Archives for March 2024

Ontario Genomics Welcomes New Interim Leadership

As an update to the recent resignation of our President and CEO, Bettina Hamelin, Ontario Genomics is thrilled to announce our interim leadership team, effective Monday April 1.

We are pleased to share that Stephen Cummings, a familiar face from our board of directors, will be stepping into the role of Interim CEO on a part-time basis over the next six months. Under the direction of the Board of Directors and in close collaboration with our management team, Stephen will oversee the strategic direction of our organization and support the Board in the recruitment process for the new President and CEO. Stephen brings over 30 years of extensive experience in financial and executive leadership roles. His nine-year tenure on our board, coupled with his expertise in strategic business advisory as CEO of Rizolve Partners and private equity / venture capital, uniquely positions him to guide us through this transition period with a steady hand.

Additionally, Jordan Thomson, currently serving as our Vice-President of Strategic Partnerships and Programs, will assume the responsibilities of Interim COO for the next six months. In this role, Jordan will provide continuity of Ontario Genomics operations in close collaboration with our management team, overseeing the daily operations and managing the team. Jordan’s impressive 16-year career spanning industries such as chemical process development, strategy, and business support, makes him an ideal candidate for this role. His track record of driving growth and fostering partnerships within Ontario Genomics underscores his commitment to our organization’s mission.

Together, Stephen and Jordan will collaborate closely with the Board of Directors and leadership team to ensure continuity, success, and a seamless transition for Ontario Genomics. Their collective expertise and dedication will propel us forward as we continue to innovate and make meaningful contributions to the genomics and engineering biology landscape in Ontario and beyond.

Please join us in welcoming Stephen and Jordan to their new roles! We thank you for your continued support and partnership as we embark on this journey together.

Ontario Genomics Welcomes New Interim Leadership

 

Ontario Biotech Start-ups Get Government Funding and Business Support

Four local companies are putting Ontario on the global biomanufacturing map

Four new start-ups have been welcomed into BioCreate, Ontario Genomics’ $11.6-million accelerator program providing financial and business support to biotechnology companies that are creating game-changing solutions in the health, food and agriculture, and cleantech industries.

BioCreate is funded by Ontario Genomics and a Government of Canada investment of over $5.6 million, through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario). The program connects highly vetted companies with $150,000 in funding, 18 months of business mentorship and access to critical infrastructure to scale up their products. They’ll also get the opportunity to pitch to investors for further funding.

Here are this round’s recipients:

  • AuX Labs (Toronto) is using precision fermentation to create a vegan version of casein (a natural protein in cow’s milk) to make vegan cheese that melts, stretches, and tastes just like the animal product-based version.
  • Genuine Taste (Toronto) is giving both cultivated meat and plant-based meat better flavour, aroma and texture with their ethical and sustainable cultivated beef fat.
  • mDETECT Inc. (Kingston) has developed highly sensitive blood tests that detect six of the most common cancers and also let doctors know how the cancer is responding to treatment.
  • Scispot.io Inc (Kitchener) is simplifying access to data to make it quicker and easier for drug researchers to organize and accurately interpret findings, getting medications to market faster.

These four companies beat out 33 other applicants to join the 12 health, food and agriculture, and cleantech start-ups that were accepted into the BioCreate program last year.

“Congratulations to the four companies that have joined the BioCreate program as they work to improve the lives of Canadians while creating economic opportunities,” says the Honourable Filomena Tassi, Minister responsible for FedDev Ontario. “It’s our government’s priority to support emerging companies in the health, food, agriculture and cleantech industries so they have access to the tools and resources they need grow and thrive.”

Ontario Genomics President and CEO, Dr. Bettina Hamelin, says, “This game-changing innovation is happening right here in Ontario, creating jobs and advances in the food and agriculture, clean tech and health sectors. We’re also excited these technologies are good for Canadians, as well as people and businesses around the world.”


About Ontario Genomics
Ontario Genomics is a non-profit organization funded by the Government of Ontario and other partners. Since 2000, we’ve been involved with cutting-edge science to find homegrown solutions to challenges the world faces like climate change, food insecurity and in healthcare. Find out more at OntarioGenomics.ca.

About FedDev Ontario
For 14 years, the Government of Canada, through FedDev Ontario, has worked to advance and diversify the southern Ontario economy through funding opportunities and business services that support innovation, growth and job creation in Canada’s most populous region. The Agency has delivered impressive results, which can be seen in southern Ontario businesses that are creating innovative technologies, improving productivity, growing revenues, creating jobs, and in the economic advancement of communities across the region. Learn more about the impacts the Agency is having in southern Ontario by exploring our pivotal projects, our Southern Ontario Spotlight, and FedDev Ontario’s TwitterFacebookInstagram and LinkedIn.

