Dr. Ly Vu is an Assistant Professor of the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at SFU, and a scientist at the BC Cancer Agency’s Terry Fox Laboratory. She is from Vietnam, and moved to Vancouver in 2019 to start her independent research group that studies a molecular mechanism underlying blood cancer. “I’ve always had a curiosity about nature. While…
A recent discovery in Ewing sarcoma, an aggressive and often fatal childhood cancer, has uncovered the potential to prevent cancer cells from spreading beyond their primary tumour site. The breakthrough provides new insight into what triggers the process that allows cancer cells to survive while traveling throughout the body in the bloodstream. Researchers with BC Cancer and the University of…
Podcast host Krista Lamb interviews Dr. Brian Rodrigues to discuss his research into diabetes and the heart. Dr. Brian Rodrigues is a Professor in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of British Columbia. During diabetes, the heart switches to using fats exclusively as an energy supply. Dr. Rodrigues is interested in examining the mechanism of how fat fuels…
SFU computing science professor Ghassan Hamarneh is using his medical imaging analysis expertise to help UBC researchers understand the role of caveolin-1 (CAV1) in certain cancer types. CAV1 is a protein associated with poor outcomes in aggressive breast and prostate cancer. It is also associated with tumor metastasis and tumor suppression, but it is unclear how CAV1 differentiates between these…
In 2015 Genome BC, Genome Quebec, and Genome Canada funded a significant, large-scale project to develop genomic tools to address challenges in improved management and the re-evaluation of hatchery / wild interactions of Coho salmon. The interdisciplinary team of natural and social scientists sequenced the Coho salmon genome, documented the genetic diversity of thousands of individual fish and determined how…
Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV) – which is associated with kidney and liver damage in Chinook salmon – is continually being transmitted between open-net salmon farms and wild juvenile Chinook salmon in British Columbia waters, according to a new genomics analysis published today in Science Advances. The collaborative study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and the Strategic Salmon Health Initiative…
Simon Fraser University researchers announced Friday they have validated a faster, cheaper COVID-19 test that could help kickstart the expansion of wider rapid testing. “This research offers a cheaper, faster alternative to the most reliable and sensitive test currently used worldwide without sacrificing sensitivity and reproducibility,” said Peter Unrau, a SFU molecular biology and biochemistry professor who led the team…
In this episode, we interface with Dr. Ali Tehrani, Co-founder, President and CEO of Zymeworks Inc. on launching Zymeworks, the profound moment that inspired him to science, communicating on its behalf, self-reflection, the BC Biomedical ecosystem, leadership, and more. Dr. Tehrani is a co-founder of Zymeworks and has served as President and Chief Executive Officer, and as a member of…
BC is home to more than 1100 life sciences companies that employ more than 18,000 people, all of them with well-paying jobs. And at the university level, more than 22,000 students are studying life sciences in BC. It all adds up to a shot in the arm to the BC economy — $5.4 billion in revenue, $1.6 billion in GDP…
Genome BC, the Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research, and the BCCDC Foundation for Public Health have partnered for the first time to fund rapid response research initiatives that will have a direct impact – in a matter of months – on people in British Columbia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Valued at approximately $1.3 million, a total of nine new…