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Bio-Matrix Golden Horseshoe B iosc iences Network

The renovation signs are everywhere and the master planning consultants will be there soon. As the Mark Twainism goes, reports of the death of Vineland research station “are greatly exaggerated”.

Just ask Jim Brandle, the new chief executive. “Vineland Research and Innovation Centre,” beams Dr. Brandle, “is the Phoenix rising out of the

ashes of the old horticultural research institution that used to be here.”

The agricultural icon – its roots going back to 1906 – seemed ready to be plowed under only five or six years ago. In May 2004, Linda Bramble of Brock University’s cool climate wine institute lamented “the demise of the Vineland Research Station” in speaking to a Senate committee in Ottawa.

But government and industry money and action, including a key Ontario report that urged the seeds of renewal, led three years ago to a renaissance at Vineland. On the drawing board is a $40 million complex, designs on a world-class reputation, perhaps even a think tank within the Niagara biosphere.

New scientists and technical employees, as many as 90 staff members in the next few years, are being attracted to the Jordan Harbour site. The reach is international: Vineland’s science advisory committee includes members from Australia, Israel, the U.S., and the Netherlands.

Vineland Research and Innovation Centre is a private, not-for-profit operation. That means it works with government – both federal and provincial researchers are on site on Vineland’s 200 acres (80 hectares) – with academia, and with industry.

That also means Vineland will commercialize its research and create revenue-bearing partnerships. New tenants include the Hoogendoorn greenhouse horticultural giant, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, and the Foreign Affair winery, headed by Ontario Chamber of Commerce president Len Crispino.

“You want to be big in the world, you want to be the best,” says Dr. Brandle. “And in order to do that, you have to play out there in the world... What we hope to create is this perpetual innovation machine.”

The research plans are ambitious and they are green. They include a focus on more environmentally benign production – for example, by developing biological strategies that require less pesticide use or by creating tough-as-Canadian ornamentals that grow in cooler temperatures or in lower light ranges, thus requiring less energy.

Vineland scientists want to add value to horticultural and ornamental products. If you can make a crop more drought-resistant, for example, you use less water and the product stays fresher longer in a store. Working at the molecular level, researchers hope to enhance cosmetic, flavour, and nutritional traits.

Vineland is also looking at working with new technologies, such as sensors that detect plant stresses and use of automation controls, that will reduce planting and harvesting costs in a labour-intensive industry, maximize yields, and bump up profit margins.

The idea is that even small gains in plant sciences and agricultural efficiency can reap large returns on the farm or in the greenhouse. Vineland is playing in a big field. The horticultural sector alone, estimates Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, represented $5.4 billion in farm cash receipts in 2007.

There are other models of agricultural and horticultural research centres out there. But Vineland’s innovators can look just down the highway or up against the escarpment for a renaissance model that has thrived on knowledge and innovation: Canada’s turnaround wine industry.

“It’s a success so why aren’t we learning from that?” asks Dr. Brandle. “Why can’t we do the same with our flowers and our fruits?

A cancer first for HamiltonHamilton is the first site in the world to get GE Healthcare’s prototype technologies for use in a molecular breast-imaging research program. Hamilton researchers will design and lead clinical trials to evaluate processes that use molecular imaging probes to target breast cancer.

The earlier tiny tumours are found, the better healthcare professionals can intervene. Trials will be geared towards high-risk women who are not currently well served by mammography.

GE Healthcare chose Hamilton because of the city’s many links with the cancer research community and because of its new Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization, as well as the city’s oncology and nuclear medicine programs.

Inside –n Turning our eyes

to the future [page 2]

n BAHT – a business model for healthcare [page 3]

n Letting bugs do the cleanup job [page 4]

n Some bravos, some boos greet budget [page 5]

n Spring 2009 n volume 3 n issue 1

Vineland plants new roots

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Turning our eyes to the future

Mac technology a winnerA Toronto-area company, using technology licensed from McMaster University, is one of three winners of the second annual Innovations@Work Awards competition.

VitaSound Audio, whose principals have key Hamilton and Burlington-area ties, integrates disparate technologies from different sources to deliver custom-fitted hearing enhancement and protection devices.

Some of the company’s devices are based on neurocompensator-based hearing aid advancements developed by McMaster engineering and neuroscience researchers. VitaSound leaders include chairman Mark Chamberlain, formerly of Wescam, and Gora Ganguli, Philippe Pango, and Keith Gordon, all of whom were at one time with Gennum Corporation, of Burlington.

