SPOTLIGHT ON RESEARCH
Filling in the gaps genetics leaves behind The University is working toward establishing the Alberta Institute for Epigenetics, a centre that will support a critical mass of researchers and technologies to better understand everything from cancer to agriculture. While genome mapping has provided crucial blueprints for scientists, it doesn’t explain all of life’s mysteries. That’s because genetics supplies the nature in the nature-nurture dichotomy. Epigenetics helps explain the nurture half, offering insights into how and why genes are expressed.
A wide range of environmental factors are involved in “turning on” genes (partly through epigenetic regulation). Ultimately, understanding this better will shed light on conditions like fetal alcohol syndrome, diseases like cancer and diabetes, mental illnesses, droughtresistance in plants, the biological impacts of pollution and almost anything under the sun. When formed, the Alberta Institute for Epigenetics will be the first centre in Canada focused exclusively on epigenetic study and one of a handful of similar institutes in the world. It will unite the research talent at the University of Lethbridge, Alberta’s other major universities, and research establishments across Canada and beyond. The first step toward establishing the institute took place this June thanks to $3.2 million from the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI). The next step
occurred this fall when the Alberta Science and Research Investments Program (ASRIP) committed more than $2.8 million to an epigenetic study led by U of L neuroscientist Dr. Robert Sutherland. Over the next 10 years, it is expected that the institute will accumulate approximately $60 million in internal and external funding and grow to 20 principal investigators from three academic departments (Neuroscience, Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Biological Sciences), more than 50 graduate students and doctoral-level researchers, and 25 technical staff. Drawing on the U of L’s areas of greatest strength in research, the institute will focus on six main areas: epi-cancer, epi-neuroscience, epi-plant, epi-cell, epi-toxicology and epi-technology.
Epi-cancer
Epi-technology
As cancer rates continue to rise, the need to pinpoint the causes and most effective treatments becomes increasingly important.
Like genetics and genomics, epigenetics requires cutting-edge technologies and skilled personnel to support the work of researchers. And because of the speed at which research moves, new technologies are always needed to help researchers probe deeper.
Recent discoveries in the epigenetics of stress response and cancer show that tumour cells are very different from normal cells in terms of their epigenetic profiles. If researchers can understand the stage at which epigenetic changes occur, then they can work toward preventing those changes, which in turn could have tremendous impacts on cancer treatments. And, unlike genetic research that can take many years, epigenetic research may yield useful findings sooner rather than later.
The institute will present an excellent opportunity for researchers working in the realm of bioinformatics. Here, new technology platforms will be developed to support institute researchers as well as create new avenues for technology commercialization at the University.
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