Events

Leslie Dan Pharmacy Building, Room B150

Co-sponsored by the Canadian Biotechnology Education Resource Centre (CBERC)

Panelists (L to R: Dr. Terry McIntyre, Dr. Paul Piunno, Dr. Bob Hanner and Jane Lee) respond to questions from the audience.

Imagine a world in which you can know the name of any organism on the spot, in an instant, anywhere on the planet. This is the world that DNA barcoding is helping to build.

What is DNA barcoding? How can this technology enable rapid, accurate and inexpensive identification of species?  How can it help protect our health and the health of our natural environment? How long until scientists build a "DNA PDA" - a handheld DNA barcoding device?

These and other questions were answered during this open public forum on DNA barcoding, co-sponsored by OGI and CBERC.  Our panel of experts explored the science and applications of DNA barcoding before an audience of high school and college students and teachers, and the general public. 

Speakers included Dr. Robert Hanner (Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO), University of Guelph), Dr. Terry McIntyre (Environment Canada), Dr. Paul Piunno (Safeguard Biosystems), and Jane Lee, a science teacher from Northern Secondary School, in Toronto, who explained her students’ participation in a marketplace study organized by BIO and CBERC and supported by OGI, involving DNA barcoding of commercially available fish. 

To learn more about DNA barcoding, follow these links:

Canadian Barcode of Life Network
International Barcode of Life (iBOL)
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD)