Stephen Scherer / en Personal Genome Project shows whole genome sequencing may transform how Canadians manage their own health care /news/personal-genome-project-shows-whole-genome-sequencing-may-transform-how-canadians-manage-their <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Personal Genome Project shows whole genome sequencing may transform how Canadians manage their own health care</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-02-05-scherer2-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=dwBa1v-3 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2018-02-05-scherer2-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=4-z6LNYE 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2018-02-05-scherer2-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=DaWqYjJO 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2018-02-05-scherer2-resized.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=dwBa1v-3" alt="Photo of Stephen Scherer"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>noreen.rasbach</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2018-02-05T10:57:20-05:00" title="Monday, February 5, 2018 - 10:57" class="datetime">Mon, 02/05/2018 - 10:57</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">“Though we’ve identified clinically relevant genomic information for all participants, each of their genomes has even more information that we can’t interpret yet,” says Stephen Scherer, director of Թϱ's McLaughlin Centre (photo by J.P. Moczulski)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/genome" hreflang="en">Genome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/mclaughlin-centre" hreflang="en">McLaughlin Centre</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/stephen-scherer" hreflang="en">Stephen Scherer</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Researchers from the University of Toronto and the&nbsp;Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)&nbsp;behind the Personal Genome Project Canada are predicting that whole genome sequencing will likely become part of mainstream health care in the foreseeable future.&nbsp;</p> <p>In the first-ever study from the Personal Genome Project Canada (PGP-C), the researchers found 25 per cent of participants to date had genomic information indicating they could be at risk for future disease and even more were found to have genetic variants that would be relevant for family planning or newborn screening. All participants had genomic information associated with risks for adverse drug reactions or altered drug effectiveness, with 23 per cent of participants identified as being at risk for severe, potentially life-threatening adverse drug reactions.</p> <p>The study was published Feb. 3 online in <a href="http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/5/E126"><em>CMAJ</em> (the <em>Canadian Medical Association Journal</em>).</a></p> <p>PGP-C is a comprehensive public data resource that integrates participants’ whole genome sequencing data with their health information to advance scientific understanding of genetic and environmental contributions to human health and disease. All of the project’s inaugural 56 participants have clinically relevant information in their genomes, highlighting the potential of using whole genome sequencing data proactively for precision medicine and to reduce the risk of therapeutic failure.</p> <p>“Though we’ve identified clinically relevant genomic information for all participants, each of their genomes has even more information that we can’t interpret yet,” says <strong>Stephen Scherer</strong>, director of Թϱ's McLaughlin Centre and senior scientist and director of The Centre for Applied Genomics (TCAG) at SickKids.</p> <h3><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/technology/science/genetic-testing/article37829424/">Read an article in the <em>Globe and Mail</em> about the study and&nbsp;Personal Genome Project Canada</a></h3> <p>“As we analyze more samples, we continuously learn more about the human genome which will allow us to eventually take full advantage of the wealth of information it contains. That’s why the goal of the project is to sequence thousands of genomes each year.”</p> <p>PGP-C is the Canadian arm of the global Personal Genome Project, a collaborative academic research effort that started with Harvard Medical School’s Personal Genome Project in 2005. A priority of the Personal Genome Project is to share information collected from the localized projects with researchers around the world to drive new knowledge about human biology.</p> <p>Participants were required to undergo an extensive consent process as all data, including results from their whole genome sequencing, combined with personal and family history, is available online. Each participant had access to genetic counselling to appropriately contextualize the results of their genetic testing.</p> <p>“Genetic counsellors play an important role in communicating and interpreting these results appropriately,” said Professor <strong>Trevor Young</strong>, dean of&nbsp; Թϱ's Faculty of Medicine, which runs Ontario’s only academic training program for genetic counselling. “The demand for these specialized skills is only going to rise given the massive increase in the number of genome-wide tests now being used in hospitals.”</p> <h3><a href="http://gicr.utoronto.ca/support-the-report/">Interested in publicly funded research in Canada? Learn more at Թϱ’s #supportthereport advocacy campaign</a></h3> <p>The cost of whole genome sequencing has fallen dramatically since PGP-C began recruiting and analyzing samples in 2012 and further still from when the project was conceptualized in 2007. Signs indicate the technology will continue to become more affordable and accessible, which the authors expect will transform whole genome sequencing into more of a mainstream practice for the general population. As a result, frontline health-care providers may become involved in interpreting and delivering resulting genomic information in the near future.