GREAT Partner Project News
TAIGA: Protecting Canada’s Forests using Next Generation Biosurveillance
Dr. Richard Hamelin
A new $2.43 million research project, funded in part by Genome BC, has been approved to develop state of the art DNA biosurveillance detection tools for operational deployment. Preventing the introduction and establishment of Invasive Alien Species (IAS) such as the Asian gypsy moth and other forest pests, will protect forests and trees and also maintain Canada’s pest-free status to ensure market access for Canadian forest exports. Dr Richard Hamelin is the project leader and UBC is the lead institution on this new Genome Canada project. Richard’s role will be to lead a team of scientists at UBC, Natural Resources Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Read More.
Lignin: Harnessing Soil Biodiversity for Sustainable Use of Forest Biomass Resources
Dr. Lindsay Eltis
We would like to congratulate Dr. Lindsay Eltis New Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Microbial Catabolism and Biocatalysis. Eltis’ research is deepening our understanding of how enzymes work and how certain pathogens survive in their hosts, and contributes to the development of new therapeutics for tuberculosis, and also helps advance green chemistry. Read More
TAIGA and AdapTree Principal Investigators are awarded Scientific Achievement Awards from the IUFRO
Dr. Sally Aitken (AdapTree) and Dr. Richard Hamelin (TAIGA) received Scientific Achievement Awards from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) in recognition of their distinguished achievements in forest science. The awards recognize scientific advances stemming from significant research of a highly original nature or from an extended period of major accomplishment in a particular field. Dr. Sally Aitken was awarded the IUFRO Scientific Achievement Award in recognition of her distinguished scientific achievements in the field of forest conservation genetics. Dr Richard Hamelin was awarded the IUFRO Scientific Achievement Award in recognition of his distinguished scientific achievements in the field of forest pathology. Read More.
Winners of the @IUFRO Scientific Achievement Awards on stage at the opening ceremony of #IUFRO2014 pic.twitter.com/Wt0Ar85g6A — iufro2014 (@iufro2014) October 6, 2014
From left to right: Leonard Foster (BC) , Steve Pernal (AB) , Rob Currie (MB) , Amro Zayed (ON), Shelley Hoover (AB) and Marta Guarna (BC)
Bee IPM: Continues Efforts Towards Ensuring Honey Bee Health
Researchers from BC, AB, MB and ON join forces for honey bee health. The Bee IPM team met at Genome BC with Amro Zayed from ON as they prepare a proposal for the 2014 LSARP call: Genomics and Feeding the Future which will involve the collaboration of local and international beekeepers, queen breeders and researchers.
Lean Launch Pad News
The Lean Launch Pad for Genomics Is Back – January 2015
Take the leap and amplify the impact of your research. Our fourth cohort of the Lean Launch Pad for Genomics program begins January 2015. The Lean Launch Pad (LLP) program is not a traditional class or workshop. It is more like a “science laboratory” coupled with a series of “What did we learn in the lab?” and “What should we do next?” classroom session. LLP is designed to engage you 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. Read More
LLP Alumni Profile Series: Daniel Terpstra on The Profile of an Entrepreneur
Daniel Terpstra was part of the third cohort of Lean Launch Pad for Genomics, offered in May 2014. Daniel’s team conducted a record number of interviews and demonstrated great progress throughout the LLP sessions. When we met Daniel, he fit the profile of an entrepreneur. We have invited Daniel to write about his entrepreneurial journey as he highlights the importance of taking initiative, thinking beyond obstacles, and navigating the important lessons of failure, click here.
The Importance of Mapping Your Competitive Ecosystem – Interface Summit 2014
An essential tool from the Lean Launch Pad for Genomics is the ability to ‘get out of the building’ to interact with various stakeholders as part of the process of Customer Discovery (testing your hypothesis), and Validation (finding product market fit, in other words, finding out if your hypotheses fit with the problem you are trying to solve). When we first heard of INTERFACE 2014 Digital Health International Summit, we thought that it would be a great opportunity for our alumni to attend. We sponsored Daniel Terpstra to attend a day of the conference and to engage in ‘Customer Discovery’. Click here to read Daniel’s report.
