ON Genomics, Author at Ontario Genomics

Ontario Genomics Welcomes New Board Member

September 26, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

We’re delighted to introduce you to Lyndal Walker, the newest member of Ontario Genomics’ Board of Directors. Lyndal will enhance the board with a wealth of insight, experience, and expertise in the health and therapeutics space, all of which will help us achieve our strategic vision.

Lyndal Walker is currently the General Manager of Sun Pharma Canada’s Branded Business.

As General Manager, Walker oversees the company’s increasing market investment and expansion of its wide range of medicines, particularly in dermatology, ophthalmology and oncology. Walker is focused on optimizing the power of Sun Pharma’s people, innovative products, global network, and localized research, to accelerate Sun Pharma’s growth in Canada. With over 25 years of experience in global healthcare and the pharmaceutical industry, she continues to unlock value for Canadians and address the unmet needs and gaps in the healthcare system. Read more about Lyndal Walker

Ontario Genomics is also thankful to our retiring board members for their years of deep commitment to our board.

Deb (Deborah) Stark served on our board for seven years and played an invaluable role as Chair of the board for five years. Deb brought a wealth of government and agriculture sector experience, while supporting vibrant board development and governance. We are especially grateful to Deb for her steady leadership throughout the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mark Lundie served on our board for six years and brought fantastic expertise in rare disease and a global pharmaceutical sector perspective. Mark greatly supported our private sector and commercialization programs.
Jehoshua Sharma advanced our board with insights into the student perspective while supporting our training initiatives over the past four years. Thank you to our past board members for your contributions to OG!

To learn more about the new member and additional changes to our Board please see our governance page.

Showing Businesses How to Use Science to Their Advantage

September 23, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

A new online course teaches companies to partner with colleges to test their technologies

It’s a nagging problem countless companies have faced: they have a great idea to improve their products or processes but don’t know how to make it a reality. That’s where Ontario Genomics and Loyalist College come in with a four-course Fundamentals of Applied Research micro-credential program that can get businesses from the idea stage to the testing phase.

The first course is now available and the best part is, it’s online and open to companies across the province. This 10-week, 25-hour, go-at-your-own-pace course walks through the process of how businesses can connect with local college researchers, design, fund and deliver a project that tests the new product or technology they want to incorporate into their operations.

Whether it’s creating a natural food product or ingredient, figuring out more sustainable packaging or improving crop production, applied research projects are a win-win for the community since it’s a lower-risk option that allows local businesses to produce homegrown innovations more efficiently, while also giving college researchers projects to work on.

Ontario Genomics Strategic Partnerships Manager Michael Dorrington, says, “Most companies don’t realize local colleges offer this kind of access to lab space and expertise to test their ideas. This micro-credential goes through all the steps businesses need to take advantage of this invaluable support available to them.”

Amy Harder, Loyalist College Senior Director of Business Development, says, “We’re proud to support businesses and entrepreneurs by offering targeted corporate training programs like this course. It’s through these initiatives that Loyalist strengthens the regional economy and fosters local growth.“

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

Getting organized, the genomics way!

July 30, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

Two new hubs will make research easier to manage and access for scientists and industry

Groundbreaking research has the power to move humanity forward in many ways, but it doesn’t do much good if it’s not organized and easy to access. A new $15.8 million program creating two supporting hubs will do away with that problem by getting researchers and industry partners on the same page to turn solid research into real-life use that we can all enjoy.

As part of the Climate-Smart Agriculture and Food Systems (CSAFS) program, nine Interdisciplinary Challenge Teams (ICTs) across Canada are doing critical work to find solutions to climate change and its ravaging impact on our food supply. Ontario Genomics is among a group of investors in these two new organizational hubs that help scientists compile their cutting-edge genomics research in the most efficient way possible.

Agricultural Genomics Action Centre

This $4.6 million knowledge mobilization and implementation hub will take research from the ICTs and showcase and disseminate the information so that it’s accessible and usable in the real world by partners in the farming, food and beverage and agriculture sectors, as well as policymakers and government.

Researchers: Elizabeth Shantz and Jessica Bowes at University of Guelph; Dr. Nancy Tout at the Global Institute for Food Security, University of Saskatchewan; Dr. Lupin Battersby at Simon Fraser University

Partners: Ontario Genomics, Genome Prairie and Genome British Columbia

Unlocking the future of food: The FAO and Ontario Genomics uncover the challenges and opportunities

June 12, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

SynBio2024: Bonus - New Food Innovation Opportunity on Oct 10

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, alongside Ontario Genomics, is giving you a global perspective on the future of innovation in food, cleantech, and health. Join us in Toronto, from October 7-9, for the sixth edition of Canada SynBio 2024 as we explore how to break through barriers and focus on “Unlocking the Future,” so the bioeconomy can thrive, for Canada and the rest of the world.