</p> <p>The work was funded by the University of Toronto’s McLaughlin Centre, the Canada Foundation for Innovation, Genome Canada-Ontario Genomics, the Government of Ontario, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Medcan Health Management Inc. and SickKids Foundation.</p> <h3><a href="http://www.cmaj.ca/content/190/5/E126">Read the full study in <em>CMAJ</em></a></h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Mon, 05 Feb 2018 15:57:20 +0000 noreen.rasbach 128856 at Happy 150th, Canada! Թϱ researchers sequence the beaver's genome /news/happy-150th-canada-u-t-researchers-first-world-sequence-beaver-s-genome <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Happy 150th, Canada! Թϱ researchers sequence the beaver's genome </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-01-13-beaver_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9sTT4Hvl 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2017-01-13-beaver_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=nyQ8nvrB 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2017-01-13-beaver_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=GR4zK15o 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2017-01-13-beaver_0.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=9sTT4Hvl" alt="Photo of beaver"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2017-01-13T12:06:47-05:00" title="Friday, January 13, 2017 - 12:06" class="datetime">Fri, 01/13/2017 - 12:06</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">In honour of Canada's 150th anniversary, Թϱ Professor Stephen Scherer and his team have sequenced a beaver</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/canada-150" hreflang="en">Canada 150</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/gene-sequencing" hreflang="en">Gene Sequencing</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/stephen-scherer" hreflang="en">Stephen Scherer</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Stephen Scherer: “This is the most important animal in Canadian history.”</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>They were diligent, methodical, meticulous.</p> <p>They overcame obstacles large and small and applied available resources to try to achieve an ambitious goal. When they needed to move beyond existing resources, they pushed the limits and modified them. Channelling some of the most distinctive traits of the quintessentially Canadian symbol they were studying, a team of Canadian scientists has made an indelible mark on the history of this country – and beyond – just in time to kick off the country’s 150th anniversary.</p> <p>The University of Toronto's <a href="/news/unlocking-autisms-code-professor-stephen-scherer">Professor&nbsp;<strong>Stephen Scherer</strong> </a>and his team of researchers from The Centre for Applied Genomics (TCAG) at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) have successfully sequenced the genome of <em>Castor canadensis</em> – the Canadian beaver. The beaver in question is none other than Ward, a 10-year-old resident of the Toronto Zoo. &nbsp;The research, which will be&nbsp;published in the online edition of <em>G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics</em>, is a partnership with Թϱ, Ontario Institute for Cancer Research (OICR), the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM)&nbsp;and the Toronto Zoo.&nbsp;</p> <p>The study’s senior and lead authors, Scherer and Թϱ alumnus Dr.&nbsp;<strong>Si Lok</strong>, talk below about why their world-leading research team undertook this unusual project, and how understanding Ward could help scientists advance research into human conditions like autism.&nbsp;</p> <p>Scherer is director of the McLaughlin Centre and professor in the department of molecular genetics at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine. He is also director of TCAG,&nbsp;senior scientist at SickKids and is known for his work on the genetic underpinnings of autism spectrum disorder.</p> <p>Lok is senior project manager and lead in technology development at TCAG. The&nbsp;study was supported by Genome Canada, Ontario Genomics, Canada Foundation for Innovation, the Government of Ontario, the Lau Family Endowment and SickKids Foundation.</p> <hr> <p>&nbsp;</p> <iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UZ8wmutLRGY?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <hr> <p><strong>Why did you choose to study the beaver?</strong></p> <p><strong>Stephen Scherer</strong>: We could have done this genome research project using DNA from any human or from someone with one of the conditions we study like autism – but by going this route there was even more potential for broader impact! We started exploring our options and realized that our national symbol, the beaver, had not been sequenced yet. This is the most important animal in Canadian history, so to know about its genome allows us to better understand how it all came about: its history, how it relates to its environment. The genome is a starting point.</p> <p><strong>What’s the connection between sequencing a beaver’s genome and helping families understand why autism may affect one child in the family&nbsp;but not another?</strong></p> <p><strong>Stephen Scherer:</strong> There are some families who we know have autism or some other developmental disorder because of the genetics, but we haven’t found the genetic alteration yet. The novel genome-assembly approach that we’ve developed for the beaver project will provide another vantage point.</p> <p><strong>Si Lok</strong>: The Human Genome Project led many people to think genetic sequencing is a done deal, but it’s really not. What’s typically done is genome ‘re-sequencing.’