GenomeBC

10/14/2026

🧬 In this clip, Kaylee asks Dr. Quinn how prime editing could change the outlook for people who inherit retinal diseases.

Listen to the full episode of It’s Prime Time: Can New Gene Editing Technologies Rewrite the Future of Health? 🎧

https://link.cohostpodcasting.com/b87cc2cc-6ed3-4c20-8a02-c626378af1bb

10/13/2026

🎗️ Breast Cancer Awareness Day is a reminder of the importance of early detection, research and understanding our individual risk.

Genomics is helping researchers better understand hereditary cancer and how genetic information can help guide more personalized treatment options for people with cancer.

🧬 Learn how Genome BC is supporting research in this area: https://www.genomebc.ca/blog/understanding-hereditary-cancer-and-genome-bcs-role-in-personalized-treatment/

10/09/2026

Genomics can transform rare disease diagnosis; but only if we have the people and systems in place to turn genomic insights into action.

Erin DeBruin, Manager, Professional Education and Implementation at Genome BC, is a co-contributor to a new publication exploring what Canada needs to improve rare disease diagnosis.

While investing in technologies seems far greater than ever before, find out more about why investing in people is needed now:
https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/article/building-rare-disease-diagnosis-in-canada-people-expertise-and-systems/214987/

10/08/2026

🚀 This week is International Space Week, so we’re launching a throwback!

Last year, the Don Rix Distinguished Keynote welcomed Dr. Christopher E. Mason, geneticist and computational biologist whose research has taken genomics beyond Earth. Mason has been involved as a principal investigator or co-investigator on multiple NASA missions and projects, including research examining how spaceflight affects the human body. His work is a great reminder that genomics can help us understand not just life here on Earth, but what happens when humans venture into space.

And now, it’s time to look to our next big question. 🌎✨
Join us for this year’s Don Rix Distinguished Keynote Address with Dr. Beth Shapiro, who will explore a question that sounds straight out of science fiction:
🦣 Can we really bring back the mammoth?
📅 November 2, 2026
📍 Vancouver

Register for this year’s Don Rix Distinguished Keynote:
https://events.genomebc.ca/drdk2026?ref=FB

10/06/2026

🧬 It's Prime Time: Can New Gene Editing Technologies Rewrite the Future of Health?

For many people with rare genetic diseases, a single “typo” in their DNA can have lifelong consequences. Fixing that typo has often been out of reach. But recent advances in prime editing are changing what researchers think might be possible.

In the latest episode of Nice Genes!, Dr. Kaylee Byers meets Ty Sperle, who shares his story of being treated for the rare genetic disease chronic granulomatous disease.

She also speaks with his doctor, Dr. Stuart Turvey, about the science behind his treatment and what it could mean for other rare diseases.

Then, we head to the PrimeSight Lab to explore how researchers are investigating prime editing for inherited vision loss.

Could this cutting-edge gene-editing technology open the door to treatments we once thought were impossible?

https://ow.ly/iHEn50ZU1Ui

10/05/2026

Cancer research depends on having the right tools to understand disease, test new approaches and make sure those tools work as intended.

Three new Genome BC-funded projects are helping strengthen that foundation:

🧬 Dr. Govinda Sharma and the team at Immfinity Biotechnologies are developing a screening system to test cancer-fighting immune cells for safety.

🧬 Dr. Dermot Kelleher and his team at Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia are developing a molecular switch designed to target cancer genes with precision.

🧬 Dr. Phil Barker at UBC Okanagan and Chetan Raina at YCharOS Inc. are validating a process to help ensure research antibodies work as intended.

Together, these projects are helping strengthen the tools researchers rely on to study and tackle cancer.

Read more about the projects: https://www.genomebc.ca/blog/three-new-bc-projects-strengthen-the-tools-behind-cancer-research

New projects will improve tools crucial to implementing innovative cancer therapies, including T-cell targets, gene silencing, and antibodies.

10/01/2026

In this clip, Kaylee asks urologist Dr. Premal Patel about some of the common misconceptions surrounding vasectomies.

Listen to the full episode here: 🎧https://link.cohostpodcasting.com/b87cc2cc-6ed3-4c20-8a02-c626378af1bb

09/30/2026

On National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we reflect on the ongoing impacts of residential schools and honour Survivors, their families and communities.

At Genome BC, we recognize that reconciliation is an ongoing journey built on listening, learning and meaningful action. We remain committed to working in partnership with Indigenous communities in ways that respect Indigenous rights, knowledge systems and data sovereignty.

Today, and every day, we encourage reflection, learning and meaningful action toward reconciliation.

🧡

09/29/2026

We’re proud to see this work featured in The Tyee. 🐟🧬

Genome BC is one of three funding partners, alongside the Indigenous Stewardship Fund and Pacific Salmon Foundation, supporting a new multi-year project led by Candace Picco of Ha’oom Fisheries Society and Dr. Ben Sutherland of Vancouver Island University and Sutherland Bioinformatics.

The project is helping five First Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island build their own salmon genomics analysis capabilities to support fisheries management and conservation.

One of the tools being explored is a portable Nanopore sequencer, which could eventually make it possible to genotype salmon samples closer to where they’re collected and reduce processing times. The team is also working on ways to compare those results with DFO’s existing salmon genomics library.

At its heart, the project is about building local capacity and giving First Nations greater control over the data they generate about their fisheries.

Read the full story from The Tyee: https://thetyee.ca/News/2026/09/23/First-Nations-Fisheries-Salmon-Genomics-Testing/

With Indigenous Stewardship Fund, Pacific Salmon Foundation, Ha'oom Fisheries Society, Vancouver Island University and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

09/29/2026

Registration is now open for the 2nd International Symposium on Advancing Equity in Genetics and Genomics in Canada (AEG2C).

Taking place October 19–20 in Montréal and online, the symposium will bring together researchers, trainees, community partners and patients to explore how we can advance equity in genetics and genomics research in Canada and beyond.

📍 Montréal or online
📅 October 19–20, 2026
🗓️ In-person registration closes October 2
💻 Online registration closes October 16

The symposium is hosted by Genome Canada, the McGill Canada Excellence Research Chair in Genomic Medicine, CIHR Institute of Genetics and the Pan-Canadian Genome Library.

Register: https://event.fourwaves.com/aeg2c2026