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Ontario Genomics – Team Updates

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We are excited to welcome new colleagues and announce some role changes at Ontario Genomics.

We would like to provide a warm welcome to Dr. Yoo Jin Park and Dr. Michael Dorrington, both joining us in the role of Advisor, Sector Innovation & Programs.

During Yoo Jin’s 10+ years in the biomedical research sector, she successfully led several projects across multiple therapeutic areas, including metabolism (obesity/diabetes), immuno-oncology, and cardiovascular diseases, resulting in high impact publications peer-reviewed journals. Before joining Ontario Genomics, Yoo Jin worked as a Scientist at Sanofi Pasteur, where she was responsible for validating and improving the vaccine manufacturing and quality testing processes.

Before joining Ontario Genomics, Mike was a post-doctoral fellow in the Laboratory of Immune System Biology at the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases outside of Washington, DC. In this position, he studied the many roles of antiviral cytokines in inflammation and antibacterial immune responses using cutting-edge genomic and transcriptomic technologies. He was also a post-doctoral representative to the NIH’s Immunology Interest Group.

Yoo Jin and Michael will support the Ontario Genomics community by implementing projects and programs to bring new genomic-derived solutions to Ontario’s key sectors.

We are pleased that Dr. Helen Petropoulos has taken on the role of Associate Vice-President, Sector Innovation and Programs. In this capacity, Helen will be responsible for our core translational research and commercialization programs and strategic initiatives to advance genomics in key sectors. Helen will also lead the Sector Innovation and Programs team.

Dr. Dennis McCormac, Associate Vice-President, Science and Innovation, has also grown his responsibilities as our Science-lead and will directly manage the Research Operations & Program Management team. In this capacity, Dennis will support our community to ensure that our investments in research and innovation lead to the desired outcomes.

Over the past several months, our communications team has also seen some exciting growth. Joining us in October 2019 as Director of Communications, Polina Martins is responsible for leading and implementing the Ontario Genomics communications strategy, supporting government and stakeholder engagement priorities, and executing events and other public relations initiatives.

Previously, Polina served as Senior Communications and Operations Advisor to several Ontario Government Ministers in Economic Development and Growth, Health and Long-Term Care, and Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation portfolios. She brings a unique blend of communications, government relations, stakeholder engagement, and events planning experience to this role.

Having successfully completed her Ontario Genomics practicum placement in the UofT M.H.Sc. Medical Genomics program, Zoya Retiwalla joins Ontario Genomics full-time in the role of Communications Coordinator, Programs and Outreach. Before joining Ontario Genomics, Zoya worked as a communication, marketing, and recruitment coordinator at the University of Toronto. She brings a diverse mix of scientific and genomic knowledge, communications, stakeholder engagement, and business experience to her role at Ontario Genomics. Zoya works with the communications team to provide ongoing communications support for Ontario Genomics programs and special initiatives.

As always, the whole Ontario Genomics team is here to support Ontario’s thriving genomics ecosystem. Should your organization or research team need any support or have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@ontariogenomics.ca.

Can one lab do 10,000 COVID-19 tests a day?

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Listen to Podcast

During the pandemic, different branches of science and researchers from across disciplines have come together to further our knowledge about COVID-19. Jeff Wrana, a senior investigator at Sinai Health’s Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, is a good example of how the scientific research community is pulling in expertise from all directions.

When the pandemic hit, he was studying cancer and learning how to apply robotic technology into the lab work. Seeing the need to boost testing capacity his research group was able to turn from their work analyzing the different cells that make up a tumour, to analyzing samples from COVID-19 patients.

Using sequencing tools which can sequence a single genome overnight and robotics that can process high volumes of samples, he believes his lab can analyze 10,000 COVID-19 samples a day. Or more.

Freelance broadcaster Don Hill talked with project leader Jeff Wrana about the technology and the logistical challenges associated with handling that many samples as he moves from the proof-of-concept stage into real world testing.

Instagram Live Podcast: Talking Genomics

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Would you control how fast your hair grows?

Would you stop ageing if you could?

Would you participate in a COVID Vaccine early trial?

In this IG Live Bettina Hamelin, OG’s President & CEO and Dennis McCormac, our Associate VP, Science and Technology went live with Science Everywhere to answer some thought-provoking scientific questions.

Genomics, the mapping of genes, is a rapidly advancing field that holds the key to our future. Using genomics technologies, we could solve intricate problems related to health, agriculture, and the environment. Our experts decided to answer some quirky yet relevant genomic questions. Watch these videos to learn more about COVID vaccine trials, hair growth, dental hygiene and aging!