&nbsp;The genomes of only a small number of people are actually fully sequenced – less than a dozen in the world. For all the others, to make it cost-effective, we quickly sequence billions of fragments but align them by comparison to a reference genome. It’s really a comparative approach analogous to tracing a picture. But ultimately, we can’t just look at the tracings. We need to see all the underlying unique pieces too, and there are lots of them.</p> <p>The sequencing of Ward’s genome was done the way we’d eventually like to do everyone’s – it’s called <em>de novo</em> sequencing. It’s a completely original process, which allowed us to build Ward’s unique genome from the ground up&nbsp;so we would not use any preconception of another genome.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Stephen Scherer: </strong>Our new genome-assembly technique allows us to find new types of genetic variations we haven’t seen before using the current technologies&nbsp;so we think our yield in explaining autism will go up. We are already applying the technique in our human sequencing projects, as well as for other animals. It’s very exciting.</p> <p><strong>Why is the method so important?</strong></p> <p><strong>Stephen Scherer</strong>: At TCAG, we’re generating a genome product that is really, really good, but it’s not perfect. To find all the genetic variants we need to fully understand things like cancer or autism, we needed a much better approach.&nbsp;</p> <p>We were able to take samples from the beaver, find the DNA and put it into the latest genome-sequencing machines, which generated the three billion chemical letters of information that comprise the beaver genome. What’s unique about the project is we had to develop some new methods to actually stitch together all of those three billion chemical letters of information into a complete ‘jigsaw puzzle.’&nbsp;At the end of the day, we were able to generate the complete genome sequence of what we believe is the most important animal in Canada.</p> <p>With new technologies and new sets of analytical experiments we’ve developed here, we can now apply what we learned in the beaver-sequencing project to those human disease projects we are doing here at the same time.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>What does this study show us about the beaver?</strong></p> <p><strong>Stephen Scherer</strong>:&nbsp;What we found is that the beaver genome is roughly the same size as the human genome, maybe a little smaller. That’s not really surprising to us. If you look at any mammalian genome sequence – mouse, rat,&nbsp;chimpanzee – and compare it to humans, they’re roughly the same size.&nbsp;</p> <p>We were able to clearly describe the genes that are important to rodents&nbsp;and most importantly to the beaver. We identified the genes involved in dentition and enamel deposition, a defining characteristic of rodents&nbsp;and particularly of beavers. Rodents are classified by their teeth structure, and beavers seem to take this to the extreme because their teeth continuously grow so they can chop down trees. They incorporate a special kind of enamel to strengthen the teeth&nbsp;and iron&nbsp;to sharpen them. The mechanism resembles a self-sharpening ice skate, which gets sharper as you skate.</p> <p>This is really about the power of genetics. We’ve never sequenced any genomes with the quality that we’ve had with the beaver. &nbsp;It’s exciting because it allows us to see some things for the very first time.</p> <p><strong>Why did you do it now?</strong></p> <p><strong>Stephen Scherer: </strong>Lok and I went to graduate school and did our PhDs at SickKids under Professor&nbsp;<strong>Lap-Chee Tsui</strong>, the world-famous Canadian geneticist who discovered the cystic fibrosis gene in 1989. As Canadians, we wanted to give back in some way, above and beyond our typical research.</p> <p>We recognized that the coming sesquicentennial of Canada, new technologies, and our ideas provided the ‘perfect storm’ for us to make a lasting contribution to the scientific world, to our future research&nbsp;and to the sense of Canadian characteristics of hard work, loyalty, and pride in our heritage.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 13 Jan 2017 17:06:47 +0000 ullahnor 103266 at André Picard to biomedical researchers: do a better job of making your case /news/andr-picard-biomedical-researchers-do-better-job-making-your-case <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">André Picard to biomedical researchers: do a better job of making your case</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-09-16-Andre-Picard_Connell.jpg?h=9e499333&amp;itok=q2_4QOUB 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-09-16-Andre-Picard_Connell.jpg?h=9e499333&amp;itok=ay9z5Yd8 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-09-16-Andre-Picard_Connell.jpg?h=9e499333&amp;itok=VA1kvIdl 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-09-16-Andre-Picard_Connell.jpg?h=9e499333&amp;itok=q2_4QOUB" alt="photo of Andre Picard at lectern"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>krisha</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-09-16T14:36:18-04:00" title="Friday, September 16, 2016 - 14:36" class="datetime">Fri, 09/16/2016 - 14:36</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(Photo by Horst Herget Photography)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/carolyn-morris" hreflang="en">Carolyn Morris</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Carolyn Morris </div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/our-community" hreflang="en">Our Community</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/george-connell" hreflang="en">George Connell</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/stephen-scherer" hreflang="en">Stephen Scherer</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>“Too much of what you do is a mystery to people,” <em>The Globe and Mail</em>'s&nbsp;public health reporter <strong>André Picard</strong> told an audience of University of Toronto scientists.</p> <p>“You can’t expect people to embrace the notion that investing in biomedical research is a good thing, if they don’t see the practical outcomes of research in their everyday lives.”