Biotechnology - National Research Council Canada

The National Research Council is the premiere biotechnology research agency of the Canadian federal government. The NRC Biotechnology Program was established in 1983 under the guiding principles of the National Biotechnology Strategy.

Five institutes deliver the NRC Biotechnology Program with support from IRAP and CISTI for technology transfer and knowledge dissemination. The Steacie Institute for Molecular Sciences (SIMS) supports the program with specific basic research.

The Biotechnology Program is a founding member of Genome Canada and contributes to Canadian innovation in genomics through the NRC Genome and Health Initiative.

Core Competencies

NRC Biotechnology Research Institute (Montreal)

Centre of Excellence for Brownfields Rehabilitation
NRC's Biotechnology Research Institute, COREM, and the City of Montréal jointly founded the Centre of Excellence for Brownfields Rehabilitation. Its mission is to promote, support and implement research and development and experimental programs in the areas of soil decontamination and site rehabilitation.

NRC Institute for Biodiagnostics (Winnipeg, Calgary, Halifax)

Biosystems
Informatics
Magnetic Resonance Technology
Spectroscopy
IBD Prototyping Facility

Intraoperative Laser-Based Diagnostic
Medical researchers at the NRC's Institute for Biodiagnostics have developed an innovative laser-based diagnostic technique that will enable cardiac surgeons to gauge the effectiveness of bypass surgery while the patient is still on the operating table.

The specially-designed imaging device tracks the movement of the dye as it moves through the arteries in the heart.

The response by the medical community to the intra-operative coronary angio-graphy has been so overwhelming that our spin-off company, Novadaq, will be marketing it in North America and abroad.

NRC Institute for Biological Sciences (Ottawa)

Effective Vaccine against
Meningitis-C
NRC's Dr. Harold Jennings has developed a new, highly effective vaccine (NeisVac-C) that protects people of all ages, including children as young as two months of age, against Meningitis-C (meningococcal group C).

A recent NeisVac-C vaccination program involving 12 million people in the UK has reported positive results have already been reported.
NeisVac-C was approved for use in Canada in January of 2002.

NRC Institute for Marine Biosciences (Halifax)

Aquaculture research
Seafood safety
Microscopy Facility
Certified Reference Materials Program
Genomics and proteomics
DNA Sequencing Facility
Canadian Bioinformatics Resource

DNA Sequencing Facility
NRC's Institute for Marine Biosciences boasts Canada's largest and most advanced DNA sequencing facility.

Equipped with world-class sample preparation and sequencing technologies, robotics and advanced bioinformatics tools, the facility now provides DNA sequencing for other NRC institutes and for national and international clients.

The facility greatly enhance the Institute's research capacity and support the development of biotechnology applications leading to improvements in human health, food crops, and the environment.

NRC Plant Biotechnology Institute (Saskatoon)

Plant Transformation System

NRC's Plant Biotechnology Institute is working to kick-start a Canadian breeding program for nutraceutical plants.

The research will enhance the uniformity of plants grown for their therapeutic attributes and will eventually lead to the production of improved lines of these high-value plants.

Canadian Bioinformatic Resource (Halifax)

Dr. Christoph Sensen searching CBR databases Bioinformatics is fundamental to making sense of the immense data generated from the surge in genomics research. NRC's Canadian Bioinformatics Resource (CBR) in Halifax, gives lightening-fast access to sequence information. It also provides databases and tools for universities and research organizations across Canada.

The resource provides two distinct services: CBR-I supplies high-speed access to sequence information to NRC and associate members only. CBR-II makes bioinformatics available to universities and research organizations across Canada.

The Genomics and Health Initiative is a unique horizontal program that involves several NRC biotechnology institutes located across Canada.

Launched in 1999, the initiative strives to bring the benefits of advances in genome sciences and health research to a variety of Canadian industrial sectors and regions. GHI is advancing fundamental and applied technical research in areas such as the diagnosis of disease, aquaculture, human pathogens, crop enhancement, environmental remediation of pollution, cancer, neurobiology and protein assembly.

BioMiner Software

NRC's Institute for Information Technology and NRC's Institute for Biological Sciences are working in collaboration to address the need for data mining capability for genomics research.

Funded under the NRC's Genome and Health Initiative, the project has led to the development of a prototype data analysis software package, called BioMiner.