the pRoMise and poweR of genoMics

Ten years ago, the Gairdner Foundation brought together some of the world’s fi nest minds for a series of signature presentations examining what was then a comparatively young science: genomics.

That event, organized by Genome Canada and the Gairdner Foundation, was one of the fi rst to put Canada in the genomics race. In the time since, advancements in the fi eld both here and abroad have reached critical mass, so it seems fi tting that the two sides have come together once again to put on another genomics extravaganza.

The special two day conference will take place on Nov. 27 and 28 in Ottawa. Many of those same scientists that attended in 2002 will be back as well as a host of new superstar scientists. Billed as “The Power and Promise of Genomics,” this event not only marks 12 years of progress in the genomics fi eld in Canada, but also the remarkable expansion of genomics research and its applications in sciences that stretch beyond human health.

“Looking back 10 years later, I think genomic research has really transformed both biology and medicine,” says John Dirks, president and scientifi c director of the Gairdner Foundation and the individual mostly responsible for putting the original event together. For Dirks, the timing for such an event couldn’t be any better.

“On the human health side, we’ve identifi ed over 3,000 new monogenetic inherited diseases and many genome wide syndromes, such as type 2 diabetes and so on. Overall, a lot has happened in this fi eld. Moreover not enough attention has been given to genomics and its achievements since the Human Genome project, and this is partly why we approached Genome Canada to hold this milestone event once more.”

Dirks adds that what sets this forum apart from its predecessor is that it not only brings together an impressive mix of genomics researchers and academics, but also includes end users, as well as public and private research agencies and funding organizations.

Genome Canada president and CEO Pierre Meulien adds that much thought has gone into planning this once-in-a-decade forum, which includes a remarkable compilation of speakers spread amongst panels in all areas of the life sciences.

“The fi rst day is very much on the human health piece, while the second day shines a light on all the activity going in biofuels, crops, livestock, food security, forestry and fi sheries and so on,” he says.

The reason for including these other sectors in the event program is simple, genomics has expanded into these other fi elds and is delivering results in the bioeconomy.

“Genomics is evident in many areas of science and not just human health, but few people realize this. That’s really the goal here, to not only try and bring together those same people from the original event, but to also bring new players in that have taken the fi ndings and the technology and applied it right across the spectrum,” says Meulien.

While the advancements on the human health side are more known, Meulien stresses

“We weren’t able to bring back all our winners from 2002, but in order to deal with the topics we selected there likely wouldn’t have been room for them all. It’s almost the nature of the beast if you will. And having all these people together could lead to other great things, future collaborations and future successes.”

the opportunities are endless as our ability to peer at, understand, and manipulate the building blocks of all life continues to evolve.

“I think that the power of the technology is the pervasive nature of it, being able to apply it in so many fields, the promise is that we will be able to solve some real life problems, both social and environmental using these technologies. Even now, we’re not quite fully able to grasp the remarkable things to come, the parade of advances and wide breadth of areas that genomics research influences, nor the powerful new tools the genomics research has uncovered.”

The lineup in the event includes many internationally known scientists.

You’ve got international experts like Steven Mayfield, who is coming in from San Diego, to talk about biofuels. There’s Sally Aiken who will discuss genomics in relation to trees and Michel George who is coming in from Liège, Belgium to talk about livestock genomics and then we have people looking at salmon of course and food security.”

The event’s ability to attract a stellar international lineup has much to do with the reputation that the Gairdner Foundation has built over the years, shining a light on the great science being conducted both here and abroad.

“I think it’s helped certainly in getting people like Eric Lander, Svante Paabo and others. We weren’t able to bring back all our winners from 2002, but in order to deal with the topics we selected there likely wouldn’t have been room for them all. It’s almost the nature of the beast if you will. And having all these people together could lead to other great things, future collaborations and future successes,” says Dirks.

The event also presents an opportunity for Canadian genomic researchers to show they are still at forefront of what others have coined the genomics revolution.

