A research platform for the future
The Genome Foundry was established with funds from the Canada Foundation for Innovation and the government of Quebec, and is part of Concordia’s synthetic biology hub along with the Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology (CASB), the SynBioApps NSERC CREATE program and the soon-to-be-inaugurated District 3 Innovation Centre science hub.
“This is a monumental addition to Canada’s synthetic biology ecosystem,” says Vincent Martin, co-director of the CASB.
“It empowers us to navigate uncharted waters alongside our international colleagues, and to incubate the future leaders of our field.”
The CASB aims to develop high-value applications in human health, agriculture, chemicals and environmental technologies. It also provides a broad range of unique opportunities — such as the SynBioApps program — for training leading experts in the field.
New global alliance
Earlier this year, Concordia and 14 other institutions from four continents cofounded the new Global Biofoundry Alliance (GBA).
Martin explains that the GBA will allow researchers to share experiences and resources, and work together to overcome common challenges and unmet scientific and engineering needs.
“Using biofoundries effectively requires a paradigm shift in how we do biological engineering. Training the next generation to effectively exploit these technologies is also extremely important,” Martin says.
“Notwithstanding these challenges, representatives from all 15 institutions agreed that biofoundries are a critical enabling technology for individual countries to develop capability and deliver on the significant promise of biotechnology research.”
Learn more about Concordia’s Genome Foundry.