VitaSound is based in Concord, north of Toronto. The Innovations@Work Awards event is run by Rogers Cable Communications and Profit Magazine.

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When a new organization is set up – we began life in 2005 – much of the energy in the first two or so years is focused on

building structure, setting goals, plotting

new directions, and just generally networking.

At some point, however, it’s time to rally the troops and see not only how far you’ve come but also where you may have missed your marks. Then, turning eyes forward again, you dare to imagine where you might head tomorrow and the best ways to get there.

And so on November 21 last year, the Golden Horseshoe BioSciences Network held a strategic retreat for its board of directors and the diverse group of bioscience industry partners that make up this network and its players, people from Niagara to Toronto and north of the capital city.The participants were asked to provide feedback on several topics to assist the network in planning for its future. This year is important for our network. GHBN and its RIN colleagues as well as all members of the ON Commercialization Network (OCN), including OCE and the MaRS Discovery Group, are undergoing a review by the Ministry of Research and Innovation to determine our roles and funding allocation for the next funding cycle.

We anticipate hearing from MRI in the coming months. But what was clear from our retreat was that the network has done a great job at establishing its role as a pathfinder and connector in the Golden Horseshoe region, providing assistance in linking with various agencies and organizations to attract funding and the knowledge resources to support businesses and to drive the economy.

We were recognized as a source of education to entrepreneurs and researchers, providing knowledge about developing companies in the bioscience and biotechnology sectors. The network is also seen as a main driver in promoting collaboration within the community, helping to make the links in an ever-expanding chain.

In effect, we are becoming an integral part of the Golden Horseshoe’s economic engine. And it’s fair to say that we have only started to do the work we believe is needed to create a vibrant and successful biosciences industry in the region.

So, with positive reinforcement in hand, we’re set to keep delivering our programs to you, such as our Innovation Café™ series, the Clinical Trials program for Medical Devices and Diagnostics companies, and events like CrossBorder: Seeding Medical Technologies, and Research2Receptor.

We look forward to launching new programs with new partners in novel formats and will be telling you about these in the next few months, both here in Bio-Matrix and on our leading-edge web portal at: www.ghbn.org We know many challenges lie ahead, particularly in the highly uncertain climate of this economic downturn. But with the relationships we have built and those that we look forward to developing, we are determined to keep the network growing and doing what you have told us we do best – helping you to be successful! n

Darlene Homonko is Executive Director of the Golden Horseshoe Biosciences Network.

“The first two years

I think really have

been setting the

stage and I think the

best is yet to come.”

– Dr. Elsie Quaite-Randall, MILO (McMaster Industrial Liaison Office)

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BAHT - a business model for healthcareThe power of innovation and the pursuit of new revenue areas are key elements in growing a business. But an unusual enterprise, in an almost-anonymous brick house near Chedoke hospital in Hamilton, is building its own distinct brand within a commercial segment: the business of healthcare.

Bay Area Health Trust is leveraging the astonishing range of hands-on medical and research expertise within Hamilton Health Sciences and McMaster University. With five stand-alone business units, those hands reach across both industry sectors and national borders.

Need help in designing a hospital or the systems inside it? There are BAHT people available. Want to package a new drug for a clinical test? Again, you can turn to BAHT. Need to go digital with your documents, or maybe you want to learn if you’re subject to a disease that imperils your vision? BAHT can assist.

“I don’t know whether there is anybody else like us,” says president and CEO Beth Manganelli. “But clearly, in our little business group, there are very eclectic specialities. . . . I haven’t heard of a hospital (system) doing this.” The mandate, adds director of finance and business development Paul McCracken, “is to scan for business opportunities and act upon them.”

The five units of the health trust, itself created in 2002, are: the Hamilton Hospitals Assessment Centre, Bay Area Records Conversion, Bay Area Research Logistics, Bay Area Consulting, and a new unit, Bay Area Genetics Lab involved in genetic tests. The first test available is for age-related macular degeneration. The potential is large for biomarker analysis for other diseases.

The trust has “a lean group” of perhaps 40 core employees, says Manganelli, a former hospital administrator. And some of the business units have access to hundreds of fee-for-service medical and related professionals and specialists – most, but not all, in Hamilton area.

BAHT’s business-of-healthcare case is made clear on its Internet home page (www.baht.ca), which notes that it is “an entrepreneurial organization focused on delivering business solutions that support healthcare services and research.” That means it will compete for services wherever it can gain contracts.

