UNews - Angeliki Pantazi

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.”

U of L iGEM team wins big in two provincial competitions

caroline.zentner — Thu, 25 Mar 2021 22:37:29 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) team continues to excel, receiving two awards at recent Alberta student competitions, despite having to work virtually on their project.

The team of 12 undergraduate students won the runner-up award in the Tech Futures Challenge at a virtual competition organized by MindFuel, a charitable organization that develops and promotes STEM learning. Student teams presented their project on harmful blue-green algae blooms to a committee of judges.

“Preparing and presenting virtually was definitely different, compared to in person,” says Elisha Wong, a first-year neuroscience student. “The experience was still just as great. We learned a lot from others’ projects, as well as how to optimize our project this year.”

Blue-green algae is the common name for a group of photosynthetic bacteria called cyanobacteria that can cause surface blooms during the summer months. Blue-green algae can cover large areas of lakes, ponds and slow-moving segments of rivers. Algae-affected water can harm animals drinking the water and make it unsuitable for recreational uses like swimming. The team worked on developing a bioengineering strategy to modify cyanobacteria to produce select peptides that will help control their population or their photosynthetic ability in response to yellow-orange light.

The iGEM team also participated in the virtual Synthetic Biology Solution Challenge 2021 organized at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Alberta. They came in third place and received the Synthusiast Award as a recognition of their innovative approach to using synthetic biology to create a marketable solution to an existing problem. This was the third iteration of this competition, which aims to encourage students to explore the intersection between biotechnology and entrepreneurship.

“The topic of the challenge this year was to come up with an innovative idea for cancer diagnosis and treatment,” says Tahiya Khan, a second-year chemistry student. “My team members and I focused on using magnetic bacteria as a way of increasing MRI accuracy and ended up receiving the Synthusiast Award. It was given to the team whose project most embodied the spirit of Synthusiasts, which is to promote learning, curiosity and collaboration.”

“In only five hours, our team came up with an experimental design and business pitch to present in front of experts from across North America,” says Victoria Simmons, a fourth-year biochemistry student. “It was a very successful crash-course in the world of synthetic biotechnology.”

iGEM is a program that inspires and trains students to understand a real-life problem where they can make a real difference using synthetic biology. This is the 15th year the U of L will be competing in the annual iGEM competition, which fosters an open community and collaboration between teams and advances the professional development of students via workshops, a career fair and networking opportunities.

The team is mentored by Dr. Angeliki Pantazi, instructor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry. She has overseen the U of L iGEM research projects since 2018 and says she’s proud of what the students were able to accomplish despite working remotely for the second year in a row.

“I am blown away by our students’ engagement, innovativeness and resilience although we have been able to meet only via Zoom meetings,” Pantazi says. “This is a very promising beginning as the team prepares for the fall iGEM competition.”

The 2021 team includes co-leaders Rebecca Ha, Emily Hagens and Mark Lea; team members Rebecca Avileli, Rowan Fehr, Seanna Goeseels, Rabia Khan, Tahiya Khan, Reece Martin, Victoria Simmons, Elisha Wong; student advisors Dia Koupantsis, Fabian Rohden and Owen Woycenko; and faculty supervisor Dr. Angeliki Pantazi.

Follow the U of L iGEM team on social media:

Instagram — @uleth.igem

Facebook — @LethbridgeiGEM

Twitter — @LethbridgeiGEM

Virtual iGEM Giant Jamboree sees ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge-supported teams garner silver and bronze

trevor.kenney — Tue, 08 Dec 2020 17:29:10 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge-supported teams earned silver and bronze medals as the International Genetically Engineered Machines (iGEM) Giant Jamboree took place in the virtual space recently.

The annual celebration of synthetic biology and genetic engineering is usually hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Boston, MA and was moved online as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, 4,000 participants attended, with the U of L represented by its collegiate entry and the Lethbridge high school team.

High School iGEM team members present during their virtual appearance at the Giant Jamboree.