“I think we’ve seen genomics embraced here in Canada. It’s a very active area and I think Canadian genomic scientists are highly respected in the field. In the health area especially, you see several leading scientists like Michael Hayden, Tom Hudson, Stephen Scherer and of course Bartha Knoppers to name a few,” says Dirks.

Meulien also believes Canada has much to be proud of.

“Canada is a country where we’ve seen progress that has caught international attention, and it is a driving force for Canadian science. Today, we have these five science and innovation technology centres located throughout Canada, three of them are on the nucleic acid, high throughput sequencing and bioinformatics, two others specializing in proteomics and metabolomics.”

This coupled with the fact that each region is represented by its own Genome organization he says only helps to expedite advancements in the field.

“I think we have a pretty unique model or approach that allows our regions to capitalize on their own specific strengths. It wouldn’t be surprising that for example what we’re doing in the microbial communities in the oil sands, and all the energy stuff is located in Alberta, along with most of the livestock projects (ex. Alberta beef), or that the wheat and canola projects are in the prairies (Genome Prairie), and the fish stuff is divided up (cod in the east, salmon in the west) or that forestry is pretty much focused in British Columbia, Alberta and Québec.”

And both the Gairdner Foundation and Genome Canada are excited to see where this field is going.

“There’s report after report stating just how good fundamental research is in Canada and in this envelope Canadian genomics research can be included. We are punching well above our weight in terms of productivity,” says Meulien.

Yet, there are the same number of reports that indicate Canada has not been very good at the applied end and converting those great academic discoveries into social economic benefits for Canadians. As such, there has been a shift he says in how Genome Canada is funding its projects.

“We’re not cutting the flow off to the cutting edge discovery research, because in genomics if you do that you’re going to be dead in six months because the technology is moving so quickly, but we are very much engaging with end users including the private sector, industry and others to get genomics technology pulled out of academia and put into use.”

Moreover he says that government has embraced genomics as part of its agenda.

“They are very keen of what we do and I think that we have very good support from Industry Canada.”

Looking at the sponsor list for this event, it’s also evident that private industry is also embracing genomics.

“All of our sponsors for this event have some form of personalized medicine department in their company model and genomics is part of their business plans now. Likewise, we’ve spun off about 20 companies of our own from Genome Canada projects over the years. I think that’s just the tip of the iceberg, I think there’s huge potential for us to create an industry around this.”

Still, even with progress, the consensus is more can be done to drive awareness around genomics. This is the reasoning behind hosting the conference in Ottawa.

“It’s a two-fold reason, one is that we like to stage science events here because you have major decision makers, federal agents to demonstrate the importance of the science. Of course it’s also where Genome Canada’s headquarters are located,” says Dirks.

“The hope is that science policy people will be interested in attending this and recognize that it’s relevant to Canadians. The goal really is to get people excited about genomics, and I think so far we have a pretty eclectic audience,” adds Meulien.

Of course, that is only the first step, as the real goal is to ensure that Canadians in general understand how broad the applications are for genomic technologies.

Dirks explains, “I think they only understand to a modest degree. They hear a lot about personalized medicine and good science and medical writers are discussing its potential. But I think for the most part the public has a feeling of mystery around this field. And to truly realize its potential we need to make them more aware.”

For more information about Genomics: the Power & the Promise event visit www. genomicspowerandpromise.cvent.com.

“Genomics is evident in many areas of science and not just human health, but few people realize this. That’s really the goal here, to not only try and bring together those same people from the original event, but to also bring new players in that have taken the findings and the technology and applied it right across the spectrum.”