In fact, the trust has gone beyond operating rooms into business board rooms. Its records conversion unit, for

example, has helped legal and engineering firms switch from paper to electronic records – a shift subject to the exacting standards of Ontario’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Ontario is slowly moving towards electronic medical records. BAHT should benefit in terms of future consulting and conversion business – it’s too early to tell yet – from the $500 million announced in the January federal budget for Canada Health Infoway. Ottawa’s goal is to have 50 per cent of Canadians with an electronic health record by 2010.

BAHT has gone global with its healthcare consulting operation, in working with architectural, medical-systems, and other professionals to help design hospitals in Beijing in China and the United Arab Emirates, for example. Those countries seek to offer healthcare that is consistent with North American standards.

International revenues also beckon within the research logistics unit, says McCracken. That lab packages and distributes – as well as looking after blinding controls – drugs involved in clinical trials. A current trial involves a worldwide heart-risks study run out of Hamilton’s Population Health Research Institute.

The assessment centre was the seed of BAHT, formed in 1990 to offer such services as psychological evaluations, physical demands analysis, and catastrophic assessment. Clients range from auto and disability insurance firms, to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board, employers, and lawyers. n

BAHT is an entrpreneurial organization delivering solutions that support healthcare services and research.

Mac research

chairs renewed

Ottawa has renewed funding for the holders

of three Canada Research Chairs at

McMaster University, a federal investment of

almost $4 million.

Jeffrey Weitz, chair holder in Thrombosis,

and Pavlos Kanaroglou, occupant of the chair in

Spatial Analysis, were each awarded $1.4

million for their Tier 1 positions. Gregory Slater,

in the Environmental Isotope Biogeochemistry

research chair, was awarded $500,000 for

his Tier 2 chair.

The Canada Foundation for Innovation also

provided Weitz and Slater $325,515 and $64,000 respectively

for infrastructure related to their

research chairs. McMaster has 68 Canada Research

Chairs.

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New research leaders namedBoth McMaster and Brock universities have new research leaders as they head into 2009. At McMaster, Fiona McNeill has been appointed Associate Vice-President of Research, responsible for identifying and anticipating funding opportunities in both the public and private sectors.

Dr. McNeill will also design indicators that measure how well the school is doing in research activities and take a leading role in looking at research ethical policies and nominations for prizes and awards.

Brock University’s new Vice-President of Research is Liette Vasseur, a leader in climate change and sustainable development fields.

Dr. Vasseur has done environmental work, including community-based ecosystem management, in several countries, such as China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Panama, and Brazil

Letting bugs do the cleanup job

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What we build up, we break down. And when we rebuild again, sometimes we must purify or at least detoxify the land we are putting to new uses.

So, at a petro-plant, gasoline and oils might soak into the soil. At a factory, chemicals might make their way into groundwater. At a containment facility, hazardous waste might leach into adjacent properties.

In many cases, mechanical means are the tool of choice in cleaning up despoiled lands, normally termed brownfield sites. Dig it up, cart it away. But sometimes, we assign the job to nature. When that happens, the agents in the cleanup crew – environmentally benign organisms – can be as tiny as five micrometres. (One micrometre equals one millionth of a metre.) Bacteria were enlisted when property owners from Burlington and the City of Hamilton – a national leader in brownfields conversions – put up a multi-unit housing project near Lake Ontario on a two-hectare (five-acre) site that once contained a gas station. Testing had revealed high levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in the sandy soil.

Enter Bluewater Environmental and their bioremediation system. Using in-situ injection wells, the Sarnia-area company pumped in dissolved oxygen riding on hydraulic plumes. And part of that flow consisted of aerobic microbes, such as facultative bacteria, breaking down and metabolizing organic contaminants.

These bio-agents – natural soil bacteria are also present, multiplying rapidly as treatment occurs – can tackle chemicals such as crude oil, petroleum hydrocarbons, fuels, and solvents. The contaminants are in turn transformed into non-volatile substances, such as carbon dioxide, methane, fatty acids, and water.

To accelerate growth, the microrganisms are fed nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium, along with the pumped-in oxygen. This kind of biostimulation was used

following the grounding of the Exxon Valdez off Alaska in 1989 when fertilizer applications were applied to the contamination area to stimulate growth of indigenous oil-degrading microorganisms.

In general, microbial remediation involves natural attenuation, biostimulation and/or bioaugmentation. All three processes rely on the ability of the minute organisms to break down the complex molecules of chemicals in biohazardous waste and to use these

simpler molecules to build cell parts.