Both groups chose to tackle problems related to agriculture, with the collegiate team presenting FriGEM, a project aimed to fight post-harvest potato diseases, and the high school entry’s tPectin-ACE project, which focused on creating a biological catalyst to accelerate compost degradation.

Collegiate (bronze medal)

The university team worked extensively with Dr. Dmytro Yevtushenko, the U of L’s Research Chair in Potato Science, and research associate Dr. Mariana Vetrici. Their project aims to fight post-harvest potato diseases caused by Fusarium and other plant pathogens by using targeted expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in tubers. They were awarded a bronze medal standing for their work.

The team has become fascinated with this diverse group of small, naturally occurring peptides (also called host defense peptides) that are part of the host innate defense system against pathogen invasion. By engineering the AMP-expressing potato plants, less pesticides would be required to combat plant diseases.

“The COVID-19 restrictions made it especially difficult to complete experimental laboratory work this year,” says second-year chemistry student Mark Lea. “Ebven though we only had a short time to experiment on the potato plants and obtain preliminary results, that work will be very helpful in the continuation of our project.”

The team is also exploring the suitability of potato tubers as a low cost, safe and efficacious platform to produce therapeutic AMPs. In particular, they test the hypothesis that a targeted, high-level accumulation of therapeutic BMAP-18 peptide in potato tubers retains its direct toxicities to trypanosomes, the causative agents of sleeping sickness, which may lead to the development of edible therapeutics.

“It’s amazing how much work the undergraduate students got done on their personal computers before they could get access to campus, work that I could not have achieved by myself in such a short time,” says Dr. Vetrici.

Check out their promo and project videos, wiki and poster for more information.

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge team members included: Deepika Anupindi, Sara Balderas, Abel Belay, Trinity Deak, Rowan Fehr, Seanna Goeseels, London Gokarn, Rebecca Ha, Emily Hagens, Ilyanna Janvier, Dia Koupantsis (student leader), Mark Lea, Reece Martin, Mehreen Kabir, Joshua Omotosho. Supervisors/advisors were Justin Vigar, Fabian Rohden and Dr. Angeliki Pantazi.

High School (silver medal)

The high school team focused its project on creating a biological catalyst to accelerate compost degradation via enhanced pectin digestion. The group collaborated with City of Lethbridge Waste and Recycling officials, local restaurants and researchers at the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Research Centre.

Using unique pectin degradation enzymes from the organism P. amylolyticus, the team engineered a system that would accelerate the breakdown of homogalacturonan, a major component of pectin. The engineered enzymes would also be heat stable, ensuring they survive the high temperatures required for efficient composting. While initially designed for use in at-home composters, discussions with Lethbridge Waste and Recycling engineer Bill MacMillan led the team to pivot their project to target industrial compost facilities instead. The team intends to continue work on the project in 2021.

Their project was awarded a silver medal and was nominated for Best Integrated Human Practices.

“We’re super proud of what we could accomplish this year and really happy the judges liked our work,” says team member and project presenter Thomas Byrne, a grade-12 student at Winston Churchill High School.

You can watch their promo or project videos, read their wiki and check out their poster.

Lethbridge high school team members included: Shada Aborawi, Rebecca Avileli, Jasmine Belisle, Thomas Byrne, Wenyu Chen, Kimoya Edwards, Olive Graham, Linda He, Livia Kadezabek, Xinhong Li, Dominic Piper, Declan Sander, Lana VanGenderen, Elisha Wong, Marissa Wong, Michelle Wu, Damian La Rosa Montes (Grad Student Advisor), Kristi Turton (Grad Student Advisor), Luke Saville (Mindfuel Advisor), Jalyce Heller (Primary Investigator), Dr. Laura Keffer-Wilkes (Primary Investigator).

Both teams were supported by the U of L Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, Alberta RNA Research and Training Institute (ARRTI), SynBridge, the Regional Innovation Network of Southern Alberta (RINSA), Agility, and the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Students’ Union (ULSU).

