Partner Project News

Tria Decodes Mountain Pine Beetle Genome

Photo: Ward Strong, BC Ministry of Forests, Lands, and Natural Resource Operations.

The recent announcement that the Tria team has decoded the mountain pine beetle genome sparked a great deal of media interest in how this discovery may impact managing the spread of the epidemic. The story was covered extensively by local and national news, as well as reaching audiences of The Guardian and Irish Times.

genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC recently sat down with Dr. Chris Keeling, a research associate working on the Genome BC-funded Tria team led by Dr. Jörg Bohlmann (University of British Columbia) and Dr. Janice Cooke (University of Alberta), and lead author of the recently published “Draft genome of the mountain pine beetle, Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopkins, a major forest pest” in Genome Biology.

We asked Chris to explain more about the specific dangers posed by the beetle and the role of genomics in pest management. Here’s what he had to say.

Do you have any news on your research project that you’d like to share?

Please let us know so we can feature it in our upcoming newsletters!

 Internship

Julia Patey, Video Intern

Julia Patey is our newest intern and will join the creative team in our video storytelling initiatives. This summer, Julia will be collaborating with Katia Truong, our animation intern, to produce communication pieces for the Watershed Metagenomics, Next Generation IPM for Beekeeping and Taiga projects.

Julia recently graduated from the UBC Film Program. She is currently writing her first feature, and is involved in the development of several performance pieces with The Human Theatre Collective. She hopes that her involvement in video production with genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC will add color to her ever-evolving artistic voice. Julia looks forward to the day she can no longer tell the difference between writing a bio, shooting a genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC video and kicking a rock on the side walk.

It will be a busy summer for g.e@ubc interns. We have recently interviewed candidates for Commercialization Analyst positions with the Taiga and Harnessing Microbial Diversity projects, as well as a summer field researcher with the Beekeeping team. We are excited about these new additions to our partner project teams and will keep you updated with introductions and project news as the summer progresses.

Internship Program

Do you know a student in science, forestry, business, law or any other discipline who would like to do an internship with one of our partner projects, or do you have an opening for an intern on your team?

genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC will provide funding for internships of four months full-time or the equivalent part-time hours. Interns may receive training opportunities from genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC and mentorship from our Knowledge Network members. For more information on our Internship Program, please visit the Internships page or contact us.

 Recent Events

Fundamentals of Intellectual Property

April 18th, 2013

Last week, Angus Livingstone presented From Secret Sauce to Open Source: Fundamentals of Intellectual Property to a keen group of interdisciplinary researchers from BRITE, TerreWEB, and g.e@ubc partner projects. In an engaging presentation, Angus guided participants through the complex IP ‘thicket’ and its various forms (patents, copyright, trademarks, and open access). Participants commented that they appreciated the practical examples, lack of jargon and focus on issues relevant to students and the research/academic world.

Thanks to Sally Otto for welcoming Angus to the Beaty Biodiversity Centre and the opportunity to speak to this talented group of researchers.

 Upcoming Events

Presented by genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC

Lean Launch Pad Program

May to June 2013

Are you a scientist interested in testing hypotheses in an entrepreneurial context? This May and June, genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC and entrepreneurship@UBC are presenting the Lean Launch Pad program to help participants rapidly identify, evaluate, and develop potential venture opportunities for genomics, life sciences and natural resources research. Led by Sauder School of Business instructor Iain Verigin, this program engages participants in moving potential products out of the lab and into the market through talking to customers, partners and competitors and encountering the challenges and uncertainty of creating successful innovations.

This workshop series is open to g.e@UBC Partner Projects and anyone exploring new venture opportunities within the life sciences or natural resource sectors. Participants will leave the program with an expanded skill-set that will give them the tools necessary to evaluate and translate their research into applications that can benefit society.

If you have a business concept or potential application from your research to develop, or would like to participate in the program as a mentor, please visit the Lean Launch Pad page for more information.

Social Media for Science Communication workshop

May 2013

Did you know that the more a research paper gets tweeted, the more likely it is to be cited? genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC will be presenting a Social Media workshop in May to explore the benefits of using Twitter and other platforms to communicate scientific research. Date and details to be confirmed soon. Stay tuned for more information!

More Events

In addition to the workshops hosted by genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC, we will keep you posted on events of interest on the genomics/entrepreneurship front offered by UBC, Mitacs and other organizations.

Build Your Scientific and Technical Writing Skills

April 23rd and 24th, 2013

UBC’s Graduate Pathways to Success and Mitacs Step are presenting this hands-on workshop to help you manage your writing process, and teach you the fundamentals of grammar and structure. For more details, please visit Mitacs Step.

Leadership Speaker Series

May 15th, 2013

entrepreneurship@UBC is hosting a Leadership Talk with Lululemon founder Chip Wilson on performance. The talk is free and open to the UBC community and public. The Leadership Talk series builds up to the e@UBC’s Leadership Course, happening this summer at UBC Point Grey. More information on the talk is available at entrepreneurship@UBC.

Useful Genetics

May 2013

Rosemary Redfield, Professor of Zoology, is offering a Useful Genetics course this May via a free ‘open education’ online platform. The course focuses on a practical and applied understanding of gene function and inheritance. If you’d like more information, visit the course page.

Effective Business Etiquette

May 27th, 2013

How do you attend or run a business meeting? What kind of impression are you making with your emails and texts? Are you wearing the appropriate attire? How do you deal with difficult people and situations? All these questions, and more, will be answered in this Mitacs-hosted event to enhance your work skills. To register, visit Mitacs Step.

Discovering the Entrepreneur Within

June 11th, 2013

Would you like to be an entrepreneur? Do you have what it takes? Discover the important traits required to be a successful entrepreneur, how to assess risk, what makes a good business plan and how to pitch it! Register at Mitacs Step for an informative and interactive full-day workshop.

You can view all upcoming events on our Events calendar.

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genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC is in partnership with Genome BC and Genome Canada.