Archives for May 2024

Tech and Science Meet to Create Medical Marvels

New government funding for projects includes world-class cancer diagnosis tools and the medicinal magic of mushrooms

May 29, 2024, Toronto –

With the goal of unlocking the healing abilities of science and technology the Canadian government through Genome Canada and Ontario Genomics are giving over $13.5 million in funding to five projects in Ontario that will improve our healthcare system and ensure biodiversity in our ecosystem.

With more than 600 new cancer cases diagnosed every day in Canada, researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children and Mount Sinai Hospital have joined forces on a $6 million project to grow their tumour classification system. This platform allows doctors to identify difficult to diagnose cancers with near perfect accuracy to get patients the right care they need, faster. They also plan to expand the types of cancers it can identify and share this lifesaving technology with other countries.

Some families have a heightened risk of colon, brain and gynaecological cancer that is passed on in their DNA. Princess Margaret Cancer Centre researchers are getting nearly $800,000 to create an affordable, less invasive test to dramatically cut down on diagnosis wait times and life-long screening for people with this condition.

CGEn researchers at The Hospital for Sick Children, McGill University and the BC Cancer Research Centre are developing new technology to meet the needs of the scientific community. This $3.3 million project will develop advanced genomic services and analysis for nearly 3,000 research labs, companies and not-for-profits.

Mushrooms are more than just great on pizza, they can actually be the basis of new medicines! McMaster University researchers and B.C. biotech company, Kapoose Creek Bio, are using AI and synthetic biology to explore fungal compounds in a $2.2 million project to discover new drugs.

Most of the things we buy in the grocery store have a barcode, and Centre for Biodiversity Genomics, University of Guelph researchers are applying that concept to DNA of all species. Their $1 million analytics project allows scientists to identify all the animals and insects around us and track changes in their population and movements. This technology can be shared with other researchers around the world to ensure biodiversity and sustainability.

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.

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Maggie Blood

Innovation Communications and Public Affairs Manager

mblood@ontariogenomics.ca

Ontario Genomics Part of Province’s Research & Innovation Investment

Funding renewal means more support for game-changing solutions

May 29, 2024, Toronto –

Ontario Genomics is receiving $5 million over two years to continue our work in finding homegrown solutions to challenges the world faces like climate change, food insecurity and in healthcare.

Since our start in 2000, we’ve raised more than $3.7 billion for genomics applied research in the province which has created more than 20,000 jobs. We have over 330 projects and more than 500 partnerships. For the past 24 years, we’ve been providing the critical support researchers and entrepreneurs need to develop, protect and commercialize their IP, ensuring their innovations, and the associated wealth and jobs they create, stay here in Ontario.

Genomics is all about DNA, and it’s DNA that tells us about life in all forms. It’s the basis of biology which is fuelling biotech innovation and getting us focused on sustainability and away from petroleum-based production methods.

The time to act is now and because of this investment from the Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities, we can continue to support researchers and start-ups with their game-changing solutions so they can be scaled up and put into real world use as quickly as possible.

Ontario Genomics CEO Stephen Cummings, says, “With this provincial investment, Ontario Genomics leverages matching funds to drive game-changing innovations in Food, Agriculture, Cleantech, and Health. Our work generated a significant return on investment, created over 11,000 direct jobs and added more than $1.8 billion to Ontario’s GDP since 2013. By leading genomic applications across multiple industries, we are tapping into the Bio Revolution, a multi-trillion-dollar global market opportunity as projected by the McKinsey Global Institute. With ongoing support, we will establish Ontario as a leader in biotech and life sciences, benefiting everyone in Ontario today and into the future”.

“The Ontario government is proud to support homegrown research and innovation at Ontario Genomics,” said Jill Dunlop, Minister of Colleges and Universities. “This funding is helping researchers solve some of the biggest challenges of our time that are making a very real difference in the lives of Ontarians.”

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.

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Maggie Blood

Innovation Communications and Public Affairs Manager

mblood@ontariogenomics.ca

Two Big Investments in Ontario’s Genomics and Biotech Community

Governments of Ontario and Canada are helping innovative ideas become reality

Ontario Genomics is receiving $5 million over two years from the Ontario’s Ministry of Colleges and Universities to continue our work in finding homegrown solutions to challenges the world faces like climate change, food insecurity and in healthcare. Read more about it here.

