Active Projects
Project Status: Active
A Canadian-U.S, team of scientists is embarking on a $6M research project to assess how genetic factors are hampering the recovery of the endangered North Atlantic right whale. The landmark, four-year project is a collaboration of Genome Atlantic, Saint Mary’s University and the New England Aquarium. The team will also assess if and to what degree non-lethal encounters with vessels and fishing gear change the expression of genes in a way that lowers the long-term heath and reproduction of individuals. Recommendations based on project findings will be made to Fisheries and Ocean Canada and to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA) in the U.S. and could have implications for marine management policies, practices and conservation plans.
Project Status: Active
Nova Scotia’s low incidence of COVID-19 has endowed a short-term, province-wide wastewater surveillance project with the ability to act as an early warning system for clinical caseload surges.
Project Status: Active
Genome Atlantic is helping the newly formed Atlantic Tree Improvement Council, known as AtlanTIC, get up and running with an initial $6 million, five-year regional tree improvement program for long-term sustainability.
Project Status: Active
A large-scale $4.7 million project co-led by Genome Atlantic and Genome BC is tackling Complex Gill Disease (CGD), a growing health challenge for salmon farmers on both the east and west coasts of Canada.
Project Status: Active
New Atlantic Canada-based genomic research, announced for Dalhousie University and IWK Health, Oct. 26, and supported by Genome Atlantic, hopes to cut wait times for anxious families and pare the cost of diagnosing rare diseases in Canadian children.
Project Status: Active
Sea lice are a big problem for Canada’s salmon producers and cleaner-fish offer a natural solution. Genome Atlantic is partnering with Cold ocean Salmon and scientists at Memorial University on an $840,000 R&D project to sequence the genome of Lumpfish and Cunner in order to speed up selective breeding.
Project Status: Active
A genomics project to protect Prince Edward Island’s top-ranked place in North America’s mussel market against climate change. This $800,000 initiative is predicted to double the production and economic impact of industry that already accounts for $60 million in direct economic growth; employs 1,500 Islanders and pays $11 million in salaries.
Project Status: Active
Canadian scientists are at the forefront of the global race to fight COVID-19. Genome Atlantic is proud to support local scientists who are helping lead the charge, and we thank our funding partners Genome Canada and Research Nova Scotia for enabling this important research.
Project Status: Active
$3.8 million project puts NB company at the forefront of oyster breeding technology. The oyster industry in Eastern Canada is expanding rapidly, registering revenues near $31 million in 2017, a 25% increase from 2016.
Project Status: Active
The offshore oil and gas industry is critical to the Newfoundland and Labrador economy, yet these operations must be carried out with good environmental stewardship practices. A current barrier to growth and development is the length of time it takes to carry out environmental assessments (sometimes five years or more), increasing both the costs and business risks associated with new projects. Genome Atlantic has partnered with Petroleum Research Newfoundland and Labrador (PRNL), eDNAtec’s Centre for Environmental Genomics in St. John’s, NL, and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on a $1.3 million R&D project aimed at tailoring environmental DNA (eDNA) for use in the ocean environment and comparing this approach to traditional biomonitoring techniques. The project is funded by Genome Atlantic through Genome Canada’s Regional Priorities Partnership Program, eDNAtec Inc., and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Project Status: Active
The $7.8 million Managing Microbial Corrosion in Canadian Offshore and Onshore Oil Production is one of 13 research projects announced by the federal government in December 2016 under Genome Canada’s Large-Scale Applied Research Project Competition (LSARP).
Project Status: Active
The cannabis sector is an area of strategic importance for New Brunswick and Atlantic Canada and genomics is critical to many high-value components of the cannabis value chain. Building local research capacity in cannabis genomics will give Atlantic Canadian companies a competitive advantage in this rapidly evolving marketplace.
Project Status: Active
A team of Nova Scotia mental health researchers are set to explore the genetic factors that play a role in bipolar disorder. Led by Dr. Martin Alda and Dr. Rudolf Uher, the three-year, $975,000 research project could lead to new clinical tools to better diagnose and treat this disorder.
Project Status: Active
The idea of using genomic (DNA-based) tools to help de-risk offshore oil and gas exploration efforts has transitioned from a ‘what if’ idea not that long ago into a compelling opportunity that has earned the support of this project’s many partners.
Project Status: Active
The project is using genomics and genetic sequencing to provide the east coast salmon aquaculture industry with tools and knowledge that can be used to adapt its production to rising ocean temperatures and to select more disease-resistant broodstock.
Project Status: Active
Bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, posing an enormous risk to the agri-food industry and to the health of Canadians. To better understand antimicrobial resistance (AMR), we need to know which genes contribute to resistance and how they spread.
Project Status: Active
It is estimated that the use of therapeutic feeds could save the Canadian aquaculture industry up to $57 million annually, while decreasing the use of chemical treatments and minimizing the risk of transmitting pathogens to wild salmon.
Completed Projects
Project Status: Complete
The project is using genomics and genetic sequencing to provide the east coast salmon aquaculture industry with tools and knowledge that can be used to adapt its production to rising ocean temperatures and to select more disease-resistant broodstock.
Project Status: Complete
Commercial Application of Genomics to Maximize Genetic Improvement of Farmed Atlantic Salmon on the East Coast of Canada Commercial aquaculture companies in Atlantic Canada are restricted to the use of one strain of North American Atlantic salmon.
Project Status: Complete
The health of farmed salmon in Canada can be threatened by infectious diseases caused by viruses and bacteria. The quality of feed can affect salmon health and impact their ability to withstand infection, but currently there is no way to measure how effective it is apart from growth rates – if fish grow bigger, faster, then presumably the feed is effective.
Project Status: Complete
The project is using genomics and genetic sequencing to provide the east coast salmon aquaculture industry with tools and knowledge that can be used to adapt its production to rising ocean temperatures and to select more disease-resistant broodstock.
Project Status: Complete
Orphan diseases are rare disorders that affect less than one in 2000 people in Canada or less than 200,000 individuals in the United States. But, collectively, the 7000 known orphan diseases impact 1 in 12 Canadians, causing physical and mental hardship.
Project Status: Complete
The Project aimed to improve early rearing diets for cod to achieve the growth rates required by the cod aquaculture industry in Atlantic Canada and Iceland. This project ran until March 31st, 2014, with all data collection complete, and manuscripts in development.
Project Status: Complete
The Camelina project was conceived to unlock the potential of a hardy plant with an unusually high oil content. The oil is showing potential in a variety of areas from environmentally-friendly click for larger viewjet fuel to a dietary and cosmetic supplement to livestock and agriculture feeds.