Three Alberta research projects leveraging genomics are receiving federal support as part of the Government of Canada’s $20-million, nationwide investment into genomics research.
Genomics is part of “an economy projected to be worth trillions of dollars in the coming decades.”
Karim Bardeesy, parliamentary secretary to the minister of industry, Melanie Joly, announced the investment on Wednesday at the University of Calgary (U of C), alongside Genome Canada president and CEO Dr. Rob Annan and Dr. William Ghali, U of C’s vice-president of research.
Genomics is the study of genes that make up DNA, their interactions, and their influence on growth, development, and disease.
The $20 million in funding will be invested through Genome Canada, a federally funded not-for-profit that invests in and coordinates genomics research.
The three Alberta-based projects all involve the U of C and include a joint project between it and the University of Alberta to improve treatments for thyroid cancer, an effort to use genomics to develop heat and drought resistance in canola crops, and research into understanding the impact of underground microbes on clean-energy storage systems.
Those Alberta projects are part of a wider group of 33 projects that span industries like healthcare, agriculture, environment, and advanced manufacturing. Projects will receive support under Genome Canada’s Genomic Applications Partnership Program (GAPP). GAPP brings together companies, researchers, and end users to accelerate the development and adoption of genomics-based technologies.
RELATED: University of Calgary researchers use AI to hunt new treatments for cattle parasites
“Genomics is a general-purpose technology that, if we do correctly with industry partnerships, can have huge benefits to Canadians from improving healthcare and food security to making both conventional and clean energy perform better,” Bardeesy said. “It’s an economy projected to be worth trillions of dollars in the coming decades.”
A full list of projects included under the investment can be found here.
The federal investment could generate more than $45 million in private and other public-sector co-investment, according to a press release.
The announcement is part of Canada’s broader efforts to spur the commercialization of genomic technology. Under the federal government’s Canadian Genomics Strategy (CGS), the government is investing $175 million over seven years in commercialization, data coordination, and talent development.
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.
Image courtesy University of Calgary. Photo by Riley Brandt.