BiotechnologySchool of Health Sciences

Biotech office & labs

are located on the

2nd Floor

Building SW9

Burnaby Campus

Infrastructure• BCIT Biotechnology Teaching Labs

– BCIT-UBC Joint B.Sc Honour’s Degree Program

• *CFI & BCKDF Funding for the Integrated Molecular Biology Lab• Genome BC & Western Economic Diversification Funding for their Technology

Development Platform & Establishment of Satellite Sites

*Principle Investigators:

• Paula Brown (NRG)

• Joan Shellard

• Sarah McLeod

Diverse Expertise & Capabilities

• Molecular Biology• Immunology• Protein

Biochemistry• Biofuel Production

(Fatty Acid Biochemistry)

• Animal Cell Culture• Bioprocessing

(Fermentation)• Plant

Biotechnology

Main Biotech Lab

Things we’re particularly good at…

Cell Line EngineeringDedicated Animal Cell Culture Lab containing:

• 5 Level II Biological Safety Cabinets

• 3 Laminar Flow Hoods

• 4 CO2 Incubators

• 3 Inverted Microscopes

• 2 Epifluorescence Microscopes & Imaging System

Gene & Protein AnalysesSpecialized Instruments:• Multilabel Plate Reader (Envision)– used for a variety of fluorescence or

absorbance-based bioassays• Real-Time PCR Machine– quantitative analysis of gene expression

• Genetic Analyzer– Sanger DNA Sequencing– gene marker analysis (STRs)

• Bioanalyzer– nucleic acid & protein quantification and

analysis• Microarray Scanner– gene expression analysis, clinical genetics,

genotyping• Microbeta Counter

– used for a variety of bioassays measuring luminescence or beta-isotopes

• 2D SDS-PAGE System– Proteomics

Plant Propagation

• Plant cell culture• Seedling cultivation in

dedicated growth room

Greenhouse on campus…for the grown-ups!

Resources

Dedicated Research Faculty:• Robert Forsyth: Biodiesel Production• Sarah McLeod: Cancer Immunology• Joan Shellard: Health Proteomics & Genomics

Faculty Interested in (or accidentally doing) Applied Research:• Navkiran Gill : Host – Pathogen Interactions• Keith Turner: Plant Biotechnology

High Energy ResourcesOur Biotech Students!

Funded by:

• BCIT Student Employment Program

• PI-funded summer Co-ops

• NSERC Undergrad Student Research Awards

Role:To assist Faculty in their applied research projects

Sample of Research Projects

PI: Rob Forsyth

Project: Production of biodiesel that is compatible with conventional engines & cold weather climates

Funding: BCIT Professional Development (PD) Funds

Status:

• Pilot experiments complete

• Patent application submitted to ARLO for review

• Scale-up & validation underway

Accidental Fame!

Plant Man: Keith Turner

Project: Restoration of cherry trees from rare cultivars (cuttings)

Collaborator: Douglas Justice, UBC Botanical Gardens

Students: entire 1st Year Biotech class, as part of their plant lab

Status: Baby trees growing in test tubes …

PI-Led Research Projects

PI: Sarah McLeod

Project: Role of the proteins YKL-40 and YKL-39 in interactions between cancer cells and tumour-associated macrophage cells

Funding: BCIT Institutional Research Fund (awarded by peer review) & PD funds

Students: Jordan McGarry (BSEP), Aisha Ghani (Summer Co-op)

Status: Preliminary data have been obtained and are informing ongoing experiments. A manuscript and grant application will be submitted in 2014

Collaborative Research ProjectsPI: Joan Shellard

Project : Generation of antibodies for the selective capture of serum biomarkers and identification by Mass Spectrometry

Funding: BC Proteomics Network Small Projects Grant/Michael Smith Health Research Fund

Collaborators: Suzanne Perry, Michael Smith Labs (CHiBi), UBC and Prostate Centre, VGH

Status: Antibodies have been generated and used in immunoprecipitations of high versus low PSA plasma samples. Mass Spec analysis underway.

Project: Identification of disease susceptibility markers by comparing whole genomes from selected human subpopulations

Funding: CFI (computer workstation), PD funds

Collaborators: Karen Mooder (BCIT MedLab), David Holloway (BCIT Mathematics)

Student: Elizabeth Dai (BSEP)

Status: Ongoing

Industry ProjectsCompany: iProgen Biotech, Richmond BC

PIs: Joan Shellard & Sarah McLeod

Research Associate: Lindsay Gung

Project: Generation of cell lines for the production of protein transduction mediator (PTM)-tagged fusion proteins

Funding: NSERC Engage Grant

Status: Completed

Company: Novation Pharma, Burnaby BC

PIs: Sarah McLeod & Joan Shellard

Project: Investigation into the pathway(s) regulating targeted mRNA instability

Funding: NSERC Engage grant app contemplated

Status: Planning phase

Model For Research In the SchoolsA Work in Progress….

School of Health has a great talent pool and a diversity of expertise, which allows for innovative cross-disciplanary researchChallenges: • Lack of critical mass in any ‘’one”’ area• Small # of faculty pursuing applied research….and we teach!Best Approach? Collaboration and involvement of student “hands”

$ Funding:Curriculum: Tie applied research projects to student curriculaChallenges: Research must fit into a tidy student project

Grants: BCIT has “university” status wrt Tri-Cuncil funding (NSERC, CIHR)Challenges: We are small fish in a big competitive pond and don’t have grad students

Industry CollaborationsStrengths:

• BCIT has a great track record of working with industry

• Collaborations with industry seem much more flexible than universities, particularly wrt IP policy and NDAs

Funding Challenges:

• Biotechnology companies typically operate without cash flow and do not fund external research (they will hire CROs)

• Pharma has money but you have to pitch “what you can do for them”, which means having preliminary data to approach them

Best Approach?

• Industry-Academic Grants (govt susidizes THEIR research ; )

• PI-Led projects using small project grants and/or BCIT seed funds

www.bcit.ca/health/research/biotech/