Talking Genomics

with Dr. Bettina Hamelin

Talking Genomics

with Dr. Dennis McCormac

ONCoV members funded through phase 2 of Ontario’s COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund

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The Ontario Government announced phase two of funding for a number of research projects aimed at fighting COVID-19. The projects are a part of $20 million in funding that the Government has put towards the Ontario COVID-19 Rapid Research Fund, which focuses on research into “vaccine development, diagnostics, drug trials and development, and social sciences.”

Among the funded projects are those led by members of the ONCoV Genomics Coalition, Allison McGeer at Sinai Health System, Aaron Campigotto at Hospital for Sick Children and Rob Kozak at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre. We would like to congratulate them on their successful funding proposals to the Ontario Government to continue promising research to support innovative solutions to COVID-19.

Ontario Genomics has brought together Ontario’s world-leading experts in genomics to form the ONCoV Genomics Rapid Response Coalition, leveraging the power of sequencing, bioinformatics, genomics epidemiology, and artificial intelligence to expedite Ontario’s response to COVID-19.

Funded Projects:

Control of COVID-19 Outbreaks in Long-Term Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Chemoprophylaxis to Control Outbreaks of COVID19 in Long Term Care Facilities (CONTROL-COVID)
Allison McGeer, Principal Investigator – Lunenfeld Tanenbaum Research Institute, Sinai Health System
The frail elderly are disproportionately affected by COVID-19. Interventions are urgently needed to prevent and control outbreaks at long-term care homes. This research will use clinical trials to test the efficacy of different chemoprophylaxis regimens to protect elderly residents of long-term care homes from COVID-19.

Ontario Healthcare Worker Seroprevalence of Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies (COVID-19 Antibodies in Ontario Healthcare Workers)
Aaron Campigotto, Co-Principal Investigator – Hospital for Sick Children
Healthcare workers have a critical role in the pandemic response to COVID-19 and are at risk of infection. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in a population of healthcare workers and describe the change in SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies as the pandemic progresses. The research will also track the antibody response in those who are infected with COVID-19 and if possible, evaluate the impact of antibody presence on subsequent reinfection. This research will shed light on the incidence of infection and risk factors for infection in healthcare workers from hospitals across Ontario.

Development of Multiple Vaccine Candidates for SARSCoV-2 and Evaluation of Safety and Efficacy in Animal Models
Rob Kozak, Principal Investigator, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre
This project aims to evaluate the safety and long-term protection of two vaccines before advancing them to human trials. The study will test the duration of protective vaccine immunity in both small and large animal models and investigate whether vaccinated animals that are infected with seasonal coronaviruses have adverse immunological reactions, leading to worse disease. The data generated from this proposal will help determine the optimal vaccine to advance into human efficacy trials.

Source: Government of Ontario Newsroom

Ontario’s COVID-19 Genomics Rapid Response Coalition

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Ontario Genomics brings together world-leading genomics experts to address the COVID-19 pandemic

In response to the global pandemic, Ontario Genomics has rapidly galvanized Ontario’s world-leading genomics and data expertise and capacity through a coordinated, province-wide approach. The ONCoV Genomics Coalition is leveraging the tools of sequencing, bioinformatics, genomics epidemiology, and artificial intelligence, to expedite Ontario’s response to COVID-19.

There are numerous experts and researchers in Ontario who are working on the frontlines towards a diagnostic or therapeutic response to the pandemic. To ensure collaboration and coordination, we need an all-of-government, all-of-industry, and all-of-research community response to the crisis. This will accelerate the genomic characterization and surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Ontario, and patient genome sequencing to enable timely and comprehensive genomic analysis. The ONCoV Genomics Coalition presents a comprehensive opportunity for an Ontario-made genomics approach to addressing COVID-19 and builds on existing investments into the research community and the Ontario COVID19 Data Platform.

The Coalition aligns with national and international initiatives and will serve as a nucleus that will facilitate immediate access to existing and new genomics and bioinformatics infrastructure within the province, establish a coordination and standardization framework for the viral sequencing workflow, enable data access and data sharing and provide an integration platform for viral and host sequencing data.

This coalition is a collaborative and open-science platform that brings together Ontario’s leading genomics experts to gather data to rapidly inform public health and public policy in the short-term, as well as drug and vaccine development in the medium to long-term to better protect the health of Ontarians and prepare us for outbreaks in the future.

For more information on the ONCoV Rapid Response Coalition, it’s members and resources, please visit the ONCoV website.

