Renaissance BioScience Corp. (RBSC), a leading global yeast technology company, is pleased to announce a new partnership with Mitacs for a multi-year, $1.44-million research and development project. Mitacs, a national not-for-profit research and training organization, will provide matching funding to the RBSC project to support the development of next-generation, systematic tools and methods for expanding, screening and selecting biodiversity in…
Adoptive cell therapy with therapeutic T cells has become one of the most promising strategies to stimulate or suppress immune responses. Using viral-mediated genetic manipulation, the antigen-specificity of T cells can now be precisely redirected. Tailored specificity has not only overcome technical limitations and safety concerns, but it has also considerably broadened the spectrum of therapeutic applications. Different T cell-engineering…
It started out with rock snot and ended with a call for scientists to stand up to suppression. Canada’s Science Minister Kirsty Duncan used her TED talk in Vancouver to highlight her government’s record on science and blasted those who would silence researchers. “It is critical — absolutely critical — that our scientists are free to undertake their work, free to collaborate…
Could we create a real-life superhero by changing human biology itself? The form and function of the human body, once entirely delimited by nature, are now fluid concepts thanks to recent advances in biomedical science and engineering. Professor, author, comic book enthusiast and ICORD researcher Dr. E. Paul Zehr has created a cottage industry using superheroes to share science. Now, after prior…
The dogma that self-renewal is a defining characteristic of stem cells, which stemmed from studies of the hematopoietic hierarchy and quickly spread by analogy to all tissues, has been shattered by scientists pointing a microscope at the hematopoietic system itself. A microglial cell is clearly fully differentiated, and yet it self-renews.
Eye drops developed by UBC researchers could one day treat glaucoma while you sleep – helping to heal a condition that is one of the leading causes of blindness around the world. “Medicated eye drops are commonly used to treat glaucoma but they’re often poorly absorbed. Less than five per cent of the drug stays in the eye because most…
Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related death among males and the second leading cause among females globally. Checkpoint inhibitors re-engage the immune system to fight cancer. This review evaluates phase III data on the use of checkpoint inhibitors in the treatment of advanced NSCLC and addresses PD-L1 expression in predicting efficacy. Six phase III clinical trials investigating checkpoint…
Each year, Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute (VCHRI) promotes excellence in health research through the annual VCHRI Investigator Awards. These awards recognize outstanding health investigators and support their research efforts through peer-reviewed salary support awards. The awards provide an opportunity for investigators to reduce their clinical practice commitments and build their research capacity to expand the possibilities of improving health research.…
Investing in R&D is just one way that 2016 EOY winner Allen Eaves keeps Stemcell Technologies ahead of the curve Most people see retirement as an opportunity to step back from the work life and indulge in some leisure time. But Allen Eaves isn’t most people. When the founder and former director of the BC Cancer Agency’s Terry Fox Laboratory (TFL) took…
A new expert panel report, released today by the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA), provides the latest data and information on Canada’s track record in fundamental research, applied research and experimental development, industrial R&D, and the relationship of these research efforts to wealth creation and prosperity through innovation. The report underscores that while Canada benefits from high levels of educational…
