BACKGROUNDER
April 29, 2010
Global Leadership Round In Genomics And Life Sciences
Ontario has a tremendous legacy in the life sciences – insulin and stem cells were discovered here – and today’s researchers are keeping the province at the forefront of global discovery. The province is the largest hub of biomedical activity in Canada and the third largest biomedical research centre in North America.
In the 2009 Budget, Ontario announced a special initiative to attract, develop and retain world-leading research talent in the province. Through the Ontario Research Fund, the province is committing $114.6 million to genomics and gene-related research through the Global Leadership Round in Genomics and Life Sciences (GL2).
This one-time round of funding is supporting 19 large-scale, collaborative projects that aim to discover new therapies and technologies that will improve quality of life, as well as protect our environment and biodiversity.
The province accepted proposals until the end of August 2009. These were then subject to a three-stage review process before funding decisions were made in March, 2010.
PROJECTS FUNDED IN THE GREATER TORONTO AREA
HOSPITAL FOR SICK CHILDREN
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Autism Spectrum and Associated Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Genomes to Outcomes
Uncovering autism susceptibility genes
Lead institution: The Hospital for Sick Children
Lead researchers: Dr. Stephen Scherer and Dr. Peter Szatmari
Provincial funding: $8,920,653
Researchers affected: 14
The Hospital for Sick Children’s Dr. Stephen Scherer and McMaster University’s Dr. Peter Szatmari are leading a team of researchers from across Ontario who are working to identify the genes that make some people susceptible to autism. Their work promises to lead to the development of diagnostics and treatments assisting thousands of families in Ontario and worldwide.
MOUNT SINAI HOSPITAL
NorCOMM2: Functional genomics tools to drive stem cell & regenerative medicine research in Ontario
Advancing the era of personalized medicine
Lead institution: Mount Sinai Hospital
Lead researcher: Dr. Colin McKerlie
Provincial funding: $5,209,000
Researchers affected: 15
Dr. McKerlie is focused on developing new research tools that put mice genomes to work that will instruct cell development in the lab for use in serious childhood illnesses and chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, heart disease and cancer, and psychiatric conditions. He and his team hope to bring us closer to the era of personalized medicine, in which genomics and proteomics knowledge will make possible diagnostic techniques, treatments and products tailored to each individual patient.
Molecular pathways of reprogramming – from discovery to novel therapeutics
Developing stem-cell therapies to treat disease
Lead institution: Mount Sinai Hospital, Samuel Lunenfeld Research Institute
Lead researcher: Dr. Andras Nagy
Provincial funding: $9,058,022
Researchers affected: 9
Dr. Andras Nagy made headlines with a research breakthrough: a new way to create stem cells from other cells of the body. Now the renowned geneticist is heading an international team of stem cell experts towards better understanding how stem cells are reprogrammed. Their research will bring us closer to having stem cell-based therapies for such diseases and conditions as spinal cord injury, stroke, macular degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.
Understanding the assembly and function of dynamic signalling networks in complex diseases
Understanding how cells communicate
Lead institution: Mount Sinai Hospital
Lead researcher: Dr. Tony Pawson
Provincial funding: $7,770,000
Researchers affected: 10
Cell biologist Dr. Tony Pawson from Mount Sinai Hospital is a world leader in cell signal transduction – the way in which cells control one another’s behaviour through chemical signals. He is advancing our knowledge in this area, which could lead us to more effective cancer drugs.
UNIVERSITY HEALTH NETWORK
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Cardiovascular Biomarker Discovery in Disease and Development through Predictive Precision Proteomics (CBD3P3)
Revolutionizing cardiovascular diagnosis and treatment
Lead institution: University Health Network
Lead researchers: Dr. Peter Liu and Dr. Gordon Keller
Provincial funding: $6,641,774
Researchers affected: 7
Drs. Peter Liu and Gordon Keller are leading a team of internationally recognized investigators from the University Health Network, the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children that is looking for ways to diagnose cardiovascular disease earlier. Identifying patients in the early stage of the disease and determining the most effective treatment for them could revolutionize the way cardiovascular disease is treated in future.
Functional Oncogenomics for the Discovery of Cancer Drivers and Unique Subclasses (FOCUS)
Developing better treatments for bone cancer
Lead institution: University Health Network
Lead researcher: Dr. Rama Khokha
Provincial funding: $2,182,180
Researchers affected: 4
Osteosarcoma is the form of bone cancer that claimed the life of Terry Fox. Dr. Khokha has assembled a team with expertise in cancer genomics and comparative pathology, which is working to understand how particular genes affect the development of osteosarcoma in multiple species. Their goal is to open up new frontiers for research and treatment of this devastating cancer.
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Molecular and Genomic Diagnostics to Improve Outcomes in Lung Transplantation
Improving lung transplant success rates
Lead institution: University Health Network
Lead researcher: Dr. Shaf Keshavjee and. Dr. Mingyao Liu
Provincial funding: $1,750,000
Researchers affected: 3
Dr. Shaf Keshavjee and Dr. Mingyao Liu of Toronto General Hospital are leading a team of scientist-clinicians who are working to develop diagnostic tools to predict post-transplant lung function and rejection after transplantation. These tools will improve transplant success rates and help assure Ontario’s continued global leadership in the field of lung transplantation.
