NEW YORK — Genome British Columbia said last week that a number of researchers in the province were awarded C$49 million (US$34.2 million) in grant funding under Genome Canada's recently announced Canadian Precision Health Initiative (CPHI).
Announced last month, the CPHI aims to invest a total of C$200 million from industry, academia, and public sector partners to build a database of 100,000 genomes representing Canada’s diverse population, with the goal of accelerating the use of such data in clinical care.
The new grants will be funded with C$14 million from Genome BC and C$35 million from Genome Canada and partners. Recipients include scientists at BC Cancer, who aim to add whole-genome sequencing data from patients undergoing routine cancer genetic testing into the Pan-Canadian Genome Library, as well as to provide parent-of-origin genetic risk assessments for individuals with pathogenic variants.
Collaborators from the University of British Columbia, the University of Western Ontario, and the University of Montreal have also been awarded CPHI funding to gather and include pediatric patient data to the Canadian Pharmacogenomics Network for Drug Safety. The goal is to help in the identification of biomarkers that can predict harmful drug reactions in pediatric cancer patients.
Also receiving grant money is a team from the University of British Columbia and the University of Northern British Columbia that is gathering genetic, clinical, and lifestyle data from a diverse group of 8,000 participants across British Columbia and Yukon to improve cardiovascular disease care. These scientists also aim to roll out point-of-care ultrasound in under-resourced areas and develop AI models that can analyze genetic and imaging data to improve diagnoses.
University of Calgary researchers were awarded CPHI funding to sequence the genomes of 5,250 children and young people, and potentially generate an additional 1,200 long-read genome sequences, to better understand how genetics and life experiences interact to influence mental health.
Lastly, investigators from the University of Manitoba, the University of Saskatchewan, and CancerCare Manitoba were awarded grant funding to analyze the genetic makeup of populations in Manitoba and Saskatchewan to improve healthcare efficiency, lower costs, and enhance patient outcomes in Canada's Prairie provinces.
"This important investment in genomics-driven healthcare innovation positions British Columbia at the forefront of precision health," Federica Di Palma, CSO and VP of research and innovation at Genome BC, said in a statement. "These projects not only advance cutting-edge science but also directly aim to provide solutions to pressing healthcare challenges, which will benefit patients and contribute to a more resilient, equitable, and innovation-driven health system."