9 genomics companies you need to know

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From the Ground UP

Help us celebrate the successes of genomics companies that ‘grew’ with our support

Over the last 20 years, Ontario Genomics, together with the Ontario Government, Genome Canada, and academic, clinical and industry partners, has built a world-leading genomics ecosystem in Ontario. As part of our 20th Anniversary celebration, we highlighted nine success stories from the past two decades to share the advantage that genomics technology brings to industries across different sectors.

The Ontario Genomics Advantage 

We have been ‘rooting’ for genomic advancement for decades. Ontario Genomics has been connecting and collaborating to support genomics research and technologies to help ‘grow’ the economy, create jobs, and improve lives through innovation.

Ontario Genomics Advantage

Learn more about our amazing start-up successes stories:

We “be-leaf” in creating an impactful footprint in genomics innovation. Great happens together and with collaborative research we can achieve the incredible. It is amazing to see our industry partners blossom into new and exciting chapters.

OG Advantage Ardra Bio OG Advantage Bright Angel Therapeutics
OG Advantage Deep Genomics OG Advantage Escarpment Labs
OG Advantage Fluidigm OG Advantage Nicoya
OG Advantage Northern Biologics OG Advantage Platform Genetics
OG Advantage Rapid Novor  

Genome Canada leads $40 million genomics initiative to address COVID-19 pandemic

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New Canadian network will undertake viral and host genome sequencing to improve patient outcomes

April 23, 2020 – OTTAWA, Ontario – Following an announcement in Ottawa by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Genome Canada launched today the Canadian COVID Genomics Network (CanCOGeN), a newly formed initiative backed by $40 million in federal funding. Led by Genome Canada, in partnership with the six regional Genome Centres, national and provincial public health labs, genome sequencing centres through CGEn, hospitals, universities and the private sector, CanCOGeN will coordinate and scale up existing genomics-based COVID-19 research in Canada and internationally in order to accelerate public impact. This initiative is part of a $1 billion package of measures announced by the Prime Minister today to support new countermeasures to fight the virus.

CanCOGeN will undertake two related genomics projects to help us understand how the virus works, how it is evolving, and why people experience such different health outcomes. CanCOGeN will sequence the genomes of up to 10,000 patients and 150,000 viral samples and will build a bank of “virus to patient” data that will inform decision-making by public health authorities and support the development of therapies and vaccines. Of critical importance, CanCOGeN will establish and manage a framework for cross-Canada safe data sharing, coordination and analysis.

Data will be shared with national and international collaborators to enable additional research, including Canadian vaccine development efforts. This will ultimately help respond to the current COVID-19 emergency as well as build capacity to respond and manage future outbreaks of this virus, or other pandemics. The initiative will be supported by an Advisory Committee to ensure strategic coordination with other Canadian and international COVID-19 health and medical research efforts.

“Genome Canada and the six regional Genome Centres are on a mission to meet the COVID-19 challenge head-on. We will do that by generating accessible and readily usable genomics data to inform public health decisions that impact Canadians,” said Dr. Rob Annan, President and CEO of Genome Canada. “A multi-pronged coordinated national approach to harnessing robust genomic solutions and convening partners across sectors and borders will ultimately lead to better patient outcomes.”

Canada is a world leader in genomics-based research in the healthcare sector, contributing significantly to the responsible application of biosciences to advance human health. CanCOGeN is an open and collaborative initiative that will allow for the gathering of scientific data required in the short-term and for the development of tools needed in the long-term to better protect Canadians’ health in the face of similar outbreaks in the future.

Quotes

“Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been working closely with Canada’s health experts and researchers, who are some of the most skilled and brightest in the world. We are making sure that Canada remains at the forefront of scientific research to help us make smart and effective decisions on the path to recovery.”
—The Right Honourable Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada

“The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the health and safety of Canadians. We are all in this together: Canada is benefiting from the impressive and innovative power of Canadian researchers in our coordinated national approach to fight COVID-19. Together, we are rapidly scaling-up our research capacity to harness genomic sequencing data to inform public health interventions and to advance a vaccine against COVID-19 to protect our population and end the crisis.”
– The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science, and Industry

“Genome Canada and the six regional Genome Centres are on a mission to meet the COVID-19 challenge head-on. We will do that by generating accessible and readily usable genomics data to inform public health decisions that impact Canadians. A multi-pronged coordinated national approach to harnessing robust genomic solutions and convening partners across sectors and borders will ultimately lead to better patient outcomes.”
– Dr. Rob Annan, President and CEO of Genome Canada
[Genome Canada, in partnership with the six regional Genome Centres, will lead the newly formed Canadian COVID Genomics Network (CanCOGeN).]