The full iGEM Giant Jamboree experience is also available to view on the iGEM website.

You can also follow iGEM on social media:

Twitter @LethHS_iGEM and @LethbridgeiGEM
Instagram @lethbridgehsiGEM and @uleth.igem
Facebook @lethbridgehsiGEM and @LethbridgeiGEM

iGEM teams continue to work on their projects despite no lab access

caroline.zentner — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 15:38:05 +0000

Campus closures won’t stop these dedicated students! The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge undergraduate and high school iGEM teams are continuing their competition seasons even without access to wet lab space.

Using Zoom, shared online drives, and their own ingenuity, the teams have been connecting and are making the best of a bad situation. While they may not be able to get into the lab, teams still have many tasks to complete — writing papers, building a website, creating online workshops, organizing fundraisers and lots of research.

“We will not let this virus dampen our spirits and cancel iGEM for the year, so we’ve decided to make the best out of what we have,” says Kimoya Edwards, a Grade 11 student from Lethbridge Collegiate Institute (LCI). “There is a musical recital that was planned before this virus and as a team, we will continue with this recital virtually on May 23, because what’s a better way to liven the spirits than music?”

The high school team is also excited to participate in the online BioTreks conference May 2 and present their project paper: Understanding the mechanisms of small-scale composting and potential enzymatic improvements in pectin degradation using synthetic biology.

“Being a part of iGEM means a lot to our team members and our love for it is what keeps pushing us to continue,” says Shada Aborawi, a Grade 11 LCI student. “Even though we can’t use the lab for our project, we have found fun and easily accessible ways to further our research and make our project possible.”

This year the high school team chose to focus on making at-home composting as efficient as possible by engineering an enhanced pectin-degradation enzymatic pathway. Each team member will build a standardized composting unit at their own homes and record their observations and take samples of the microbial populations to hopefully analyze at a later date.

They will use advanced modeling techniques to predict important amino acid regions within pectin-degradation enzymes in order to create a theoretical minimal protein model. When the team is allowed to return to the lab, they will have lots of testing to complete.

From online fundraisers to YouTube channels to doing science at home, the high school iGEM team is getting it done!

“I am so proud of the resilience that the team has shown in the face of a very difficult situation. They are all still super excited about their project and we’re all learning together on how to translate a majority hands-on program to an online and at-home format,” says biochemistry instructor and team lead, Dr. Laura Keffer-Wilkes.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge iGEM undergraduate team is also staying busy this season and will focus on advancing the use of antimicrobial peptides to combat agricultural pests prevalent in Alberta and elsewhere.

“iGEM is more than the lab bench, there are several aspects that we need to consider,” says Dia Koupantsis, student leader for the iGEM undergraduate team 2020. “In order to form a project, you need to have in mind how that will affect the user and the environment, what are the purposes and your end goal, etc. Luckily, our team is composed of individuals from different fields which gives a broad view on the project.”

“Despite these unprecedented circumstances we are continuing to train our students through the iGEM program activities, including a dedicated synthetic biology course that is now offered online by the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry this summer,” says Dr. Angeliki Pantazi, biochemistry instructor and university team supervisor.

With the current global situation, the impact science and research can have on our society is clear. The iGEM program is a great way of introducing young people to science, technology, engineering, and math and help to solve real-world local and global problems.

To support the Lethbridge high school iGEM team, please consider donating to their GoFundMe page. For more information send an email to iGEM@uleth.ca.

Follow them on social media:

Instagram @lethbridgehsiGEM/@uleth.igem

Facebook @lethbridgehsiGEM/@LethbridgeiGEM

Twitter @LethHS_iGEM/@LethbridgeiGEM

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge iGEM team earns gold for project that designs oral insulin delivery system

trevor.kenney — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 18:34:18 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s Collegiate iGEM team set its sights on solving a problem that affects nearly nine per cent of the world’s population, and earned a gold medal for their efforts at the recently concluded International Genetically Engineered Machines World Jamboree in Boston, Mass.

