Genome Canada to stress practical results

Canadas premier agency for funding research into genomics which deals with the analysis and functioning of entire DNA sequences in humans and other organisms is expected to announce a $30-million program Monday that dovetails with the federal governments emphasis on science that delivers concrete benefits.

Genome Canada is opening its purse strings to boost industry investment in science and speed the flow of ideas from university labs to practical applications. Research groups will be able to access up to $6-million per project, provided they have an outside partner or user of the resulting research, which can include companies, foundations or other branches of government.

According to the guidelines of the new program, collaborators will be required to contribute $2 to every $1 provided by Genome Canada. In an interview with The Globe and Mail, Pierre Meulien, Genome Canadas president and CEO, said the kind of science the program will fund will be driven very much by a real need from the user, and the user will have to put skin in the game.

The Harper government has called for more targeted or applied science to address a long-standing gap in Canadas private-sector investment in research and development. But other initiatives in this direction, including a recent announcement that the National Research Council will be restructured to better support Canadian industry, have been criticized by those who say the flow of federal research dollars has shifted too far from basic science.

Dr. Meulien said a balanced approach to science funding is necessary for Canada's long-term success, but he added that the fruits of basic research can be more effectively applied for socioeconomic gain. This is our attempt to pull some of the amazing knowledge and tool development weve been investing in for the last decade or more and get it out of academia and into use.

In addition to the new partnership program, Genome Canada will announce $29-million in support for five genomics facilities across the country that it has been funding for some time.

Among them is the British Columbia Cancer Centre, which sequenced the SARS virus genome in 2003, and the Centre for Applied Genomics at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, which in 2010 published genetic variants associated with autism. Such work demonstrates how Canada has leap-frogged ahead in its international standing in the field since Genome Canada was established, said Steven Scherer, director of the Toronto centre.

Established in 2000, Genome Canada is the federal government's primary conduit for funding research in genomics. It has distributed more than $900-million in grants during its first decade of operation on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis with other funding sources. In the aftermath of the U.S.-led Human Genome Project, this has significantly boosted Canada's presence in genomics, allowing it to do some catching up in a fast-moving and crucial area of science.

Dr. Meulien said the new partnership program would help develop Canadas genomics expertise in areas beyond the health sector, including natural-resource-based industries such as forestry, energy and mining. I believe that marriage can give rise to amazing innovation and productivity gains for Canada, he said.

Soheil Asgarpour, president of Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada, which promotes fossil-fuel-related research and development, said that genomics was one of the areas where his industry was looking to develop breakthrough technologies.

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Genome Canada to stress practical results