Prokaryotes – bacteria and archaea – are typical agents used in bioremediation strategies. Among the more common genera of bacteria involved in biodegradation of oil products are nocardia, pseudomonas, acinebacter and arthrobacter. Treatment often occurs

with more than one genus used.

But eukaryotes, such as fungi and algae, can also be used to biotransform or biodegrade

contaminants in soil and water. Rhizosphere bacteria associated with alfalfa plants, for example, can be used to treat ground water contaminated by low levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Bioremediation can also occur off-site. A company might excavate, treat and dispose contaminated soils using environmentally sustainable methods. The soils are normally spread in piles on a treatment pad for processing, the pad system having a bio-barrier to protect against leachate or toxic material seeping out.

Not only is bio-cleanup often quicker and more efficient than removal of contaminated soil and water, it is generally far less costly. City of Hamilton business development consultant Carolynn Reid told a builders’ conference last year that initial estimates for traditional dig-and-dump cleanup at the Beach Blvd. site exceeded $1 million. On-site bioremediation cost less than half that amount, with the city picking up part of the tab. n

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Some bravos, some boos greet budgetFederal budget 2009 was a lightning rod for attention from the bio-community. The budget gained applause for its shovel-in-the-ground intentions but boos rained down for its lack of funding for science in the lab.

World-renowned geneticist Michael Hayden, at the University of British Columbia, noted the admirable job Ottawa had done on directing infrastructure money. But cell biology star, Anthony Pawson, of the University of Toronto, called the reduced funding for genomics research “extremely serious”.

And McMaster University stem cell institute leader Mick Bhatia told the Globe and Mail that enhanced funding and recognition of science by the Obama government might yet prove to be a magnet that lures Canadian researchers to the U.S.

The January 27 budget directed more than $1.5 Billion to science and technology in general. About $750 million was allocated to updating research infrastructure for Canadian Foundation for Innovation projects and $250 million over two years went to the maintenance of federal laboratories.

The Harper government set $200 million over two years for the National Research Council’s Industrial Research Assistance Program. And it directed $500 million to Canada Health Infoway to accelerate implementation of electronic medical records (EMR).

As a whole, response to the budget was generally apprehensive. The comments above were typical of reactions from many research science and technology quarters, either in the wake of the budget or just prior to that document coming down. The following quotes or general comment offer a flavour of that reaction.

n BioteCanada, in a call for action issued prior to the budget: ”Unless action is taken in the 2009 federal budget to assist the Canadian industry, the consequences will likely be substantial job losses of highly skilled labour, and a loss of intellectual capital and global competitiveness.”

n Canadian Medical Association president Robert Ouellet: “Today’s announcement, rightly aimed at supporting the front lines of health care, will lead to better, more efficient care and will help Canada shake off its laggard status in terms of the use of EMRs compared to other countries.”

n Research Canada – an Alliance for Discovery:“The lack of new investment in the nation’s research and innovation engine, however, is concerning; notably the absence of additional base funding for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), the other granting councils and Genome Canada.”

n Martin Godbout, president and CEO of Genome Canada: “It’s like we fell between the chairs. This was an infrastructure budget, and so money went into that, but we got nothing.”

n Genome Canada news release: “Genome Canada is pleased with the federal government’s 2009 budget in which millions will be invested in research infrastructure over the next two years. This is good news for the scientific community across the country that needs to be at the cutting-edge of research infrastructure and new technologies . . . “

n Canadian Medical Association Journal editorial: “Budget 2009 may foreshadow the decline of the science and technology strategy . . . The unmistakable message from Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is that science is unimportant in Canada’s economy.”

n Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada: “AFMC is concerned, however, that the budget does not do enough to ensure that Canada emerges from our current fiscal challenges in a global leadership position in science and technology, and research and development – the engine of the economy of tomorrow.”

n Canada’s Venture Capital and Private Equity Association: “There are increasingly fewer foreign investors coming into Canada. A key obstacle is that Canada’s international tax system deters foreign investors, thereby putting the country at a disadvantage.” n

Dr. Mohamed Karmali

Karmali honoured for

his workMcMaster University professor Mohamed Karmali will receive

the 2009 BD Award for Research in Clinical

Microbiology when he stands before the American Society for Microbiology in May.

Dr. Karmali, a professor of pathology and molecular

medicine, was honoured for leading-edge research that has impacted clinical

microbiology as well as gastroenterology,

nephrology, infectious diseases and epidemiology.

Among other discoveries, he was foremost in

recognizing the role of the pathogen, Campylobacter

jejuni, in childhood enteritis, and identified

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, which

can cause severe kidney complications.