“This investment by the Government of Canada will harness the power of world class genomics infrastructure in Canada to explore the genetic architecture of the human genome and to inform our understanding of the variable clinical response to COVID-19, bringing us closer to enabling personalized risk prediction and precision therapeutic strategies.”
– Dr. Naveed Aziz, Chief Administrative & Chief Scientific Officer, CGEn
[CGEn will lead the COVID-19 host genome sequencing initiative, with support from Genome Canada, Canada Foundation for Innovation’s Major Science Initiatives and others, through its nodes in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.]

“The national Viral Genome Sequencing Initiative within the Canadian COVID Genomics Network (CanCOGeN) is tremendously important in that we are significantly building out our sequencing capacity in real time to rapidly respond to this Canadian and global health crisis. With expertise coming in from researchers, sequencing centers, clinicians, health care facilities and industry across the country, we will be streamlining guidelines, protocols and data quality control towards building a robust Canadian genomics network that strengthens the Canadian response now and for future outbreaks.”
– Dr. Terrance Snutch, Professor, Michael Smith Laboratories and Director, Translational Neuroscience, Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia
[Dr. Snutch and his team at UBC’s Michael Smith Laboratories will lead the COVID-19 genome sequencing component of the viral genomics initiative and coordinate with leaders and sequencing sites in each province.]

“The National Microbiology Lab and the Public Health Agency of Canada welcome the opportunity CanCOGeN presents to coordinate and fund large-scale SARS-CoV-2 sequencing efforts, facilitate genomic capacity building more regionally, promote best practices for data management and analysis, and disseminate data, sequencing results, and research outcomes to partners and stakeholders. Studying the genome of the virus and collectively developing tools to analyze the traits of the virus across Canada will provide critical information for our public health response.”
– Dr. Matthew Gilmour, Scientific Director General, Public Health Agency of Canada
[The National Microbiology Lab will coordinate the public health laboratories’ response and host the data analytic core for the viral genomics initiative, which will ensure rapid sharing of the sequence data.]

Quick facts

Contact

Nicola Katz
Director, Communications
Genome Canada
Cell: 613-297-0267
nkatz@genomecanada.ca

Genome Canada is a not-for-profit organization that acts as a catalyst for developing and applying genomics and genomic-based technologies, to create economic and social benefits for Canadians. Genome Canada connects ideas and people across public and private sectors to find new uses for genomics, invests in large-scale science and technology to fuel innovation, and translates discoveries into applications and solutions across key sectors of national importance, including health, agriculture, forestry, fisheries & aquaculture, energy, mining, and the environment.

Canada SynBio 2020 Postponed

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Given the global situation around COVID-19 and actions being taken by the Canadian, Quebec and Ontario governments, the Canada SynBio Organizing Committee had to make the difficult decision to postpone the upcoming Canada SynBio 2020 conference, originally scheduled for June 3 in Montreal. We are currently working to find a new date and will share the details as soon as they are confirmed.

As Canada SynBio 2020 was part of a larger “SynBio Week” series of events, please see below for their status:

  • June 1-2: The Global BioFoundries Alliance (GBA) has cancelled their AGM.
  • June 4: SynBio 5.0 has been cancelled.

We appreciate your understanding and sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. During these difficult times, the health and wellbeing of the attendees, speakers, staff and general public remains our top priority.

You can follow us on Twitter for updates and check out www.candesyne.ca for upcoming news on our exciting engineering biology initiative.

Ontario Genomics: COVID-19 Update

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Given the global response to the COVID-19 health emergency and specific actions being taken by the Canadian, Ontario and Toronto governments, Ontario Genomics is taking the following proactive measures to reduce the potential spread of the virus, prioritizing the health and safety of our staff and the broader community:

  • All Ontario Genomics staff are working from home until April 3*
  • All in-person workshops and meetings currently scheduled are moving online or have been postponed until further notice. If you have a meeting or event scheduled, we will coordinate with you to develop an alternative arrangement.
  • We are no longer taking face-to-face meetings at our office and will instead be setting up virtual meetings and teleconference calls, where appropriate.
  • All business travel has been suspended.
  • The Canada SynBio 2020 Organizing Committee has postponed the Canada SynBio 2020 conference originally planned for June 3, 2020, in Montreal. We are currently working to find a new date and will communicate the details with you as soon as we have this confirmed.

*All dates subject to change.

As the World Health Organization has declared COVID-19 a pandemic, and the Government of Ontario has declared a provincial emergency, we are closely monitoring the situation and adjusting our business operations based on the recommendations of Public Health Officials.

For further information on COVID-19, please refer to the following reliable sources:

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.