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Cancer Gene Encyclopaedia (CGEP): Computationally optimized characterization of cancer genes, proteins, their structure, function and interactions
Identifying new cancer “targets”
Lead institution: University Health Network
Lead investigators: Dr. Igor Jurisica and Dr. Gary Bader
Provincial funding: $10,022,335
Researchers affected: 32
Toronto doctors Igor Jurisica and Gary Bader are leading an international research team from 20 institutions in eight countries that is compiling the world’s first Cancer Gene Encyclopedia. By making it possible for scientists to identify new cancer “targets”, the encyclopedia will help transform cancer research and, ultimately cancer care, improving the outcome for patients with lung, prostate, breast, ovary and head and neck cancers – cancers with some of the highest mortality rates.
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Functional genomics of solid tumours for discovery and development of new biologics and biomarkers
Developing antibody-based cancer treatments
Lead institution: University Health Network
Lead investigators: Dr. Bradly Wouters and Dr. Benjamin Neel
Provincial funding: $10,109,310
Researchers affected: 10
At the University Health Network, Drs. Bradly Wouters and Benjamin Neel, both internationally recognized cancer scientists, are leading a team to use genetic screens, genome sequencing, tumour models and antibody development approaches to develop new cancer therapies and biomarkers. This work will help position Ontario as a leader in this field.
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO
The Genetic Interaction Atlas (GIA): charting the eukaryotic cell
Toward gene-based cancer therapies
Lead institution: University of Toronto
Lead researcher: Dr. Charles Boone
Provincial funding: $6,210,486
Researchers affected: 11
There are many thousands of genes that researchers still do not understand: their function or how they interact to affect health and disease. At the University of Toronto, Dr. Charles Boone’s Genetic Interaction Atlas will use robotics, software, and molecular biology to answer these questions, with the long-term goal being the development of gene-based cancer therapies.
BEEM: Bioproducts and Enzymes from Environmental Metagenomes
Harnessing microbes to prevent harmful environmental impacts
Lead institution: University of Toronto
Lead researcher: Dr. Elizabeth Edwards
Provincial funding: $3,319,000
Researchers affected: 14
At the University of Toronto a team of scientists led by chemical engineer Dr. Elizabeth Edwards is using gene sequencing to find ways of harnessing microbes, nature’s recyclers, to transform, reuse, recycle and remediate by-products and contaminants from industrial and agricultural processes. In particular, they are concentrating on developing processes to prevent the harmful environmental impacts of biorefineries, which will be fundamental in the shift to a bioeconomy.
Protein Complexes in the Epigenetics of Human Disease and Stem Cell Fate
Understanding how altered genome states trigger diseases
Lead institution: University of Toronto
Lead researcher: Dr. Jack Greenblatt
Provincial funding: $6,587,749
Researchers affected: 7
Recognized as a research all-star by Sciencewatch.com, Dr. Greenblatt of the University of Toronto is focused on “cracking” the epigenetic code to better understand how genome disruptions can trigger diseases. What he discovers could lead to the development of new drugs that would manipulate epigenetic pathways to treat cancer, neurological disorders and other serious diseases.
Application of Genomics, Systems Biology, Chemistry and Physics to Neurodegenerative Disease
Developing better ways to diagnose and treat neurodegenerative disease
Lead institution: University of Toronto
Lead researcher: Dr. Peter St George-Hyslop
Provincial funding: $5,732,622
Researchers affected: 26
University of Toronto neuroscientist Dr. Peter St. George-Hyslop is leading an international consortium of multidisciplinary investigators which is working to identify how proteins in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative disease activate signalling pathways that cause brain cells to die. They aim to develop innovative diagnostics and treatments for over half a million Canadians suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.
Development of Massively Multi-parametric, Single Cell Proteomic Diagnostic Tools
Faster, more effective diagnostics and therapeutics
Lead institution: University of Toronto
Lead researcher: Dr. Scott Tanner
Provincial funding: $2,997,947
Researchers affected: 6
Invented by a Toronto research team led by Dr. Scott Tanner, the CyTOF Mass Cytometer can determine up to 100 biomarkers in individual cells, making it possible for doctors to diagnose disease and monitor treatment more effectively than they could before. Now this team is building on this made-in-Ontario technology to develop and commercialize new products that will set new standard-of-care benchmarks in hospitals and clinics around the world.
ONTARIO RESEARCH FUND
The Ontario Research Fund is key to the government’s plan to promote scientific excellence through research that can be developed into innovative goods and services that will boost Ontario’s economy. The program is helping Ontario continue to attract, train and retain highly skilled researchers across the province.
Different streams of the program support project operating costs, such as researchers’ salaries, and research infrastructure, such as lab equipment. Applications to the program are subject to a multi-stage review process, including peer-review.
ONTARIO’S INNOVATION AGENDA AND OPEN ONTARIO
The Ontario Research Fund and the Global Leadership Round in Genomics and Life Sciences are part of Ontario’s Innovation Agenda, the province’s 3.2-billion plan to make innovation a driving force of Ontario’s economy.
This is part of Open Ontario, the province’s five-year plan to create new opportunities for jobs and growth.
See also:
- News Release: Supporting World-Leading Genomics Researchers In Toronto
