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC), the Canadian Centre for Behavioural Neuroscience (CCBN), the Canadian Centre for Research in Advanced Fluorine Technologies (C-CRAFT) and the Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI).

The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council’s (NSERC) Research Tools and Instruments Grants Program is providing nearly $147,000 to support the expansion.

“This infrastructure increases our high-performance computing capabilities and supports our research in bioinformatics, genomics, machine learning, neuroscience and computational chemistry,” says Dr. Athan Zovoilis, a Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and director of SAGSC. “It will also benefit BioNet Alberta, the bioinformatics network in Alberta, which includes the three major Alberta universities and is led by the U of L’s SAGSC.”

“With this funding, we will be able to replace our aging graphics processing unit (GPU) nodes,” says Dr. Stacey Wetmore, a Tier I Board of Governors Research Chair in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry with expertise in computational chemistry. “This new GPU cluster will enable both our teams to perform complex calculations very quickly, meaning we can tackle important problems related to health and disease. U of L students will also have the opportunity to be trained on state-of-the-art equipment.”

Financial investment spurs genome sciences research in Alberta

caroline.zentner — Mon, 16 Sep 2019 15:39:47 +0000

Genome sciences and bioinformatics research in the province is getting a huge boost thanks to a $3-million investment and the establishment of BioNet Alberta, a research network featuring the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary, Genome Alberta, Genome Canada, Genome Alberta and other partners.

The founders of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre include, from left to right, Drs. Gerlinde Metz (neuroscience), Majid Mohajerani (neuroscience), Olga Kovalchuk (biology), Igor Kovalchuk (biology), Peter Dibble (chemistry & biochemistry), Athan Zovoilis (chemistry & biochemistry) and Angeliki Pantazi (chemistry & biochemistry).

The network is supported by Genome Canada’s Regional Priorities Partnership Program (RP3) and features a BioNet hub at each university, with the newly established Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre (SAGSC) at the U of L serving as the lead hub.

“Our ambition is to bring Alberta to the forefront of this new technology and its applications,” says Dr. Athan Zovoilis, a Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in RNA Bioinformatics and Genomics in the U of L’s Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry and academic lead of BioNet Alberta.

The rapid advance of technology has propelled research in genomics with the goal of better understanding and interpreting an organism’s DNA code. Developments in the field of genomics have wide implications for agriculture and human health, and have paved the way for precision medicine and smart agriculture.

“Genome Alberta is pleased to have led in the creation of BioNet Alberta,” says David Bailey, CEO of Genome Alberta. “This new network will build Alberta’s capacity in bioinformatics and computational biology to manage and utilize the massive amount of data being generated by life science researchers in Canada and around the world.”

BioNet Alberta will be officially announced on Friday, Sept. 20 as part of the first Western Canada Bioinformatics and Omics Conference and the formal launch of the Southern Alberta Genome Sciences Centre. The conference goes from Friday to Sunday, Sept. 20 to 22, at the U of L.

“The concept of having a genome science centre here in southern Alberta has been discussed for the last year and a half,” says Zovoilis, director of the SAGSC. “At the U of L, we have top-class researchers and infrastructure which is, in some aspects, unique for Alberta.”

The centre brings together four genome sciences research platforms:

genomics, the science of understanding and interpreting an organism’s DNA code
transcriptomics, which looks at genes that are actively expressed by examining DNA’s cousin, RNA
metabolomics, which is the study of metabolites such as amino acids, lipids and sugars
bioinformatics, which combines biology and computer science to analyze and interpret biological data.

“We are going to encompass the vast majority of sciences that do “omics,” another term encompassing genome sciences, here at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and in southern Alberta,” says Zovoilis. “The departments that contribute to this centre include chemistry & biochemistry, biological sciences, neuroscience and computer science. We also have members from the humanities who help us regarding any ethics issues and from the Dhillon School of Business about the impacts of genomic sciences on the Alberta economy.”

Research in all omics fields has also changed significantly in the past few years due to advances in technology that allow vast amounts of data to be analyzed in a short amount of time.

“If we regard all the information that describes how we’re made as information in the book of life, then we would need more than 1,200 books of 1,000 pages each to include the information of just one cell,” says Zovoilis. “Ten years ago, to read only one page of one book, it would take one day using massive devices. Today we have smart-phone sized devices called sequencers which can do all 1,200 books of 1,000 pages each in just one day. We also have a larger sequencer that can do this simultaneously for 48 samples.

“This has transformed the way we can now read information about disease, about how people respond better to medication based on their personalized genomic profile or how we can deliver better agricultural products based on the genomic profile of livestock. This is already revolutionizing the ways medicine and agriculture are delivered and makes it possible to have precision medicine and smart agriculture, where diagnostic protocols used are personalized to each patient and animal.”

Everyone is welcome to attend the public talks that are part of the BioNet conference to learn more about genomics research and how it’s having an impact on their lives. The keynote speaker is Dr. Steven Jones, a bioinformatics professor at Simon Fraser ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of British Columbia and head of bioinformatics and co-director of Canada’s Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre. Following the keynote, the public is also welcome to attend a panel discussion about the importance of omics on the health of Albertans and the economy. To register or for more information visit BioNet AB 2019.

Funders of the project include Genome Canada, the provincial government, Genome Alberta, Alberta Innovates, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Alberta Public Labs, Alberta Prion Research Institute and Bioinformatics Canada.

UNews - Athan Zovoilis

Researchers earn RDAR support to find viable solutions to mitigate Bovine Respiratory Disease

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