The collegiate team, accompanied by the U of L’s High School iGEM entry that achieved a silver medal standing for its project, presented Algulin, which is the development of a novel method for the manufacturing and oral delivery of insulin to diabetics.

U of L iGEM collegiate and high school team members and their advisors in Boston. Back row (L–R) Catrione Lee, David Basil, Mark Lea, Dia Koupantsis, Laura Keffer-Wilkes, Thomas Byrne, Angeliki Pantazi and Chris Isaac. Middle (kneeling L–R) Linda He, Dewuni De Silva, Michelle Wu and Luke Saville. Front – Julien Todd.

“We wanted to do something different and meaningful, something that will have a positive effect on the people around us,” says Dia Koupantsis, a third-year biological sciences student. “So, we developed the project Algulin, an oral insulin manufactured in microalgae, in an attempt to democratize the manufacturing of insulin so that it can be widely available for individuals who need it.”

Diabetes is a massive global issue that requires lifelong management for those affected, imposing an enormous economic health burden that amounts to a $673 billion global expenditure annually. Currently, the most common method of relieving diabetes symptoms is through painful, expensive insulin injections. Some patients must self-administer the drug up to six times per day.

After interviewing diabetic patients, doctors and pharmacists, the iGEM team went about trying to find a way to deliver insulin to patients orally. The challenge, which has thwarted previous attempts, is to find a way to get the insulin through the stomach acid and into the small intestine for absorption without becoming seriously degraded. Their solution – microalgae.

Algulin is an oral insulin produced in microalgae. After testing three different microalgae, the group determined Cyanidioschyzon merolae, with its innate acid resistant membrane, could survive the stomach environment. Additionally, with a carbohydrate-based cell wall, C. merolae would degrade in the small intestine and allow for the therapeutic insulin to be absorbed through to its intended target — the portal vein.

“It was a challenging project because it involved working with an organism we’d never used before,” says Luke Saville, a fourth-year biochemistry student. “This promoted challenges in learning how to grow the organism and how to genetically engineer it to produce our insulin.”

U of L chemistry & biochemistry instructor Dr. Angeliki Pantazi is one of the team’s faculty mentors and lauds the team for the work they put in and the further potential of their project.

“The gold medal is exciting but it’s a little bit less about what we came back with and more about how we are training the next generation of scientists and leaders through these programs,” she says. “It’s a very student-driven program and I was impressed with why they wanted to pursue this project. They were concerned about people not being able to afford insulin and inspired by the first two Canadian scientists who isolated purified insulin and how they didn’t patent it for themselves but instead offered it to humankind for free.”

Now that the iGEM season is over, it’s up to the group to find possible investors to continue their work and eventually try and get a product to market. The next stage would be performing animal studies to see how the insulin is being transferred into the bloodstream and how it functions.

“I think it has great commercial potential,” says Saville. “By moving away from injectables and purification free insulin growth, we can dramatically lower the cost of diabetes management while providing a more comfortable way to administer medicine.”

Other members of the collegiate team included: Catrione Lee, Kalob Barr, Jesse Holbein, Allyson Lawrie-White, Landon McCabe, Joshua Omotosho, Kera Whitten and Dong Ju Kim. Graduate student advisors included Sydnee Calhoun, Aubrey Demchuk, Chris Isaac and Kristi Turton while Dr. Trushar Patel (chemistry & biochemistry) was the secondary investigator.

High school team earns silver

All four local high schools contributed to the team that presented CADAR (CRISPR assisted detection and removal) at the World Jamboree, a project designed to create a rapid diagnostic tool for identifying bacterial pathogens.

“Our team decided to choose CADAR because we saw the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacteria,” says Mark Lea, a Chinook High School graduate who is now in his first year at the U of L. “We found, through initial research, that there is a lot of over-prescription of antibiotics that further increases the amount of bacterial resistance. We thought finding an alternative and more novel approach to traditional antibiotic methods of identifying and then eliminating those pathogens would be an interesting project.”

