The Honourable Victor Doerksen, Minister of Alberta Innovation and Science,  today announced that the Government of Alberta will invest over $4 million in genomics research projects in Alberta. The projects will bolster Alberta’s leadership and economic strength by providing new opportunities in the areas of plant genomics, bioinformatics and bioethics. Minister Doerksen also announced over $3 million in funding to establish Genome Alberta as a new Genome Centre in the Province, which will be responsible for administering and securing co-funding for the projects.

The successful projects are in the areas of

1) canola seed enhancement;
2) wheat resistance to frost damage;
3) softwood tree genomics;
4) four dimensional computer visualization of human gene expression patterns;
5) mouse models for human hereditary disease; and
6) legal and social issues arising from genomics technologies in human health.

“The Government of Alberta is committed to developing scientific excellence and continuing to aggressively move forward as a leader in genomics and proteomics. The funding for these projects will strategically capitalize on the strengths and knowledge of researchers in Alberta and builds on the momentum created by our investments in research across the Province,”  said Minister Doerksen.

“Genomics is the foundation of the life sciences,” said Dr. Randy Johnston, Interim President of Genome Alberta.  “As we work to advance Alberta’s growing bioeconomy, this investment will help us to expand our research capability and encourage the development of life sciences industries. In addition, these funds will be used to achieve leverage with other anticipated co-funding partners, for a total value of over $19 million. In addition, we expect to announce soon even more projects and strategic value that will be led by Genome Alberta and its research teams.”

“We are delighted to see further recognition of the high quality of research projects led by Alberta researchers. These projects will continue to build on the momentum created by investment in the Life Sciences in this Province, and particularly through the new Genome Alberta. Our teams include investigators across the country and abroad, and in each case we hope to see great results,” said Art Froehlich, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Genome Alberta.  Mr. Froehlich also announced the appointment of Dr. David Bailey as the new incoming President and CEO of Genome Alberta.  Dr. Bailey looks forward to the challenges ahead and indicated that “building on national and international partnerships to ensure that Alberta and Canadian researchers are leaders in this important area of science is what this new initiative is all about. What we are doing today will touch upon the lives of all Canadians.”

Genome Alberta is a not-for-profit corporation that directs and funds research and development in the new fields of genomics, proteomics and bioinformatics and the related areas of ethics, legal and social impact of genomic research. As one of six Regional Genome Centres functioning together with Genome Canada, Genome Alberta works with a wide range of partners, including Western Economic Diversification, the Province of Alberta, the Universities of Alberta, Calgary and Lethbridge, federal laboratories, corporate partners and others.