5 minute read
the last woRd
By Pierre Meulien, PhD
next GeneratIon ScIence
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Pierre Meulien, PhD President, Genome Canada
For generations, we have struggled with the perceived gap between the amazing scientific discoveries occurring in our universities and research institutions and the applications of these findings to the social and economic fabric of our country. We have tried to describe the myriad complex interactions leading to true innovation in neat little ways. Usually, these descriptions tend to parse an incredibly complicated activity into bits of limited scale or scope. This has led to an array of labels that are in use today. Terms like innovation gap, commercialization gap, research and development, basic versus applied research, and bench to bedside populate much of our writings and discussions about this pipeline, suggesting a linear flow of ideas to results.
I say it’s time to think about all of this in a new way. Let’s recast how it all works and start with a new phrase to reflect new thinking. That phrase is: next generation science.
There are many challenges still to be addressed by traditional methods of generating commercial or other gain from scientific discovery. The realization of the significant nature of these challenges and the need to address them is increasing, particularly within North America. Canada is not immune.
A variety of systemic stressors such as a global leveling of the economic playing field, recognition of Asian countries (especially China) as future drivers of the global economy and innovation, the rising costs and relatively low success rate of incumbent approaches, and other factors are contributing to widespread desire to craft a more successful system.
There appears to be strong interest in moving from a “push” based approach wherein scientific discoveries are used to fuel downstream activities to a “pull” based model wherein science is conducted in the context of a defined challenge. This is not the same as emphasizing one word over the other in the term “research & development”. Rather it is growing pragmatism that recognizes there is no point in solving a problem without a need to solve it. Increasingly, downstream expertise (to continue the pipeline analogy) is required to get past the science to create something of significant impact. It is about innovation.
Research and innovation serve different purposes. The former is about building knowledge, deriving insight and suggesting possibilities. The latter is about bringing to bear aspects beyond the science to generate an economically or socially useful result.
Increasingly, emphasis is being placed on the translational aspects of research, in terms of both process and content, with a view to accelerating discoveries into applications that benefit society in economic or other ways. In turn, this is strengthening interdependence among the scientific, industrial, government and other communities who play a part in the overall process of innovation. It is about creating truly integrated and multidisciplinary teams and platforms. It’s also about speed.
Scientists have made great strides in developing multidisciplinary teams coming from different areas of science to address there never ending thirst for knowledge. Many of these talented people now wish to go further in being able to take some of this new knowledge created and apply it in the real world. However this can be challenging for many reasons and we need to create a more fertile environment for innovation to occur in a more efficient way.
At Genome Canada, we’re applying this thinking to the field of genomics research. We have just launched a new program called Entrepreneurship Education in Genomics (EEG) which aims to instill in our researchers some of the considerations and characteristics of the “downstream” community. The idea is to cultivate next generation scientists that speed the translation of discoveries into innovations of economic or social benefit. They are equipped with the knowledge and encouragement to form networks and connections to other members in the community. They recognize the economic or social value of their work.
We believe this approach will change everyone’s thinking, away from the linearity of pipeline thinking to a rich matrix of connections that form, reshape and reform as needed. The result is a continuum of innovation driven by anyone, anywhere. In this model, basic research can continue to flourish but can also be influenced by challenges that come from beyond the science. In this environment, a next generation scientist will be worth gold.
A next generation scientist will reflect the innovation continuum. He or she will excel in science and have entrepreneurial, business networking, and other innovation skills. In the same way that genomics is a key building block for so many aspects of our economy and society, so too will a next generation scientist be a key building block for generating many aspects of innovation. When was the last time you heard science talked about in this fashion?
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