</p> <p>At a dinner celebrating the 25th anniversary of the department of biochemistry’s George Connell Lectureship, Picard spoke about the future of biomedical research in Canada, Recognizing&nbsp;the increased difficulties in securing research funding, he admitted&nbsp;he might not provide any satisfactory answers.</p> <p>“In journalism we specialize at shining the light on problems and don’t do anything about solutions, unfortunately.”</p> <p>But Picard emphasized the importance of communicating the value of science&nbsp;and criticized what he sees as the increasingly partisan and industry-focused nature of government investment in science.&nbsp;</p> <p>“The greatest innovations in science are almost always through serendipity,” he said. “We need to create an environment in which ideas can flourish — to give scientists the time and the money to study problems, and the freedom to find solutions.”</p> <p>This realm of ideas and problem-solving was on display at the <strong>George Connell</strong> Lectureship — a tribute to the esteemed biochemistry professor and former Թϱ president, who made countless contributions to science, both as a researcher and as an administrator. Professor Connell died&nbsp;in 2015.</p> <p>The 2016 Connell Lecturer was Molecular Genetics <a href="/news/u-t-sequence-genomes-10000-people-year-%E2%80%9Cinformation-new-oil%E2%80%9D-say-university-toronto-scientists">Professor<strong> Stephen Scherer</strong></a>, who delved into the genetics and molecular imbalances in autism and related disorders. This cross-fertilization reflects an increasing focus on scientific collaboration that reaches beyond departmental boundaries.</p> <p>“Nothing would please George more than these fascinating lectures,” said <strong>Sheila Connell</strong>, the wife of late Professor George Connell. Much of Professor Connell’s family attended the event — including three of his children, <strong>Thomas</strong>, <strong>Caroline</strong>, and&nbsp;<strong>Meg</strong>, as well as members of their families.&nbsp;</p> <p>“He was a fundamental scientist at the leading edge of the field, and his work is still cited to this day,” said Biochemistry Department Chair <strong>Justin Nodwell</strong>. “As the linchpin event of this department, this is a fitting tribute to Dr. Connell.”</p> <p>Balancing out the worrying trends in biomedical research described by Picard, Nodwell spoke optimistically about how scientists from biochemistry, molecular genetics and laboratory medicine and pathobiology are preparing to move into a new collaborative and open-concept research space in the West Tower of MaRS this fall.</p> <p>“Countless big discoveries have come from the interfaces between disciplines,” he said. “We’re bringing together top minds in infectious diseases on one floor and in genetic models of disease on another. While we’ve been working together over the past years, this is the first time we’ll be interacting with such high frequency.”&nbsp;</p> <p>And perhaps this increased integration will serve to find answers, and to demonstrate just how valuable biomedical research is to society.&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Fri, 16 Sep 2016 18:36:18 +0000 krisha 100437 at Թϱ to sequence genomes of 10,000 people per year: “Information is the new oil,” say University of Toronto scientists /news/u-t-sequence-genomes-10000-people-year-information-new-oil-say-university-toronto-scientists <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Թϱ to sequence genomes of 10,000 people per year: “Information is the new oil,” say University of Toronto scientists </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-09-14-scherer-slide.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=5SsCoLOB 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-09-14-scherer-slide.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=fv5lq3a9 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-09-14-scherer-slide.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=LdoppV1q 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-09-14-scherer-slide.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=5SsCoLOB" alt="photo of Scherer with slide"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>lanthierj</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-09-14T15:52:23-04:00" title="Wednesday, September 14, 2016 - 15:52" class="datetime">Wed, 09/14/2016 - 15:52</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">(all photos by Johnny Guatto)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/heidi-singer" hreflang="en">Heidi Singer</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Heidi Singer</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/hospital-sick-children" hreflang="en">Hospital for Sick Children</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/research-innovation" hreflang="en">Research &amp; Innovation</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/genome" hreflang="en">Genome</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/stephen-scherer" hreflang="en">Stephen Scherer</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-medicine" hreflang="en">Faculty of Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/medicine" hreflang="en">Medicine</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/health" hreflang="en">Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/global" hreflang="en">Global</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">City becomes one of the world’s leading producers of biodata</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>The University of Toronto today launched&nbsp;a massive project to sequence the whole genomes of 10,000 people per year&nbsp;– &nbsp;<span style="line-height: 20.8px;">positioning Toronto as a leader in the global race to understand complex diseases</span>.