With the goal of unlocking the healing abilities of science and technology, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada (ISED), through Genome Canada, awarded over $13.5 million in funding to five Ontario Genomics GAPP and TechDev projects that will improve our healthcare system and biodiversity of our environment. Read all about them here.

GAPP commercializes or implements Ontario-made genomic solutions, while the TechDev program gives the innovators creating these kinds of solutions access to the cutting-edge technologies they need.

These are all exciting developments that are giving Ontario Genomics and our partner researchers the support needed to make game-changing solutions a reality so they can be put into real world use as quickly as possible.

Ontario Genomics has a 24-year history of leveraging funding to drive game-changing innovations in food, agriculture, cleantech, and health. Our work consistently generates a significant return on investment with over 11,000 direct jobs created and more than $1.8 billion added to Ontario’s GDP since 2013.

With ongoing support, we’ll establish Ontario as a leader in biotech and life sciences, benefiting everyone across the province, today and long into the future!

Turning Waste into Value: A Pathway to Upcycling

When it comes to natural resources and the climate crisis, cutting back on waste and boosting sustainability are more important than ever before. Food waste alone is responsible for half of agriculture-related greenhouse gas emissions and is a major cause of environmental damage. Fortunately, innovative solutions are coming to the rescue, and one of them is waste upcycling through bioconversion, which uses naturally occurring and/or engineered microbes to convert food waste into valuable products like bioplastics.

What is Upcycling?

It’s the process of transforming waste into new products of higher value, like when someone finds an old piece of furniture on the roadside, gives it a new coat of paint, and makes it better than new. A new program called wasteCANcreate is doing exactly this, with a high-tech spin!

Ontario Genomics, Agriculture & Agri-Food Canada and industry partners have come together to convert food waste (what you put into your green bin) into various products that would normally be made from oil. Microbial upcycling of food waste into bioplastics puts microorganisms like bacteria and yeasts to work to convert the food waste into bioplastics, textiles like nylon, and other useful materials.

The three main goals for this project:

  1. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from sources like decomposing food waste
  2. Eliminate our need for fossil fuels to create necessary materials
  3. Create lasting economic opportunities for Canadian industries

Novel ideas like this are being brought to life to revolutionize manufacturing processes and are a key part of the circular economy, which aims to cut waste and pollution, repair damaged ecosystems, and have a positive impact on the world economy.

Initiative members at a workshop in the Spring of 2023.

Initiative members at a workshop in the Spring of 2023. This initiative brings together world-class academic leaders, innovative industry partners, and others to accelerate the development and testing of bioplastics for various applications.

Microbes to the Rescue!

Microbes can be used as tiny factories and are at work all around us – think about your gut flora and the microbes that help make beer, yogurt, and bread. Putting them to use helps reduce our need for traditional plastics, which are most often non-biodegradable and a significant threat to the environment. Bioplastics, on the other hand, are made from biological raw materials and decompose more easily.

Plastics are everywhere you look. Plastic bags, cutlery, containers, and toys are obvious examples, but plastics are also found in most clothing, vehicles, furniture, and even in cosmetics and sunscreens! Plastics are cheap to make and last a long time, making them hard to get rid of. In Canada alone, we produce 4.8 million tons of plastic each year and 29,000 tons end up in the environment, including our waterways.

The upcycling process involves using microorganisms to break down the waste material and convert it into organic acids. These organic acids are then used to produce biodegradable plastics and additives for other products. Biodegradable plastics can replace oil-based plastics, meaning they will be much more easily disposed of and won’t stay in the environment for centuries to come.

The upcycling process
Curbing Greenhouse Gas Emissions

When food waste is sent to landfills, it decomposes and released methane gas into the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas and a major contributor to global warming that is over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide! So, when we upcycle food waste into bioplastics, we reduce the waste sent to landfills and minimize the production of methane gas.

Economic Benefits

Since there’s no shortage of global waste, using it as a key ingredient for bioplastics is a brilliant idea! The food waste we have now costs us money to handle and store it while it decomposes. This means that any value extracted from this resource will help improve the economy as a whole. The process also creates a circular economy where waste becomes a valuable resource.

Upcycling food waste into bioplastics is an innovative, yet common sense solution for the very real problem of waste management facing Canada and the world. The best part is, the wasteCANcreate program is already at work perfecting this process so it can be used across the country and around the world.

Stay in the loop on exciting developments in our circular future!

This is the first in a series of blog posts detailing wasteCANcreate, Canada’s biomanufacturing opportunities, and the shift towards a circular economy. Stay tuned for more!