Latest News

GSAT students participate in 3rd annual CHiBi/GSAT retreat

GSAT Students Participate in 3rd Annual CHiBi/GSAT Retreat

GSAT students participated in the 3rd Annual Centre for High-Throughput Biology/GSAT retreat at UBC’s Loon Lake Research and Education Centre on October 1 & 2, 2012. The retreat allowed members of both groups the opportunity to exchange research ideas and participate in team building activities. Trainees from the GSAT program and each of CHiBi’s interdisciplinary labs presented talks, followed by a speed-slide competition and team building group activity.  The keynote speaker was Dr. Brad Nelson from the BC Cancer Agency.   For more information about the retreat, click here.

GSAT program celebrates first graduate

GSAT Program Celebrates First Graduate

GSAT student Laura Mai successfully defended her MSc thesis on Friday, August 26, 2011 to become the first student to graduate UBC with a degree in Genome Science & Technology. Laura’s thesis examined the application of SCODA to forensic exhibits. SCODA is a novel extraction method that utilizes electrophoretic forces to concentrate nucleic acids in a gel. Its unique capabilities allow it to separate nucleic acids, like DNA, from other molecules, which could include environmental contaminants like humic acids from soil, indigo dye from denim and various proteins. Laura’s thesis work found that SCODA is optimal for highly inhibited samples that mask the presence of DNA, as in some cases of bone, and that specific protocols can be designed to further improve SCODA to outperform other extraction methods, which are more difficult to customize.

Laura was co-supervised by Andre Marziali and David Sweet

Congratulations Laura!

2012 GSAT cohort underway

2012 GSAT Cohort Underway

The GSAT program has enrolled 16 new graduate students in the 2012 cohort bringing the total number of students in the program to 41. Students in the 2012 cohort come from a wide variety of backgrounds with undergraduate degrees in Nanotechnology Engineering, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Computational Biology and Biopharmaceutical Science, to name but a few.  In addition, the GSAT program enrolled two students into the combined MD/PhD program.

The GSAT program faculty and staff wish all students the best of luck in the upcoming academic year.

BC Ministry of Advanced Education approves the new GSAT program

BC Ministry of Advanced Education Approves the New GSAT Program

On July 30, 2010, the BC Ministry of Advanced Education granted approval to the new Genome Science + Technology graduate program at UBC. This unique multidisciplinary program, offered through the College for Interdisciplinary Studies, will allow graduate students to receive a more focused M.Sc. or Ph.D. in the fields of genomics, proteomics and technology development. The design of the program is student-centered, with a focus on structured courses and research rotations in the first year.

“By educating students across disciplines and facilitating discussions and interactions between students with diverse backgrounds we shall enable a new generation of researchers, and research collaborations, operating at the interface of the biological and physical sciences.”  – Dr. Stephen Withers, Program Co-Director