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Media Contacts
Maggie Blood
Innovation Communications and Public Affairs Manager
mblood@ontariogenomics.ca

Edward Hutchinson
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario
edward.hutchinson@feddevontario.gc.ca

Ontario Genomics Leadership Update

With mixed emotions, we share news of an important change at Ontario Genomics. Effective March 29, 2024, Dr. Bettina Hamelin, our esteemed President and CEO since August 2017, will be leaving the organization to pursue an exciting new opportunity at Innovative Medicines Canada (IMC). IMC is the national association representing the voice of 48 innovative pharmaceutical companies in Canada. Here, Bettina will continue to take important strides to advance our innovation ecosystem and advocate for policies that enable the discovery, development, and delivery of innovative medicines and vaccines to improve the lives of all Canadians.

Under Bettina’s leadership, Ontario Genomics has flourished, achieving milestones that have marked historic moments in our 24-year history. Her visionary leadership has not only put Ontario Genomics on the map locally, nationally, and internationally but also delivered extraordinary outcomes that have advanced our broader ecosystem.

We extend our deepest appreciation to Bettina, and highlight some of her profound successes over the last 6 years:

  • Leading unprecedented success for our research community, attracting more federal Genome Canada funding and Ontario government project co-funding than ever before;
  • Advancing cutting-edge commercialization of Ontario’s world-leading research with the creation of the Landing Pad and programs;
  • Creating the first-in-class Canadian waste upcycling consortium, , to provide solutions for our global waste crisis;
  • Steering transformational national thought-leadership and engineering biology community building through five consecutive years of ;
  • Championing three insightful publications in the areas of engineering biology, cellular agriculture and clean DNA, evolving Ontario Genomics’ scope into market-relevant and ground-breaking spaces.

Most importantly, we commend Bettina’s transformative strategic vision to advance Ontario Genomics’ commitment to realizing homegrown, bio-based solutions to humanity’s greatest challenges: climate change, food insecurity and acute and chronic disease. With Bettina’s commitment to collaboration and entrepreneurial culture, the Ontario Genomics team is set up for success and ready to support Ontario’s thriving genomics community.

Please join us in wishing Bettina all the very best in her new role and stay tuned for more information on Ontario Genomics’ interim leadership plan.

Ontario Genomics-CANSSI Ontario announce 2024 recipient of Postdoctoral Fellowship in Genome Data Science

CANSSI Ontario and Ontario Genomics have awarded a fellowship to support the work of an early-career investigator pursuing research in the areas of genomics and data science with an emphasis on genomic medicine, including, but not limited to, methodology, application, and translation of genomic prediction tools such as polygenic risk scores; human-computer interactions; or novel genomic computational approaches to therapeutic identification.

We are delighted to congratulate the recipient of this Fellowship:

Dustin Sokolowski, Department of Molecular Genetics, University Toronto
Supervisors: Drs. Jared Simpson (University of Toronto and Ontario Institute of Cancer Research) and Melissa Holmes (University of Toronto)
Project: Genome assembly and analysis of the African Mole-Rat family reveals the underpinnings of extreme adaptations related to aging, cancer resistance, and hypoxia tolerance.

Ontario Genomics-CANSSI Ontario Postdoctoral Fellowship in Genome Data Science – Award Recipient: Dustin Jonathan Sokolowski

Dustin Sokolowski is profiled, along with information about his background, research, and proposed research projects here: Dustin Sokolowski

Ontario Genomics is proud to be a partner with CANSSI Ontario to help build research capacity in data science and genomics in Ontario.

About

The Ontario Genomics-CANSSI Ontario Postdoctoral Fellowship in Genome Data Science was created to support research projects and attract, retain, and nurture Highly Qualified Personnel (HQP) combining genomics and data science within Ontario. These HQPs possess a diverse skill set spanning statistics, computational biology, bioinformatics, computer science, epidemiology, engineering, genetics, or mathematics – all indispensable in tackling the complex challenges of our times.

Established in 2000, Ontario Genomics is a not-for-profit organization leading the application of genomics-based solutions to drive economic growth, improved quality of life, and global leadership for Ontario. As part of its strategic vision, Ontario Genomics is dedicated to supporting the development of educational resources that demonstrate how genomics plays a vital role to address key challenges in our society. Ontario Genomics also plays a role in advancing genomics projects and programs across the province by supporting the development of proposals, helping researchers access diverse funding sources, and finding the right industry partners to take this research out of the lab to apply it to the world’s most pressing challenges. Since its inception, Ontario Genomics has raised more than $1.4 billion for genomics applied research in Ontario and directly supported more than 11,00 trainees and jobs.

CANSSI Ontario is the Ontario Regional Centre of the Canadian Statistical Sciences Institute (CANSSI). Its goal is to strengthen and enhance research and training in data science by developing programs that promote interdisciplinary research and enable multidisciplinary collaboration.