</p> <p>With the population of Toronto&nbsp;among the most diverse in the world, the project will&nbsp;provide&nbsp;an unusual breadth of genetic material to study,&nbsp;said Professor&nbsp;<strong>Stephen Scherer,</strong>&nbsp;director of Թϱ’s McLaughlin Centre and the Centre for Applied Genomics at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids).</p> <p>He said the move will accelerate&nbsp;the big data revolution and create a new generation of precision therapies.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>“With sequencing now married to large-scale computation, I believe we in Toronto can help lead the way for precision medicine. Genomic information is the new oil. It’s the resource that’s going to drive technology in the new era.</p> <p>“We’re generating the oil that researchers will use to enable discoveries and to create new products in software, biotechnology and information management that will realize precision medicine.”&nbsp;</p> <h2><a href="/news/surprising-results-study-siblings-autism">Read more about Scherer's research</a></h2> <p>In 2015, Toronto scientists, led by Scherer, earned competitive Canada Foundation for Innovation funding to purchase the Illumina HiSeq X™ Ten sequencing system, along with powerful computers that together can process the 10,000 genomes a year. Previously, Toronto researchers had been forced to send genomes to offshore labs for sequencing, causing research delays and significantly higher costs. The project will generate data from thousands of control genomes serving as crucial controls for the world’s researchers. The genomes, to be sequenced in Scherer’s lab, will provide medical researchers the necessary yardstick by which to compare diseases.&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt="photo of Scherer with researchers" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__1951 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-09-14-Peter-Gilgan-Centre-embed-one.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>“The groundbreaking work that Թϱ &nbsp;and SickKids have done for the MSSNG Autism Genome Sequencing Project and the Canadian Personal Genome Project has set the stage for the creation of a large pediatric reference genome that will have far reaching utility in complex disease,” said <strong>Christian Henry</strong>, executive vice-president and chief commercial officer of Illumina. “We believe Toronto’s research community is already linked to vast repositories of patient health data and is committed to finding answers in complex diseases.”</p> <p>Toronto's whole genome project is working with leading health tech innovators, including Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company.</p> <p>“Whole genome sequencing is bringing the worlds of life science and data science together,” said <strong>David Glazer</strong>, on the Steering Committee for the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health, founder of Google Genomics, and engineering director at Verily Life Sciences. “The combination of those two disciplines is one of the most exciting frontiers in medicine today. Our existing collaboration with Steve's lab on the 10,000-genome MSSNG project is a good example of the opportunity; we're eager to see the many more such projects enabled by today's announcement.”</p> <p>Big Data, the massive streams of information now being generated through advances in computational power, is transforming medical research. Whole-genome sequencing is used to understand life at its most fundamental level but also to find unique genetic defects that underlie disease in individuals, and design diagnostics and precision treatments for them. &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;“Toronto has unique advantages in the world that allow us to generate &nbsp;high-quality data sets and manage those securely and ethically,” said Professor <strong>Trevor Young</strong>, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, which encompasses nearly 6,000 faculty members from 33 hospitals in the Greater Toronto Area.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Within a mile radius we have one of the world’s leading medical schools, connected to most of Canada’s top hospitals and other key research fields such as computer science and engineering, as well as the headquarters of Canada’s top financial institutions.”</p> <p>(<em>Below: Mark Van Oene, Dr. Mark Poznansky, Dr. Trevor young, Professor Stephen Scherer, Dr. Michael Apkon and President Meric Gertler</em>)</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__1952 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-09-14-Peter-Gilgan-Centre-Event-embed-two.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>Precision medicine will come about when genetic data is matched to other kinds of health and lifestyle information. In Toronto, a single medical school connects all the city’s hospitals to each other and to other key research fields including the social and physical sciences. Meanwhile, university researchers, physicians and hospitals are connected to the provincial government and to the patients of Toronto through the single-payer health insurance system. &nbsp;The population of Toronto is also among the most diverse in the world, providing an unusual breadth of genetic material to study.&nbsp;</p> <p>For many years, Ontario researchers have analyzed anonymized patient health information through the single payer system, and Toronto scientists such as <strong>Lap-Chee Tsui</strong>, who identified the genetic defect causing cystic fibrosis, have been at the forefront of genetic research. Now, Toronto researchers have the ability to produce massive streams of genomic data at a reasonable cost.</p> <p><img alt="photo of President Meric Gertler addressing crowd" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__1950 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-09-14-Peter-Gilgan-Centre-Event-Meric.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 14 Sep 2016 19:52:23 +0000 lanthierj 100423 at