The award honours a distinguished

scientist for research accomplishments

that underlie important

applications in clinical

microbiology.

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McMaster University, Michael G. DeGroote Centre for Learning & Discovery5105-1200 Main Street West, Hamilton, Ontario, CANADA L8N 3Z5

n Ana Paredes Office Administrator/Incubator Assistant – Tel: 905-525-9140 Ext. 26602 Fax: 905-528-3999n Darlene Homonko Executive Director – Tel: 905-525-9140 Ext. 26609 Web: www.ghbn.org

C o n t a c t G o l d e n H o r s e s h o e B i o s c i e n c e s N e t w o r k

Bio-Matrix is a quarterly newsletter published by GHBN. Director and editor: Darlene HomonkoWriter: Mike Pettapiece Graphic Design: Nadia DiTraglia

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ting

Casting a green Net at MacMcMaster University is taking its practical and educational commitment to sustainable living to the Internet.

The school has set up a website – http://www.mcmaster.ca/sustainability/ – features information on environmental issues such as energy, waste and water, as well as social issues, such as health and well-being. The site also notes campus-oriented matters, such as sustainability initiatives, alternative transit and green space.

Mac’s sustainable successes include five buildings oriented to LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) designations, rainwater-harvesting initiatives, a green purchasing policy, and locally grown food sold at Bridges Café. Some meals on campus are even sold in biodegradable take-out containers.

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InnOVAtIOn nIGht – Share your PassionDate: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 Time: 7:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Location: London Tap House, 3rd Floor Address: 31 John Street South, Hamilton For more information: www.innovationnight.ca

GOlDEn hORSEShOE VEntuRE FORuMDate: April 8, 2009 Time: 7:30 a.m. - 9:30 p.m. Location: Royal Botanical Gardens Address: 680 Plains Road West, Burlington For more information visit: www.ghvf.ca

InnOVAtIOn CAFé SERIESChanging Space for a Creative ClassDate: Wednesday, April 22, 2009 Time: 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. Location: Paperbox Studios Address: 302 Cumberland Ave., Hamilton For more information visit: www.ghbn.org

BIOFInAnCE 2009Date: April 28-30, 2009 Location: Toronto Marriott Eaton Centre Hotel Address: 525 Bay Street, Toronto For more information visit: www.ghbn.org

2nD AnnuAl hAMIltOn ECOnOMIC SuMMItDate: Wednesday, May 6, 2009 Location: Crown Plaza Hotel Address: 150 King Street East, Hamilton For more information visit: www.ghbn.org

McMaster University professor Sonia Anand is among researchers that have identified genes associated in many diverse ethnic groups with the risk of having heart attacks.

The work offers the promise of a simple predictor blood test that may save potential victims and that may lead to drug or related intervention to lower the risks. The research looked at more than 8,000 persons in five ethnic groups who offered their DNA for analysis.

The work led by Dr. Anand, a researcher within the Population Health Research Institute, led to the

genotyping of more than 1,500 single nucleotide polymorphisms from 103 genes. SNPs are single-base pair variations in DNA that occur within genes and sometimes change protein production or alter gene expression.

The research results link four genes with high cholesterol levels, particularly those of a specific protein, ApolipoproteinB, tied to the so-called ‘bad cholesterol’. In the study, researchers concluded 13 common SNPs were associated with heart disease risk factors and one variant was independently associated with the risk of a heart attack. n

InAuGuRAl hES COMMunIty DAyDate: Thursday, May 7, 2009 Location: McMaster Innovation Park Address: 175 Longwood Road South, Hamilton For more information visit: www.hamiltonchamber.on.ca

OCE DISCOVERy DAySDate: May 11-12, 2009 Location: Toronto Metro Convention Centre Address: Toronto For more information visit: www.ocediscovery.org

McMAStER InnOVAtIOn ShOwCASEDate: June 18-19, 2009 Location: McMaster Innovation Park Address: 175 Longwood Road South, Hamilton For more information visit: http://milo.mcmaster.ca/showcase

BIO IntERnAtIOnAl COnVEntIOn 2009heal, Fuel, Feed the worldDate: May 18-21, 2009 Location: Atlanta, GA USA Location: Paperbox Studios Address: 302 Cumberland Ave., Hamilton For more information visit: www.ghbn.org

CROSS BORDERDate: June 23, 2009 Location: Buffalo, NY, USA For more information visit: www.ghbn.org

Feat

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arch

n McMaster leads heart attack-predictive study globally