Intern Updates
Introducing The Creative Team
g.e@ubc’s Creative Team is made up of interns who are tackling the task of translating science using story telling, animation, film and even some doodles. Katie Verigin uses visuals to synthesize complex workflows by creating infographics and video scribe animations. Katia Truong uses animation to simplify scientific concepts and communicate them to a general audience. Danie Easton, our videographer, specializes in capturing visuals and telling stories with media communication. The three of them collaborate to create a variety of different tools to tell stories, explain workflows and translate science to diverse audiences.
Katie Verigin on Her Entrepreneurial Journey in Kenya
This past summer, our intern Katie Verigin participated in Sauder Social Entrepreneurship – Kenya (SSE – Kenya) where she had the opportunity to apply skills she learned during the Lean Launch Pad in Kenya. “(Entrepreneurship), for them, was an enabling force that would allow them to make their lives a little better.” Read More. Katie Verigin g.e@UBC Intern – Reflections on Her Entrepreneurial Experience in Kenya from UBC UILO on Vimeo. For more information on our Internship Program, please visit the Internships page or contact us.
Recent Events
Lunch & Learn: Stakeholder Engagement, September 29
The Lunch & Learn Series is designed to provide you with a brief overview of hands-on-tools that will facilitate various aspects of communicating your work outside of the lab. The first of the series on September 29th, titled Connecting with Your Stakeholders to Communicate Your Results, Deepen Your Impact and Mobilize Resources introduced techniques to map relationship networks, visually communicate the social and economic impact of research, and frame it in a way that resonates with the public and builds closer relationships with funders. Access presentation resources here. Stakeholder Lunch and Learn: Steve Williams from UBC UILO on Vimeo.
Map Your Network: Practical Tools to Better Understand & Connect with Your Stakeholders, October 17
As a response to the great turnout and feedback from our participants who attended the brief Lunch & Learn session with Steve Williams, we offered a more in-depth workshop on stakeholder engagement. This offering introduced relationship network techniques with real-world case study examples. Steve Williams provided tools to visually map stakeholders and identify the key leverage points for communication. This session included ample time for valuable hands-on engagement from the participants, which resulted in (quoting Steve’s introductory remarks) “real work, in real time”. Access workshop resources, here.
Upcoming Events
Logic Models: A Tool for Strategically Framing Your Research Project Performance Story – Nov 4
UBC Wine Research Centre and genomics.entrepreneurship@ubc will host a second offering of logic model workshop for our research project partners’ Principal Investigators on November 4th, 2014. Logic models, accompanied by impact stories, are increasingly recognized across industry, government and funding agencies as indispensable tools to illustrate and communicate the intended outcomes of research projects, as well as the rationale for the work. Read More.
Introduction to Intellectual Property – Nov 4
You made an amazing discovery in the lab, what’s next? This event, hosted by the Life Sciences Institute, will be in a Q & A format, with two panelists: Alaka Chatterjee, Partner, Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, and Lynsey Huxham, Technology Transfer Manager at The University of British Columbia. More information, here.
Genomics: the Power & the Promise, November 24-26th
On November 24-26, 2014, Genome Canada and the Gairdner Foundation, in collaboration with Genome Alberta and the other five regional Genome Centres, will be hosting their next signature event entitled: “Genomics: the Power & the Promise” in Ottawa. The theme for this year’s conference will be “Genomics and the Environment”. Both the environmental impacts of genomics on human health (e.g., environmental influences on the genome, epigenome and human microbiome), as well as on our natural resources will be explored. The event will focus on the power and potential of genomics to transform how our resource sectors are leveraged (e.g., forestry, energy, mining), while protecting and preserving the environment. Register here. View our calendar for more upcoming events.
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Newsletter Subscriptions
If you would like to receive monthly genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC updates and notifications of upcoming events, please sign up here. genomics.entrepreneurship@UBC is in partnership with Genome BC and Genome Canada.