You’ll want to book an extra night’s stay in Toronto because on October 10, the FAO, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), will hold a stakeholder roundtable meeting on cell-based food production and precision fermentation. This is the third meeting in the series that includes developers, producers, and researchers to apply and present their original products. The call for presenters is open until July 1, additional details here.

Join us and be part of the solution as we address challenges and highlight opportunities for Canada to strengthen its leadership in the ecosystem, and how innovations and engineering biology-based technologies can truly revolutionize society on a global scale. We look forward to seeing you there!

Tech and Science Meet to Create Medical Marvels

May 30, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

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.

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Maggie Blood

Innovation Communications and Public Affairs Manager

mblood@ontariogenomics.ca

Ontario Genomics Part of Province’s Research & Innovation Investment

May 30, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

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.”

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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

May 30, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

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!

BioCreate Cohorts 4 & 5 are now open

April 10, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

Ontario Genomics’ BioCreate program is now open to small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in southern Ontario looking to commercialize genomics and engineering biology enabled products and/or technologies in the health, food and agriculture, and cleantech sectors at a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of 4+.

What does BioCreate do? We provide funding, access to mentorship and business support to help companies bring new products and technologies to market.

Program Highlights:

Direct, non-repayable funding of $150,000.
Access to 18 months of intensive business mentorship and critical infrastructure provided by Ontario Genomics’ strategic sectoral and regional partnerships.
An investor showcase for each cohort, giving companies the opportunity to pitch to investors and potential partners.

Application Steps and Dates

Interested? Review the Program Guide for more information on BioCreate, including eligibility requirements and evaluation criteria, then fill out the BioCreate intake form and a representative from our team will reach out to discuss your project idea. Eligible applicants will be invited to submit an application.

If you have questions, please contact BioCreate@ontariogenomics.ca.

The deadline to submit an intake form for Cohort 4 & 5 is June 23, 2024. Additional details and the application process can be found on the BioCreate page.

Complete the intake form now to find out more about your company’s eligibility!

The BioCreate program is supported by the Government of Canada through the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) and Ontario Genomics. The current budget is greater than $7 million over five years.

Canada SynBio 2024 – Unlocking the Future

April 4, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

Registration for Canada SynBio 2024 is officially open!

Canada’s premier engineering biology event happens October 7-9 in Toronto.

The 6th annual Canada SynBio conference gives national and international engineering (synthetic) biology leaders the chance to connect, create inter-sector partnerships and help Canada become the major player in the global bioeconomy we know it can be. This year’s theme is Unlocking the Future.

Along with the networking opportunities are hearing from experts in the field. We are excited to announce our first keynote speaker: Dr. Cindy Gerhardt, Founder and CEO, Planet-B.io. Dr. Gerhardt is a visionary and innovator who spearheads a national open innovation ecosystem for biotech and food tech in the Netherlands. Her guiding principles are simple: respect people, animals and our planet.

Our dynamic conference program features a wide range of presentation topics including:

Cellular agriculture
Bioconversion
AI and health
Strategy and policy frameworks
Training
Entrepreneurship
Mining solutions

You’ll also get the chance to participate in immersive networking events and be inspired by cutting-edge academics, start-ups, and established industry leaders.

If you’re interested in becoming a partner at Canada SynBio, please email Luana Fiorotto at LLanglois@ontariogenomics.ca.

Ontario Genomics Welcomes New Interim Leadership

March 25, 2024 by ON Genomics Leave a Comment

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.

A new online course teaches companies to partner with colleges to test their technologies

Two new hubs will make research easier to manage and access for scientists and industry

Climate-Smart Data Collaboration Centre

Agricultural Genomics Action Centre

SynBio2024: Bonus - New Food Innovation Opportunity on Oct 10

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

Funding renewal means more support for game-changing solutions

Governments of Ontario and Canada are helping innovative ideas become reality

Program Highlights:

Application Steps and Dates

Registration for Canada SynBio 2024 is officially open!

Canada’s premier engineering biology event happens October 7-9 in Toronto.

Receive Email Updates from Ontario Genomics

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