Dr. Laura Keffer-Wilkes, the manager of Synbridge and high school team advisor, says the project was very ambitious for the high school group and she was pleased with the work they put in to try and develop a product that could be used in health care and patient care settings, in processing plants and even ambulances as a means to validate cleaning practices.

“It’s really student-driven, so they go after whatever motivates them, whatever passions they have,” she says. “As a high school instructor, I don’t want to stifle their creativity, and they used some very advanced technology in their work.”

The high school team consisted of: Alice Zhang, Andy Sun, Aroma Pageni, David Basil, Dewuni De Silva, Elisha Wong, Julien Todd, Karen He, Linda He, Katie Vienneau, Mark Lea, Michelle Wu, Mina Akbary, Natasha Woitte, Rachel Avileli, Rebecca Avileli, Shada Aborawi and Thomas Byrne.

iGEM culture the real driver of student success

trevor.kenney — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 18:06:54 +0000

The headlines for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s consistently successful international genetically engineered machine (iGEM) teams read like a wash, rinse, repeat cycle. Achieving a gold-medal standing at the annual iGEM World Jamboree is almost a surety, but those who participate as team members and advisors say the results they achieve are far less a focus than what is learned throughout the iGEM experience.

Members of the High School iGEM team speak to judges and other participants during a poster session at the iGEM World Jamboree in Boston, MA recently.

“This is an exceptional program that really opens up a window for our students,” says U of L chemistry & biochemistry instructor Dr. Angeliki Pantazi, in her second year as an iGEM faculty advisor. “At the competition there is a list of things you have to check off to see whether you earn a gold or a silver but that doesn’t really reflect the background work they put into their project. At the end, we have students who understand and apply science more effectively, and who are also able to present in front of experts and deliver presentations that reflect months of work.”

The skills they acquire, beyond the hard science they do in the wet-lab setting are many, including teamwork, networking, business development and more.

“The team takes a multifaceted approach to produce a project that is safe and will contribute to the lives of all of the people it will impact,” says fourth-year biochemistry major Luke Saville, an iGEM veteran who worked on this year’s Algulin project that won gold. “This is done through engaging with the community, using sociological approaches to understand how it affects the community and entrepreneurship — to take it from the lab and into the real world.”

Dia Koupantsis is in her third year of biological sciences and says the culture of iGEM is family oriented, with senior members mentoring newcomers to the group in a continual cycle that keeps the projects fresh and innovative.

“I say it’s like a family because you have a group of individuals from different sciences or non-science backgrounds who all come together and for six months, they spend countless hours working side-by-side,” she says. “Everyone has something to contribute. It can be a very intense environment, but you have your teammates, advisors and principal investigators who understand the pressure, inspire you to continue on and enhance your passion for the project. And they remind you that your goal is pure and important.”

Mark Lea, who is in his first year at the U of L, was part of the high school iGEM team that also travelled to Boston for the World Jamboree. His iGEM experience revolved around the well-established culture of teamwork.

“It is a very collaborative environment between the high school and collegiate teams because wet lab, dry lab, and team meetings all take place at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ,” he says. “This helped our group significantly as we knew we could always send our questions to our advisors to ensure we understood the complex science behind our project.”

Lea’s first exposure to iGEM opened his eyes to the research world and the opportunities that exist for undergraduate students. Their project, CADAR, earned a silver medal.

“I was drawn to iGEM initially because I wanted to use and apply the things I was learning in school to the real world,” he says. “Having access to the laboratories seemed too good to be true, and I thought that it was amazing that high school students could gain experience in so many different areas. iGEM has increased my skill inventory in so many areas in science, but also non-scientific areas such as the ethics of our project. It has definitely helped me grow as a person, and I would suggest it to anyone.”

The recruiting season is now underway for next year’s iGEM projects, which begin in January. Anyone interested can contact Drs. Laura Keffer-Wilkes (kefferwilkesl@uleth.ca) or Angeliki Pantazi (angeliki.pantazi@uleth.ca).

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.

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