Archives for January 2022

Government of Ontario commits $7.5M to support impactful and ground-breaking genomics research and technologies

(Toronto) January 14, 2022 – Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities, Jill Dunlop, announced an investment of $7.5M over three years for Ontario Genomics to support existing innovation and commercialization capacity, grow our skilled workforce, and position Ontario as a global leader in genomics, engineering biology and biotechnology. This funding commitment was part of an investment of over $240 million over three years to help advance research at Ontario Genomics and four other leading research institutes across the province: Ontario Institute for Cancer Research, Clinical Trials Ontario, The Fields Institute and Compute Ontario.

“Our government is supporting research and innovation that leads to discoveries that make a real impact on people\’s lives,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “This investment will ensure that these five leading research institutes have access to state-of-the-art technology, talent and equipment and can continue their ground-breaking work propelling Ontario to a leadership position in advanced science, technology and innovation.”

This investment will allow Ontario Genomics to continue in its mission to lead the application of genomics-based solutions across key sectors of the economy to drive economic growth, improved quality of life and global leadership for Ontario.

“This support for Ontario Genomics is critical to continue to accelerate ground-breaking technology development and research in Ontario\’s life sciences and biotech communities,” said Dr. Bettina Hamelin, President and CEO of Ontario Genomics. By supporting genomics work across many economy sectors, Ontario can create jobs, maintain competitiveness, and work to solve the world\’s most pressing challenges, including climate change, food insecurity, as well as acute and chronic diseases, including COVID-19.”

Read more about today\’s announcement from the Government of Ontario.

Canadians interested in learning more about how their food is produced have more opportunities available to them now at www.FarmFood360.ca.

(Guelph) January 10, 2022 – Ontario Genomics, the Agricultural Adaptation Council and Genome Canada have partnered with Farm and Food Care Ontario to produce five educational videos highlighting cutting-edge technology and research across Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sectors. This series features a 360-degree, virtual reality tour of the University of Guelph’s Ontario Dairy Research Centre in Elora, showcasing a state-of-the-art facility dedicated to supporting Ontario’s dairy industry and providing customer benefit.

Dr. Christine Baes, a dairy cow researcher at the University of Guelph who participated in the project said, “Genomics, which is the study of DNA, plays a key role in scientific discovery and technology innovation. As we’ve seen throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, it can also help address some of our most pressing challenges. In this video series, we explore how genomics is being used to ensure Ontario and Canada have a secure food system for generations to come, while protecting our environment and constantly improving animal welfare.”

The additional four videos feature interviews with researchers from the University of Guelph and Trent University and industry partners on topics including:

• Genomics 101
• Food Security
• Climate Change
• Animal Welfare

These resources were created with funding from the Agricultural Adaptation Council and Ontario Genomics, through Genome Canada, as part of the Ontario Regional Priorities Partnership Program (ON-RP3). Learn more about eight Ontario-focused, industry-academic partnership projects that are positively impacting Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sectors.