— Pierre Meulien

To see this story online visit http://biotechnologyfocus. ca/?p=2205

SOME OF THE PROMINENT SPEAKERS/PANELISTS

Michel Georges

A veterinary geneticist, Dr. Georges focuses on animal breeding of medically important and valuable traits. His research is related to commercial livestock such as sheep and dairy cattle. Dr. Georges’s work involves the fi ne mapping of production traits and health in dairy cattle, for example. He studies DNA sequencing that infl uences milk production and applies them to breeding schemes. Georges’s laboratory has studied important characteristics including Crohns disease in humans as well as animals. He is Director, Animal Genomics, at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Liège.

Tom Hudson

A physician, scholar and mentor, Dr. Hudson moved from bedside to bench becoming a protégé of Eric Lander in deciphering the human genome. He returned to Canada as a dynamic leader of several genome research projects aimed at understanding human diseases, including the international Haplotype Map Consortium. Dr. Hudson’s laboratory at the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research is primarily focused on the genetics of colorectal and pancreatic cancer. Dr. Hudson is co-founder of the International Cancer Genome Consortium. He participates in several translational research activities related to personalized medicine and targeted therapies.

Peter Anthony Jones

Jones’ research has helped strengthen the medical arsenal in the fi ght against cancer. Known for his studies on the molecular biology of cancer, Jones’ focus is the basic mechanisms of DNA methylation and its role in maintaining or modifying cellular function. Abnormal patterns of DNA methylation may contribute to the development of cancer. This is referred to as an epigenetic modifi cation because it does not change the coding sequence of DNA. He is former director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and now Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at USC.

Eric Lander

One of the great scientifi c ‘thought leaders’ of our time – Eric Lander is President Barack Obama’s top science adviser. A mathematician turned geneticist, Lander was named one of The Most Infl uential People in the World by Time Magazine in 2004. His team made the largest contribution to the Human Genome Project, the decoding of the human genetic information, in 2001. He is the founder of the Broad Institute, which brings together MIT wizards, Harvard University gurus, and biomedical researchers from the Harvard-affi liated hospitals to understand and solve important illnesses using genomics.

Peter Langridge

A plant biochemist, Langridge was named South Australia’s 2011 Scientist of the Year for his pioneering work in developing genetic technologies and new strategies to improve cereal crops resistant to drought and saline oils. He serves as international adviser in Europe, the UK and Australia in relation to plant genomics as a solution to global food security. He has helped establish breeding programs in India and China to enhance drought tolerant cereal crops. Langridge is a professor in plant science at the University of Adelaide and CEO of the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics.

Stephen Mayfi eld

A scientist and entrepreneur, Mayfi eld’s research focuses on the molecular genetics of green algae in engineering therapeutic proteins and biofuel molecules. His laboratory has shown the potential of exploiting green algae - commonly known as pond scum - as a source of renewable energy. Mayfi eld is scientifi c founder of Sapphire Energy, which is developing tools for biofuel production. He is also founder of Rincon Pharmaceuticals, a company employing algae as a platform for low-cost engineered protein production. He is director of the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, and the John Doves Isaacs Chair of Natural Philosophy at University of California, San Diego.

Svante Paabo

Think of Charles Darwin with a gene chip and a DNA sequencer. Paabo is an archeological geneticist who fi rst isolated DNA from an Egyptian mummy in 1985. In 2007, Paabo was named to Time Magazine’s 100 Most Infl uential People of the Year. Paabo is decoding fragments of DNA from Neanderthal bones. His research to provide a complete Neanderthal genome will help science solve what makes us human. The director of the department of genetics at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Paabo is recognized as the inspiration behind Michael’s Crichton’s blockbuster: Jurassic Park.

Stephen Scherer

A world leader in exploring and characterizing autism susceptibility genes, Scherer was a collaborator in the Human Genome Project under Craig Venter’s team. His contributions to medical genetics includes mapping sequencing and disease gene studies of human chromosome 7. His recent international studies involve duplicated sequences of DNA in neurodevelopmental, neurological, and behavioral disorders. Duplicated sequences are important sources of gene innovation and structural variation within the genome. Scherer is Director of The Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto.