Genome Canada
Martin is working on the project with Concordia Department of Biology professors Michael Hallett, Canada Research Chair in Bioinformatics Algorithms, and Malcolm Whiteway, Canada Research Chair in Microbial Genomics.
Genome Canada and Genome Québec are private non-profit organizations that fund genome research related to health care, agriculture, environment, food production and forest management.
The GAPP competition in particular provides funding to promote partnerships between academic researchers and industry, encouraging the practical application of genome research. It is intended to improve the sustainability of production practices.
Genome research and technology at Concordia
This boost in funding to genome research and its application adds to Concordia’s growing reputation as a centre for genome engineering technology.
Paula Wood-Adams, Concordia’s interim vice-president of research and graduate studies, is confident these investments will accelerate the Genome Foundry’s production of world-class research results.
“These contributions speak to Concordia’s influence and leadership in synthetic biology,” she says.
“They provide our researchers with resources and promising new technologies ensuring that their work will lead to breakthroughs in health care and other essential areas.”
In 2015, Martin and others established Concordia’s Genome Foundry, where microbes could be modified for practical purposes.
More recently, the Government of Canada’s National Research Council (NRC) invested $3.17 million in the foundry to expand its capabilities and to host national collaborations. This included a $790K contribution from Concordia University.
The NRC’s Disruptive Technology Solutions for Cell and Gene Therapy Challenge program, distributed funds, which are intended to augment the foundry’s capacity to edit mammalian cells.
This foundry’s new capacity will be utilized for advancements in regenerative medicine and immunotherapy.
Find out more about Concordia’s Department of Biology and Centre for Applied Synthetic Biology.